Spruce Meadows facts for kids
| Address | 18011 Spruce Meadows Way SW |
|---|---|
| Location | Foothills County, Alberta |
| Coordinates | 50°53′06″N 114°06′02″W / 50.88500°N 114.10056°W |
| Owner | Spruce Meadows |
| Surface | Grass, sand, pavement |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Expanded | 2019 |
| Tenants | |
| Cavalry FC (CPL) (2019–present) | |
Spruce Meadows is a large sports center near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Southern family built it, and it first opened in 1975. It's a special place for many kinds of events.
Spruce Meadows is most famous for its amazing horse show jumping competitions. It has a huge area of 505 acres (that's about 2 square kilometers!). Linda Southern-Heathcott, who once competed in the Olympics for Canada, is now the leader of Spruce Meadows.
The facility is also home to Cavalry FC, a professional soccer team. This team plays in the Canadian Premier League. Their stadium, called ATCO Field, has 6,000 seats and is part of Spruce Meadows. It was built in 2019 on a former jumping field.
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Horse Show Jumping Tournaments
Spruce Meadows hosts many exciting horse show jumping events every year. There are six big outdoor tournaments and eight indoor ones. The indoor events, called the 'Nakoda Series', help younger and amateur riders get better.
The outdoor season starts in June with the 'Summer Series'. This is a five-week tour with several major tournaments:
- The CSI 'National'
- The CSI 'Continental'
- The CSI 'Pan American'
- The CSI 'North American'
The biggest event of the year is the CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament in September. These tournaments bring top riders and their horses from all over the world. Spruce Meadows was even named the best show jumping facility in the world in 2001–02 and 2003–04!
Spruce Meadows also raises and trains special horses called Hanoverians. Each year, they have a fun "Name the Foal" contest. People get to choose names for three baby horses. This contest is very popular, and the baby horses are often shown on TV during the tournaments.
Soccer at ATCO Field
In 2017, a new soccer league called the Canadian Premier League (CPL) was planned. In 2018, it was announced that the Southern family would own a team in this league. This team became Cavalry FC.
A new 6,000-seat soccer stadium was built at Spruce Meadows for the team. It was designed so that horse events could still happen there too. A large covered grandstand with 4,500 seats was built on one side. Another 1,500 seats were added in other areas. This stadium can also be made bigger in the future if needed.
On May 4, 2019, Cavalry FC played their first official CPL match at the new stadium. They won 2–1 against York 9 FC, even though it was snowing!
History of Spruce Meadows
Building Spruce Meadows started in 1973, and it officially opened in 1975. The first horse tournament was held in 1976. Today, about 500,000 people visit Spruce Meadows every year. It has stables for up to 1,000 horses.
Spruce Meadows is open to visitors all year round. Besides horse events, it also hosts meetings and trade shows. It even has its own TV studio that makes a show called Spruce Meadows Chronicles. This show about show jumping is broadcast in over 100 countries!
In 2018, it was announced that Spruce Meadows would be home to the new Cavalry FC soccer team. Construction for the new soccer stadium began in late 2018. By early 2019, the stadium was ready for the team's first season.
Spruce Meadows and its Neighbors
The Southern family has owned Spruce Meadows since it began. Over the years, the city has grown closer to Spruce Meadows. What was once far outside the city is now next to neighborhoods like Bridlewood, Somerset, and Silverado.
Because of this growth, Spruce Meadows made a deal in 2011. It officially became part of the Foothills County instead of the City of Calgary. This helped manage the land around the facility.
In the late 1990s, the Southerns also helped change the name of a nearby road. Part of Alberta Highway 22X that runs north of Spruce Meadows was renamed "Spruce Meadows Trail."
