Edmonton was selected to host the 1983 Summer Universiade, and in 1981 the city council approved an $11 million upgrade to the venue, which added a further 18,000 seats to the upper tiers and the north end zone; this gave a capacity of 59,912 in 1982 and 60,081 from 1983. For special events, such as the Grey Cup, additional seating could be added. This made it the second-largest stadium in Canada, after Montreal's Olympic Stadium, and the largest without a dome. After Winnipeg Stadium, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, installed AstroTurf on their field for the 1988 CFL season, the stadium was the last in the CFL to have a natural grass surface (a few teams from the CFL's American expansion notwithstanding); it would have this distinction for the next 21 years.