BMO FIELD TO UNDERGO FACELIFT
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| Photo courtesy Toronto Star |
TORONTO (CP) – Renovations are underway at BMO Field, with a light being left on at the construction zone if the money can be found to shoehorn in the Toronto Argonauts.
First up is a $105-million facelift to a bare-bones stadium built on a $62.5-million shoestring as part of the deal to bring the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and Major League Soccer to Canada.
“It became really obvious to us that we were taking a backdoor in Major League Soccer relative to our facilities, even in a seven-year-old building,” Bob Hunter, chief facilities and live entertainment officer at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, said after the ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday.
“This is going to take us back to the top of the MLS stadium category,” he added.
Phase 1, to be completed by May 2015, will see the stadium capacity raised to 30,000 with 8,500 new seats plus additional washrooms and concessions, in the East stand. A larger high-definition video board will replace the existing screen at the north end while new suites and premium areas will help add to the MLSE coffers.
MLSE, which owns the MLS team and runs the city-owned stadium, is putting in $95 million to help pay for the first two phases. The city is kicking in $10 million, which MLSE will repay with interest over 20 years.
Phase 3 is where the Argos come in, with a plan to reconfigure the field to accommodate CFL football.
Cost of all three phases is going to be $125 million, with MLSE looking for the provincial and federal governments to contribute $10 million apiece. That has yet to happen, so Phase 3 is on hold.
There is a time concern. The Argos have a lease at Rogers Centre through 2017. But that deal can’t be renewed, meaning they must find a new home for the ’18 campaign.
The city wants the Argos to join Toronto FC at BMO Field. But it has gone along with MLSE’s wish that $20 million come from elsewhere.
Well unless the govy does an about face the argos may be toast. shameful city doesnt even want them. whats 20mil for a city that size. hope they enjoy thier soccer.
a city full non canadians will never give a hoot about the cfl.
Extremely short sighted vision and planning from the start.
Didn't they say no to a CFL size field back then too?
There's $10M of your federal tax dollars going into the pockets of private sport franchises again.
If the sport was viable, they wouldn't need public money. (and really, is soccer a sport?)
It really is pathetic that the biggest city in Canada which has likely a half dozen cfl football fields at least between universities and high schools can't find a place for their professional football team to play. The Feds and Ontario aren't going to contribute any money so the league better find $20 million to bail these guys out again. Even with a marginal fan base, it blows my mind that a 25-30 thousand seat stadium seems like such a stretch.
find it funny people in toronto will support a minor league soccer team because thats what the so called "major" league soccer is, but the cfl is somehow beneath them.keep living in the delusion of a nfl team T.O.
I find it amazing that one individual named Rogers can wreck havoc on the CFL all because he is determined to bring an NFL team to the "Center of the Universe". There are many CFL fans in Toronto who just do not want to go to Rogers Stadium. If they convert or build a new stadium in a decent location, housing about 35,000 it will sell out.
Don't sell Toronto CFL fans short. Its not the fans, its the Toronto Media and Rogers.
Toronto hasn't had a hockey team for decades and it's looking like they might lose their football team too.