Queen’s to host Vanier Cup for next two seasons

University football national championships will be in Kingston next year

Image by: Herbert Wang
The Vanier Cup lands in Kingston.

For the first time ever, Queen’s will host the Vanier Cup.

For the next two seasons, the football university national championships will be hosted at Richardson Stadium as per an announcement made on Thursday by U SPORTS Chief Sport Officer Lisette Johnson-Stapley.

“Today, we’re thrilled to ensure we maintain and strengthen our leadership in the sport of football throughout Canadian communities by announcing that the 58th and the 59th Vanier Cups will be held right here at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ontario in November,” she said.

The date for the 58th edition of the Vanier Cup is already set for Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. 

“It will be wonderful to be able to welcome Canada’s best athletes, and many, many spectators from around the country here. Queen’s has a long history, as everyone knows, of commitment to football—we’ve had outstanding teams over the years,” Principal Patrick Deane said at the media announcement.

Kingston will be hosting the event for the first time and will earn a spot in history alongside the seven previous hosts. Since its inception in 1965, Toronto has been the main venue, holding the championship 41 times at the Varsity Stadium and Sky Dome. Additionally, the championship game has been held in Quebec City seven times, Hamilton five times, once each in London, Montreal, Saskatoon, and Vancouver. 

Despite never hosting the championship before, Queen’s has won the Vanier Cup four times, most recently in 2009. In addition, the Gaels have collected a lot of hardware over the years, including three Grey Cups and thirty provincial championships. 

Football Head Coach Steve Snyder is perhaps most excited of all.

“Kingston is a university town—there’s no secret there—but it’s also a university football town and it has been for a long time,” Snyder said.

“We consider this to be football country around here […] to bring this sporting event to the city for the first time is really, really special.”

In an interview with The Journal after the announcement, Kingston native and starting quarterback Alex Vreeken explained how much hosting means to the team.

“We think our program’s going the right direction to be in that situation and to be able to do it here at Richardson Stadium on our own field in front of our own fans […] it’s a pretty, pretty cool opportunity that we are really excited for,” he said.

“To be able to kind of like, grow up and kind of live the dream truly and then get the opportunity to maybe play for a Vanier Cup at home is really cool.”

During the announcement ceremony, U SPORTS also revealed the Vanier Cup championship logo, which features the historic Kingston City Hall. The landmark originally represented the city’s status as the Capital of the Province of Canada and is a historic site celebrated by Canadians and Kingstonians alike. 

Audiences from all over will be able to watch the 2023 Vanier Cup on CBC Television (English) and TVA Sports (French). As athletes, students, and fans await football season, the Vanier Cup is a season-ending event everyone can get excited about.

From left to right: Linda Melnick, Conny Glenn, Mayor Brian Paterson, Principal Patrick Deane, Lisette Johnson-Stapley, and Steve Snyder. Photo: Herbert Wang

Tags

Football, News, richardson stadium, Steve Snyder, U Sports National Championship, Vanier Cup

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