Originally Posted by
greatwhitenorf
First and foremost, my conclusions about the Argos begin and end with the word doomed. Why would anyone operating a stadium want to cultivate the presence of a team on life support as a tenant? Can they make rent? Right now, almost all Argos games are meaningless.
In the daily scheme of things here in Toronto, they are on a similar plateau as the Marlies, barely above the Mississauga Steelheads/St.Mike's Majors/Icedogs OHL operations. Many of us know they're there, endorse their existence, but can't be arsed to actually 'care' about them, let alone have meaningful, regular discussions about them. But let's just assume, for a moment, they aren't doomed. Something has to change to make us care about the Argos.
Being second-choice tenants hasn't worked at the dome. Rogers has decided they are more trouble than they're worth. Being second-choice tenants in a soccer stadium won't work either. It won't create a cultural foundation on which to rebuild awareness of the game and fan loyalty. To begin do that, they need to gather all elements of the Canadian football community to a focal point and constantly begin to draw people to their park who do like the Canadian game. Bring in high-profile high school games, showcase the university level, nurture what's left of their fan base. Varsity used to host the Vanier Cup and it was a wild and wonderful occasion. The Argos need to be central to re-creating that. It won't happen at a red-coloured, TFC-branded soccer stadium.
Just like TFC, the Argos have a wealthy owner who can make serious contributions toward a proper home for the Argos. Lovely man, he regularly gives away tens of millions to charitable causes. His Argos are in need of his benevolence right now. He's got the financial wherewithal, and certainly the contacts to find more, to make the sort of contribution to a stadium that MLSE are making to the expansion of BMO Field. Whether he actually cares enough is debatable. If he cared enough might he not have already acted more decisively?
The Argos can't, and shouldn't even try, to alter what BMO Field has become. But they could create a nice legacy for the Pan-Am games stadium site by smartly designing and wisely budgeting for a new, growable stadium at York U. The footprint of land is there and a well-designed facility would contain retractable seats to allow track and field events to continue. It will definitely need some creative work to gain government support, but it's not unfeasible being situated on university property and could be nicely shaped as funding to ensure the PanAm legacy delivers a usable product for years to come. A smart little 20,000-seater for regular season play and they can rent the dome for playoffs and Grey Cup.
Somewhere in all of this, the CFL itself has to become more involved. The current commissioner is Mark Cohon, son of George Cohon, a major wheel with McDonalds restaurants in Canada. There are few people better connected with the financial, political and social communities in Toronto than George Cohon. You should see him work a room at a charity event - wink here, shoulder pat there, nudge of the elbow and suggestively raised eyebrow and winning smiles through it all. At the end of the night, he's tapped his friends and associates and somewhere someone is compiling telephone number-sized donations. I find it hard to believe that if Mark Cohon wanted to pass the hat for the Argos that Daddy-O couldn't put his considerable charm behind the cause to great effect. Mark's CFL administration has had to deal with the brushfire of declining participation. To his credit, he's secured the sponsorship of Nissan to fund 21 high school football programs. An Argos stadium project needs this kind of initiative.
Somewhere, somehow and sometime very soon, the Argos have to stop being the ugly stepchild of sports in this city. Or they'll just stop being. The solution they require shouldn't be a repeat of the mistake of moving into another team's stadium. And let's be clear, the dome was always a baseball-first facility. Nor should a solution be imposed to the inconvenience and displeasure of fans of another sport.
Which brings us to your query about prime vs. secondary. When the secondary tenants needs are a long-term detriment to the primary tenant's needs, it's not a good thing. CFL football will not enhance the quality of TFC's soccer (cue crap soccer jokes). If you wonder about the importance of that, then perhaps you are a CFL fan more than a TFC fan. When one sport can bring in 30 or more events to the other's 10, it's clear what the prime product is.
It's not MLSE that need to build a new stadium, it's the Argos and the CFL. Even if MLSE chose to abandon BMO Field - office staff have admitted to me that it's been considered - where would they build it? BMO Field was built to house and showcase soccer and it's done a terrific job for what it is. It's well placed to deliver a product that is clearly a growing favorite in Toronto. The CFL fan base is not located within the heart of the 416. It is clearly coming from outlying areas, hence it makes more sense for the Argos to play in a facility closer to where that fan base is. And if they were to actually develop a new audience within Toronto proper, the new subway station at York U is there for rapid transit access.