Edmonton Transit, Commonwealth Stadium gear up for a huge soccer crowd – Edmonton | The Canadian News

Friday night at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium will be significant for several reasons.

Alphonso Davies, the 21-year-old Bayern Munich star, will play in his hometown for the first time as a member of Canada’s men’s national soccer team.

And, for the first time in a long time, the Commonwealth will be packed. More than 45,000 fans are expected in the stadium for each match of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Canada team It will host Costa Rica at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday, November 12 and Mexico on Tuesday, November 16.

Friday’s game starts at 7pm but doors will open two hours early. The vaccination test and the preselection of all fans will begin at 5 pm

For those taking transit, there will be parking and ride services at six locations through the city. A roundtrip special event rate of $ 6 will be offered starting at 5:30 pm

The LRT service will operate at full capacity.

“There will be trains every five minutes in both directions,” said Gary Lamont, Edmonton Transit general supervisor of special events. “We are going to do a complete park and ride in six places.”

“Masks remain mandatory in all traffic,” added Lamont.

The parking and travel buses will use the front and rear doors of the bus to pick up passengers more efficiently after the game.

City officials urge fans to arrive early and plan ahead.

“Right now there are no capacity limits on Edmonton Transit,” Lamont said.

“We anticipate that it could be very, very busy. There’s a huge crowd coming to the stadium, a crowd that we haven’t seen in quite some time. “

“The stadium must have proof of vaccination. We are certainly encouraging people to get in our park and ride as soon as they can. “

Team Canada currently ranks third in the CONCACAF World Cup standings, with the top three teams earning an automatic spot in the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup tournament. A pair of victories in Edmonton will place Canada in a prominent position to qualify for its first World Cup since 1986.