Ahead of the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, the stadium received a $24-million facelift. Major investments included a new facade, an enlargement of the concourse, improved lighting, a new scoreboard and an all-new all-weather running track. Ahead of the 2008 season the stadium underwent a reconfiguration, reducing its capacity to 59,537. For the nine seasons prior to 2010, the natural turf was replaced eight times, costing $50,000 each time. The natural grass turf was replaced with FieldTurf Duraspine Pro in May 2010, making the Eskimos the last CFL team to switch to artificial turf (and made all fields in the CFL having artificial turf; this would last for six seasons), and the last team to play on grass until the Toronto Argonauts began playing at BMO Field for the 2016 season. The investment cost $2.6 million and was split evenly between the city and the Eskimos. The work included the removal of of soil, and the turf has a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years. It will cost $500,000 to replace. The reason for the replacement was to reduce injuries, reduce the need for watering and fertilizer, will allow a green turf for the entire season, including at Grey Cups (when the weather is especially cold in Edmonton during that time of year), will allow the venue to host more events, as concerts and the like will not damage the field, and that turf is recycled and recyclable.