As expected, the Exhibition Place board approved MLSE's proposal to expand the north end of BMO
Field by 1200 or so seats. The plan will now proceed to Toronto City Council in the New Year for a
final checkmark which will probably be met with little resistance. A short while ago this would
have been joyous news for TFC fans.
We're not as against turf fields as many, but there is no doubt that MLS raises its stature and
increases its chance of success as a business (by attracting those who are put off by such fields),
when it converts to grass. Such is the case in Toronto, where Field Turf is no longer and grass
is on the way.
That's not to say it can't happen, I'm just going to bet the farm it won't.
First, on the Canadian Football League. It has come a long way in the past ten years or so,
emerging from a relative dark age of bankruptcy and ill-advised American expansion. It is our most
important all-Canadian professional league, making the Grey Cup among the most important domestic
trophies in Canadian sport, and it will be here for years to come.
----------------------------Why is this man smiling?
The Argos-to-BMO Field story is truly becoming an annoyance. Just when fans of either TFC or indeed
the Argos think they know which way the wind is blowing, something shifts. Everyday that goes by
seems to generate a new rumour and a resolution seems distant.
STARTERSPortfolio has done a very interesting study of the top American markets available for expansion,
and those that are over saturated. Click on the MLS logo to see what the study says. One thing I
find every interesting about all of this is how few "major markets" they feel are available.
The fears of many Toronto FC supporters were eased today as reports then confirmation arrived
announcing that the Toronto Argonauts can and will not move to BMO Field in 2010. What started out
as loud whispers from the CFL Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas was later confirmed by the
Argos themselves.
My posts have been a little few and far between lately since the end of the MLS season there
hasn't been much action around Toronto FC, other than the hiring of a new coach. But there are a
few tidbits of news I thought I'd share:
Goodbye Guevara Attacking midfielder Amado Guevara has left Toronto FC and
signed a 2-year contract with the Honduran club Motagua.
Stadium news from our Cascadian brothers today, as both the Whitecaps and Timbers have some
announcements and renderings concerning their stadiums.
Up to the North we find out that the temporary facility looks better than many of the permanent
stadiums down here. The Empire Fields site will be used for all of 2010, and part of 2011 as BC
place goes through its major rennovation.
