Hamilton will host 2023 Grey Cup; CFL announces details, ticket sale dates for 2021

By

Published October 14, 2021 at 11:47 am

The Canadian Football League announced that Hamilton will host two of the next three Grey Cups at Tim Hortons Field. 

The Canadian Football League made some major announcements on Thursday (Oct. 14) and they all pertained to Hamilton. Not only did the CFL announce general ticket sale dates for this year’s title game, but it also revealed that Hamilton will host two of the next three Grey Cups.

The 108th Grey Cup game scheduled for Dec. 12, in Hamilton will be allowed to operate at full capacity under Ontario’s COVID-19 re-opening framework, however, that number will remain at 24,000. Tim Hortons Field is expandable to 40,000, but that will not be done this year.

Tickets go on sale next week for season ticket holders across the league, followed by the sale to the general public starting Oct. 26. If you’re a Tiger-Cat season ticket holder, you’ve already had access to Grey Cup tickets.

The pandemic will impact this year’s Grey Cup festivities. The major concert series and other large-scale fan events will not take place leading up to the game.

However, Hamilton will get a second crack after the CFL’s Board of Governors voted this week to also award the city the 2023 Grey Cup.

“We have worked very closely with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and their fellow teams across the country on this plan,” said CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “It’s exciting, responsible and fair. It delivers an exciting and complete championship game day experience for this year’s Grey Cup game, it responsibly modifies our plan for Grey Cup Week this year due to circumstances beyond our control, and it’s only fair to award another Grey Cup to Hamilton in 2023, so Hamilton gets an opportunity down the road to fully realize its bold and ambitious plans for hosting Grey Cup,” he said.

“Hamilton has waited 25 years to host another Grey Cup. Under this plan, it will host two Grey Cups in three years.”

The 109th Grey Cup will take place in Saskatchewan in 2022 after that province’s plan to host the 2020 Grey Cup was cancelled at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re looking forward to hosting a thrilling championship-calibre game day experience at a full capacity Tim Hortons Field in less than two months,” said Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young.

“We are grateful to the CFL Board of Governors, the Province of Ontario and the City of Hamilton for their support in providing Hamilton the opportunity to host two Grey Cup games in the span of three seasons. Hamilton hasn’t hosted the Grey Cup in 25 years and the League recognized that Tiger-Cats fans and Hamiltonians deserve the opportunity to host the full Grey Cup Festival experience in our city as originally intended, before the pandemic, without the lingering public health restrictions and limitations.”

More details on this year’s plan, including the unveiling of the pregame and halftime entertainment for the 108th Grey Cup game in Hamilton on Dec. 12, will be announced in the next few weeks.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising