Quebec City – Telus Stadium/Stadé TELUS-Université Laval (PEPS Stadium)

In 2008, interested CFL franchise investors in Quebec City attempted to get the federal government to help fund an expansion of Université Laval’s PEPS Stadium to bring it up to a minimum capacity of 25,000. The federal government denied the use of public funds for this purpose however. Quebec City’s most affordable and best use of current resources is to expand the college stadium to minimum CFL standards. This was expected to cost between $40 and $80 million in 2008 funds. A lack of federal government funding excludes the cooperation of the Université Laval, forcing the investors to look at an alternative site, $75 to $125 million (2008 estimates) in construction costs and a city, provincial and private partnership to build a new stadium, which is very unlikely in the present climate.

Constructed in 1994, PEPS Stadium was the site of a CFL pre-season game between the Ottawa Renegades and Montreal Alouettes in 2003 with 10,358 in attendance. The largest attended event hosted by the stadium is a Université Laval football game at 19,500.

The stadium was renamed with a naming rights sponsorship agreement with TELUS in 2011. The sporting complex maintains the name PEPS (Pavillon de l’éducation physique et des sports de l’Université Laval). Capacity was increased from 10,200 to the current 12,257 in 2009. In four Vanier Cup championships hosted between 2009 and 2015, average attendance was almost 16,500 per game.