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| Could the Double Blue Come to BMO? |
I love Canadian football. When people start talking about how "it's not as good as the NFL" I'm the first to explain that the CFL comes from the rugby roots and that it's actually much more "pure" than the NFL version is (at least in terms of to sport of football evolving from ruby). I still like the NFL but I feel the CFL is a more entertaining game.
The Toronto Argonauts are, and always have been, my team in the CFL. From my early teens when Pinball and Flutie were kicking butt to the surprise season of 2004 to the resurgence of the team the past couple of seasons.
That said the Argos DO NOT belong at BMO field.
In order to accommodate the Argos you would need to:
A) Essentially demolish a whole side of the stadium and rebuild it further out (I assume the east stands).You will also need to do the same with the north or south end to make the field longer.
B) The field will need to go back to turf. Tim Leiweke mentioned that currently BMO holds rugby matches and that Stubhub Stadium in LA also held football games. That's fine but not comparable. Those are once, maybe twice a year type of events. The CFL is a full 18 game season (9 home games) which run at the same time as MLS does. Not to mention any games that the Canadian national soccer teams may play. That's a lot of wear and tear on the grass.
C) Add more seating. It's too small. BMO holds 22 thousand. Outside of 8 seasons since 1959 the Argos average attendance has been higher than 22 thousand. It doesn't make sense to be moving to a smaller stadium!!!
Honestly, it drives me crazy. Yes the Roger's Centre is too big for the Argos (It's too big for the Jays too for that matter) and the likelihood of replacing the dome seems very small as Rogers has been putting money into upgrading it but I just don't think BMO is a fit for the Argos.
I realize that the Argos need something smaller than the Roger's Centre. I also would like to see an outdoor stadium for the Argos maybe something that seats 35 thousand and can expand for Grey Cup games or big CIS games but that's not the point. The point is that the Argos do not belong in BMO Field.
Good writeup. I mostly disagree with it though.
ReplyDeleteI have to start with the fact that i'm from Montreal, and now live in Toronto. I remain a diehard IMFC fan and a pretty good fan of the Als. But I think TFC, and Toronto, need to succeed for the sake of all Canadians.
C. Let's start with the real debate. Should BMO be expanded? We all agree that for a “national stadium” its pretty crappy. Leaving aside capacity for a moment we know it needs serious work. MLSE has clearly said so.
So if we know the stadium needs serious work, why not have a complete retrofit project? Add a roof, upgrade concessions and a million other issues. Plus modify the stands.
I say this while completely ignoring TFC’s present issues. I think they don’t matter. The team will recover, the fans will return, the glory days of yore will be back. Neo-TFC will sell out 25,000 or whatever they end up with.
Seriously, if they know they have 17+9 guaranteed dates, it will increase their capital budget and they can renovate much more than they would otherwise.
Specifically though:
A:Why do the east stands need to be torn down? In my estimation the width of the field is more than sufficient. It's 74 yards, while CFL needs 68 yards. That's not including the existing bench space.
In terms of length though, the field is lacking 35 yards.
The West stands are newly constructed, but modifying the VIP tables beneath them to be removable would give us about 10 yards with little effort. I don't think any complete demolition would be necessary. You put astroturf under it, and put VIP space or whatever on it for TFC games.
The east stands would indeed have to be redone. There needs to be about 25 yards more room. But my solution would to demolish the current ones, and install retractable or movable stands. It’s been done at the Rogers centre, and a million other places with no issue. As long as the engineers don't totally screw up, the stands would be no different than they are now.
Now, for the most important issue. The Grass.
You have a point. The field would undergo much more abuse than it does now, but that’s not unprecedented.
I am suggesting that BMO install Desso Grassmaster. Consider the list of Stadiums with it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desso_GrassMaster
Of that list, consider Cardiff City and Swansea. 1, now 2 EPL teams that share their grounds with a Rugby team. Swansea’s Liberty Stadium host 11 Rugby games a year, from August to May. Thats worse than us because the seasons overlap completely.
Also, look at this article about the maintenance of Lambau Field.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/137327223.html
With careful maintenance and specialized equipment, that field is kept in perfect condition.
Why can’t we make it work?