Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

About Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

Percival Molson Memorial Stadium clings to the southern slopes of Mount Royal, tucked into the McGill University campus in downtown Montreal. With 23,420 seats, it’s intimate by CFL standards — and at over 110 years old, it’s the oldest active stadium in the league. The setting is unlike anything else in Canadian football: you’re watching the game with a mountain rising behind one end zone and the city skyline visible from the other.

The Montreal Alouettes have called this place home since 1998, returning after a three-decade detour through the Autostade and Olympic Stadium. The McGill Redbirds play their U Sports football here too, keeping the stadium’s university roots alive. On game days, the surrounding campus streets fill with tailgaters and fans heading uphill from downtown.

The stadium’s most distinctive feature is its natural bowl — architect Percy Erskine Nobbs took advantage of a depression in Macdonald Park to create a compact, steep-sided venue that puts fans close to the action. A $29.4 million renovation in 2009-2010 added a second tier to the south side, 19 luxury suites, and 3,800 new seats, funded by Quebec ($19.3M), the City of Montreal ($4M), and then-owner Robert Wetenhall ($6M).

The Alouettes’ relationship with this stadium has always had a scrappy charm. In 1997, the team was forced out of Olympic Stadium for a playoff game by a scheduled U2 concert — so they played at Molson Stadium to a raucous sellout. That game helped convince the team to make the permanent move back a year later.

Getting to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

Public Transit

The best option for Alouettes games is the free STM Navette des Alouettes shuttle from Place-des-Arts metro station (UQAM exit). It runs starting 2 hours before kickoff on weekends, 1 hour 45 minutes on weekdays. You need a valid game ticket to board.

Return shuttles depart from the corner of Du Parc and Des Pins starting in the third quarter.

Driving + Parking

GPS address: 475 Avenue des Pins Ouest, Montreal, QC H2W 1S4.

Parking is tight. The Molson Stadium/MNI lot has about 182 spaces at $10 (credit/debit only), accessed via the lane between The Neuro and Douglas Hall. Private garages nearby: 300 Léo Pariseau ($30, 2-minute walk) and 3524 Avenue du Parc (~$20, 5-minute walk). Street parking fills immediately on game days.

Rideshare

Uber drops off at 475 Avenue des Pins Ouest. From most downtown Montreal hotels, the ride is under 2 km — about $10-15 CAD. From YUL airport, expect $35-50 CAD. The free Alouettes shuttle makes rideshare largely unnecessary on game days.

From the Airport

History of Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

The stadium’s story begins with the man it honors. Percival Molson was a McGill alumnus, elite multi-sport athlete, and great-great-grandson of brewer John Molson. At 16, he won the Stanley Cup with the 1897 Montreal Victorias. He competed at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics — McGill’s first Olympian. He chaired the university’s Stadium Committee that approved construction, then enlisted in World War I with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He earned the Military Cross for valor and was killed by a German howitzer at Avion near Vimy Ridge on July 5, 1917. His will left $75,000 to McGill to complete the stadium.

Key moments in the stadium’s history:

• October 22, 1915: Inaugurated as “McGill Graduates’ Stadium” with an intercollegiate track meet and football game.
• October 25, 1919: Renamed Percival Molson Memorial Stadium by the McGill Board of Governors.
• November 28, 1931 (19th Grey Cup): First Grey Cup played outside Ontario — Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers defeat Regina 22-0. Also the first Grey Cup to allow forward passes.
• July 1976 (Montreal Olympics): Hosts the Olympic field hockey tournament, becoming the first Olympic venue in history to use artificial turf — a shift that permanently changed the sport.
• 1998: Montreal Alouettes return as primary CFL tenant, beginning the stadium’s modern era.
• 2010: $29.4 million renovation completes — second tier added, capacity peaks at 25,012.

The stadium has endured Montreal’s brutal winters for over a century. Snow piles on the seats from November through April, the slopes of Mount Royal rise just behind the scoreboard, and when fall comes around again, the Alouettes faithful fill these old stands once more. Few venues in North American sports can match that continuity — or that setting. From the upper rows, you can see the cross atop Mount Royal glowing against the night sky while watching a CFL game unfold below.