http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/article.jsp?content=20070911_173611_4792 This better not happen. BMO is a SOCCER specific stadium and nothing else.
I have to say I am probably the only person who is going to like this idea. I like the idea of the team being more profitable, charging the Argos rent will certainly help the bottom line. Hopefully that means that we can save money on the season tickets in future years, and the team will be able to afford/ have a reason for some much needed expansions. What I don't want to see is the yard lines running across the field. That just looks amateurish and cheap. That I would oppose. It would be funny to have the skydome with 1 tenant.
This is a bit far fetched and speculative. The major problem is the field area - between the north stands and the beer garden is too short for a CFL field, and I believe the width between the east and west stands is too narrow for a CFL field. They also quoted the capacity at 25,000 when it's actually ~20,000 - which makes the author less than credible. So essentially a major retrofit would be needed to bring the stadium size to 30k and CFL dimensions - which will have the same hurdles as TFC expanding with regard to who pays - considering the current city financial status I'm sure they won't foot the bill. I remember a thread a while back that debunked alot of this - or at least named the hurdles necessary for this to get done. That said it's been a looooooooong time since I saw a CFL game outdoors at Exibition place and I do like the atmosphere at BMO... reminds me of the renaissance the Als got when the moved to McGill's stadium.
I could see this happen if the Argos fit the bill for the construction costs. I'm pretty sure all that would be needed is the tearing down of the south end and the removal of the beer garden to make room for the larger field, and the east stand being torn down and re-built to mimic the west stand to add capacity. If the Argos do pay for this, MLSE/TFC won't stop it, because it will allow them to sell more seats, without having to incur the expansion costs. The key here is how willing the Argos are in making this happen. If they want to expand the stadium for TFC, I don't see TFC stopping them. Edit: This is probably good news for people on the season ticket waiting list.
There would have to be some modification to the west stand as well. Currently it does curl around the south-west corner of the field slightly as do two or three of the luxury boxes. They would also need to rebuild or extend the press box so that it was balanced on the new midfield stripe (55 yard line). That might be a godsend to the media who hate the current facility but it is an additional cost. The comment about the lines is very appropriate. Obviously, we would all hate to see permanent lines and event when they're painted over, it's not a good thing. I'd hate to see the effect of a CFL season on our FieldTurf. The other major issue would be the "new" distance from the soccer goal lines to the stands. Assuming a stretched soccer field of 120 yards, the distance of the nearest end seats to the new soccer touchline would be about 45 feet. The only way around that is some sort of movable stand or extendable bleachering as it exists at ACC for the hockey / basketball conversion. Just one more thing to think about. I'm not looking forward to being in the Supporter's section if its nearly 50 feet from the end line! B
I think the would just expand the field evenly north and south. I'm pretty sure there is enough room to do so.
Perhaps but that doesn't leave much room at the north end for a stand, if in fact they would want to put one there. It would also be really close to the Food Building. Actually, I hate even talking about this most unpalatable of possibilities. B
Ya, in the end, this will most likely be the Argos trying to get another sweetheart lease at the SkyDome from Rogers.
I don't see how it would benefit anybody for the Argos to come to BMO. I think you have hit the nail on the head as to what the argo's management is up to.
During the summer I asked some reps of the Argos why they don't consider playing at BMO. They had a pretty quick and easy answer. The Argos have the biggest attendance in Toronto and the stadium just won't hold 35,000 people. BMO is a long way off holding CFL games. Seems like Sportsnet are just talking out of their back end again.
What are we to do with all the streamers then? we better get the Blue Jays bullpen to join the RPB in the supporters section
Visions of he NY Red Bulls game in NY with the lines all over the field are popping into my head - please NO! I thought one of the original ideas was to build a stadium with the Argos at York and they backed out.
I changed my mind. I am opposed to the Argos coming. The lines, the bigger field, fans sitting farther away from the game. Those things will ruin the atmosphere.
It's not like TFC or MLSE have a choice anyways, the stadium is owned by the City of Toronto, and if the Argo's want to, It'll happen, they have more then enough money to support an expansion of that stadium, and it could easily get expanded to 25,000 + Argos also have 3 5 year options at Rogers Center, one which ends 2009?, As far as i knew they do not pay any rent at the Rogers Center also.
This "story" is just silliness from a reporter. It was mentioned as a couple of paragraphs in the Toronto Star today http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/255584 The main thing to key in on is "`It's not CFL ready, let alone enough seats for our fans,' owner says" So, a reporter asked if the Argos would be interested. The owner says, "We're starting to look at (moving) as a possibility". That's moving anywhere (although the article doesn't say why the Argos might want to move at all). The reporter asks about BMO Field (which makes sense since there really aren't many other possibilities). The owner replies that its very early in the discussion of movign at all but BMO Field is too small and doesn't have enough seats. I really can't see this happening.
I like it for one reason: we get more seats. However, TFC supporters must not be any further from the field than they are now, in any re-configured stadium and each team needs a separate playing surface. Currently, the Blue Jays and Argos have separate playing surfaces and there is no reason that TFC and the Argos should not continue the practice.
Another short article in the Star outlining the problems with trying to fit the Argos into BMO. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/256074 The summary is: - up to $20 million - need way more seats - have to maintain soccer atmopshere
Another interesting point from the article: Another CP Article: http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/Argos+face+a+lot+of+challenges+in+quest+to+leave+Rogers+Centre+for+BMO+Field/CFL/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=23310020&feedname=CP_EN_FOOTBALL_CFL&show=True&number=6&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc
I'm a fan of both the Argonauts and Toronto FC, and I think both teams are fine right where they are. The Rogers Centre isn't 100% ideal for gridiron football, but the Argos bring in about 35,000 fans for most regular season games and even more for the playoffs. BMO Field only holds a bit over 20,000 and there's no roof. I think the expense of expanding BMO would outwiegh the benefits of moving the Argos to the stadium. I wouldn't really mind it if they do go ahead and expand the stadium for CFL matches, but BMO is tailor-made for soccer, it's hard to find a good reason to change that.
aren't we all forgetting that the requirement for MLS expansion franchises is that they have a SSS (soccer specific stadium) so wouldn't that violate that, one year after we are created?
But the Columbus Crew are already hosting high school football in their SSS. While I see how this could happen, the only why I see it occurring for sure is if MLSE buys the Argos.
that's American highschool though, it doesnt require a major redesign of the stadium like CFL football does.