Yes... They will finanlly get it
No.... They will screw this up royally
hmmm... not sure? how much money will they make from this?
The city documents regarding the LOI are dry but a couple tidbits to me are:
phase 1 and 2 are soccer only. With a fair bit of signage amendments. The revised signage, new signage and the approvals for MAPLE LEAF SQUARE signage are potentially significant revenue generators. When the actual revenues are not inpublic documents i tend to get very curious. And slipping in some outdoor video boards at Maple Leaf Square? It's what MLSE do....
pahse 3 is the CFL phase. Which only means 15 ft south expansion and nothing north. The design will keep the field as is width wise. That is a bi unexpected but certainly helps in the over all costs that the east and west side dont need extensive rip ups. Expanded rogers club area. Is the 55 yard line going to be slightly south of the current midfield(?)
Sliding seating at the ends expected i guess.
roof is in phase 1-2. I was wondering about a contiguous roof line. Seems to me the roof will be in pieces and perhaps not on the ends at all. Can't imagine a complete ring roof and still fit in 10,000 temp seats under it. Phase three says the south end is to pick up additional 1300 seats but the cfl fieldd length is needed. They plan to have 15 feet more space used to the south so with the space on the south end top walk way 8 new rows of seats could get them there. A roof on the south end which would rock for acoustics might mean limited or no south corner temp seats. Might they be thinkig no roof on south end(?)
north end requires no perimeter expansion as per LOI but is to be renovated with additional seats.
all permanent seating addtions coming on east side. Including premium areas, suites and (likel) and new deck on top of existing plus roof all in phase 1-2.
so temp seats allowance in my mind means no roof on north or south end
They are not ripping up the floor to install grass. The grass will sit in trays that will lock together on top of the concrete floor This allows them to fix/replace sections that aren't growing right, however, it would take weeks to remove them all, as result the stadium must stay in baseball mode from April to September. The Skydome will be available October through February for tradeshows, monster trucks, CFL games, and for TFC if needed for winter Champions League fixtures.
I don't see how they can put roofs over rebuilt BMO field Kops. The roof will be line is alot lower than above since east and west stands will only be double decker of only 8-10k each... especially considering they want to add a ton of seats (up to 25k) additional events like a Heritage classic. Also note the Kop above isn't under the roof in the picture, its just support beams.
I think they want would rather spend money instead on east stands and adding with revenue generating tier like box suites and club seats in between a new 2nd deck, and of course a flatpack roof over the west and east stands.
They only want to add 10K seats for special events raising capacity of the stadium from 30,000 to 40,000. So that's 5,000 additional temporary on each end. They will easily be able to do that.
Not all the temporary seats will be under the roof at BMO - same as above - but all the permanent ones will
This is not correct
The Toronto Blue Jays have determined it is possible to grow and maintain a grass playing surface inside the facility by digging up the floor, adding a drainage system and topping it with about 30 centimetres of dirt.
“We need the time as well to make sure we do this right, because we’ve got one shot at this,” said Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president of business operations. “As soon as you put jackhammer to concrete . . . you better know what you’re doing.”
Last edited by Kaz; 06-12-2014 at 06:42 PM.
Based on the documents.. and this is just a guess
Leave the Grass as is.
Option 1
Phase 1. Upgrade the amenities on the East and West side, and the extra seating. Leave the North and South relatively unchanged.
Phase 2 add a Roof over the West and East Stands, Adjust the Facade to accommodate temporary seating and Put the roof footings in for the North and South for when phase three is completed. Build the NBA facility.
Phase 3 Argo's replace the North and South Stands, put on the Roof, and replace the Pitch, upgrade the amenities with the new Concourse.
Option 2
Leave the grass
Phase 1 Upgrade the Amenities on the East and West side, Add in the Extra seating. Tear out the North End stands and the hospitality suits and build the new Concourse, with cheap (ie like what is there now) seats on the north End.
Phase 2 upgrade the facade to accommodate temporary seating and but the footings in for the roof, build the NBA Facility.
Phase 3 Put in the Retractable seats where the North and South Stands are, put in the hybrid turf and if MLSE isn't pissed off, put in the roof.
