From its first day, BMO Field was always something of a paradox. On one hand, the place was alive with passion for Toronto FC, awash in red gear and love for the team that first drove home to MLS clubs the value of marketing to soccer fans rather than soccer families.
That made it a spectacular place, especially when splashed against the backdrop of downtown Toronto. But the facility itself was, well, fairly plain Jane. In all honesty, there are plenty of high school football stadiums in Texas nicer than BMO Field.
This piece in the Toronto Sun nails it: “You begin to scratch your head when considering the club’s two new $100-million men – Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley – are worth much more combined than the stadium they play in.”
As we consider if that about to change, we can also consider whether it’s a good thing?
After all, BMO Field serves its purpose just fine: people show up, buy a brew and watch soccer. It’s not complicated that way. So what if the place is not as swanky as Sporting Park or as large (capacity, that is) as some of the other MLS stadiums, Red Bull Arena or the StubHub Center to name a couple?
So there’s the debate: would a big expansion and improvement project be a gift from the heavens, or would it turn out to be a deal with the devi?
Tim Leiweke, CEO of MLSE, which owns and operates Toronto FC, just offered up some previously undisclosed details, is talking about a $120 million upgrade, which is a little bit more than a “sprucing up,” isn’t it? It would include a roof covering the stands – and who doesn’t love them some roof, all the better for holding in the noise, in addition to keeping out the nasty rain?
Leiweke says TFC and soccer will remain the top priority in the improved, expanded ground. And importantly, he says the club is 100 percent committed to natural grass; remember, this was a stadium initially burdened with artificial turf, something else that made it a soccer paradox right away.
He said the stadium would hold 30,000 for soccer and somewhere just north of 25,000 for the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts – and that’s where this thing gets concerning. Making room for the CFL field would conceivably push some of the seats further away from the soccer field.
