Swanguard Stadium

The ground carries the name of a newspaperman who was not there to see it opened. Erwin Swangard, sports journalist at the Vancouver Sun, ran the fundraising campaign that brought in close to $1 million for construction; when Premier W. A. C. Bennett dedicated the stadium on 26 April 1969, Swangard had been sent to Nigeria to start a newspaper, and his wife Doris stood in his place.

It has never been sold to a sponsor. The City of Burnaby has owned and run it since the beginning, and it has been Swangard Stadium throughout — no rebranding, no interim name to explain to anyone.

The biggest nights came before the current tenants. On 11 November 1997 a World Cup qualifier between Canada and the United States drew 8,420, well past the permanent seating of 5,288; a decade later, temporary seating for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup took the ground to 10,000. Before either, the Vancouver 86ers opened their Canadian Soccer League life here on 7 June 1987 in front of 7,646.

Age now shows in the accounts. Maintenance rose from $32,000 in 2014 to $528,000 in 2019, and in 2023 the city commissioned a feasibility study. Modest upgrades were costed at $25.2–29 million, full redevelopment at $153–170 million. Neither is funded.

Between matches the pitch and track give way to the Pinoy Festival, the largest Filipino cultural event in Canada, and to the Jerome Classic on the athletics side.