I am assuming they want to do the upgrades to the East and West stands, adding the extra seats to the east side, and likely do very little to the North end.
Then put a Roof over the East and West stands. and the footings for them in the final placement for the North and South stands but not the room it self.
But first and foremost make sure they can put in the temporary seats for the Winter Classic.
Holy crap!!! My understanding was they were digging up a "some" concrete to install drainage for the watering of the tray system which are 10-12 inches high and drain. They are testing grass types and lights at the UofGuelph. I thought the type lighting system was the biggest hurdle to grass and it will take a few years to get it right.
Thats a crap load of concrete to dig up and dirt to bring in. This is $100m+ project. wow.
Why would they give up all the tradeshow, concert, event revenue over the winter. I guess you can keep it baseball seating mode for that. but on grass?
Where are we going to play February Champions League fixtures in future. BMO will be under 2 feet of snow.
Ontario Liberal win majority government. So I guess this means MLSE/City of Toronto wouldn't have any problems getting them to contribute $10 million.
^^^^
The same way the Greenbay Packer's can play, but I wont be so sure about having CCL games in February just yet.
Expect the Federal Tories to double down on not providing any cash - anything they can do to embarrass the people who are keeping their brethren in Ontario from their rightful place, they will do.
BTW, I once ran a provincially funded centre that had a budget of about $10 million - that amount is chicken feed to the province, if they choose to spend it. Its lost change to the Feds.
There's going to be federal election next year which many predict Liberals are going to win with minority government. So I except funds to come after 2015 election unless Justin Trudeau doesn't believe in helping out CFL/Argos, but if he's anything like his dad, then I except Justin wouldn't have problem helping out Argos/CFL.
I still do not get this roof plan. If they want seating behind the roof the seats will have to be incredibly high to maintain sightlines or just lower than the roof. This would make they permanent stands much lower than the roof and capacity lower than it should be.
Does someone see this differently?
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
until we see final drawings we won't know for sure what is happening
That is how i saw it. Also, if temp seats are to go under a roof, the roof would be open at the back and bad for acoustics.
lastly, the rendering being referred to in this thread is old. It is not the updated design. Those who have seen the newer design (Larsun and others) have said this.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
Or hope whoever ends up buying Argos either build a stadium or partner up with an university. I know CFL wants Argos to stay in downtown core, but reality is most of their fanbase don't live in Toronto proper. They're pretty much 905 team supported by bunch of old farts who have been Argo fans all their lives. Scary part about Argos is that they're very good team (recent Grey Cup champions who have very good chance making it to Grey Cup this year) and most exciting team in CFL, but yet, they struggle to attract fans.
"This motion is urgent as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has advised that a contract must be entered into with a general contractor and the structural steel ordered for the project by mid June if the first phase of construction is to be completed in time to ensure the availability of the stadium for the Pan Am Games in 2015."
Pretty obvious that the design is complete if they need to put in orders by mid-june.
Now where are those renderings….
they really can't get the image of the Alouettes success at McGill stadium out of their heads. The Als were dead, in fact had already died and been brought back to life and now they're the model, all because of a 25,000 seat downtown stadium. Who knows, it might even work in Toronto, too.
it's really too bad that even with all their money MLSE don't build their own soccer stadium.
It's the nature of this city more than anything. By the way, I was a HUGE Argos fan up until the last few years or so (soccer was always my most favourtie sport), but I think you're right in that they are a team more supported by those in the periphery of the city than by downtown Torontonians, and the crowd is definitely older. And whiter.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
^ I'm not going to lie, I'm probably gonna get tickets for sport shooting, boxing, and maybe volleyball. But it's not like I'm chomping at the bit for any of these events. Luckily, ticket prices are actually quite low. Which makes sense considering the low level of interest. There's just no demand for many of these sports.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
Interesting question regarding where the Argos fan base lives. It was said they are 905ers.
Can the same be said for TFC fans? Parking lots in and around BMO were rarely empty even when the stadium was.
Hopefully soccer and basketball tickets will be cheap as well. It sucks I have go to Hamilton to watch soccer! Since when Hamilton is soccer city?! What a waste to put a premier event in that town. BMO field should be venue for soccer while Hamilton should be hosting Rugby.