BMO Field
Skydome
It costs $70,000 for most organizations to rent the Skydome, so it already appears more cost effective than taking the risk of bursting pipes at BMO
Let's be real here:
1) 5000-10000 fans (I may be generous here) for a QF game in a (at the very least) chilly BMO field would suck. While I understand the romanticism of playing in "Our Home" with "True fans" that want to be there. No matter how loud and passionate those fans are, it's not a home advantage. Our players will hate playing in the cold as much as our opponents. There is nothing intimidating about it, especially if there are strong winds killing any sound those people make. Unless there were some way to fill BMO under those conditions, which I just don't see fickle Torontonians doing, it's pointless.
2) If we could even get 35000 people (hopefully more) in an enclosed Rogers Centre, it would at least provide an opportunity for a home advantage. I think it has the potential to be awesome if pulled off properly.
I think playing this game at BMO would end up being a disappointment. If the goal is truly to provide a home field advantage, people need to seriously consider the advantages of Rogers Centre. People need to understand that the casual fan, like it or not, is an important element in making these things a huge success.
Wait a minute....
Do these guys talk to each other?
Tom Anselmi is talking about burst pipes in March.
Paul Beirne is talking about how they wouldn't be able to get turf to be laid down at SkyDome.
I think Carts is right. I think they're going to have to bite the bullet and winterize the pipes given that a) this is hopefully a more common occurrence and b) that the MLS schedule is likely to stretch longer - earlier start - hopefully deeper in the playoffs for TFC.
I suggest they talk between the two of them.
And Rogers Centre is booked from March 14 to 18th as someone pointed out for Disney on Ice.
So there is that to deal with as well if it comes up.
Don't MLSE want to stage a "Winter Classic" at BMO?
Will they get so much extra revenue that $100.000 for burst pipes is not an issue?
O, Maple Leaf around the world, You speak as you rise high above,
Of courage, peace and quiet strength, Of the Canada that I love.
Remind us all, our union bound by ties we cannot sever,
Bright flag revered on every ground, The Maple Leaf forever
Paul's also been saying that they are going to have to go to SkyDome and look at the turf, and that a decision will have to be made, and that's weeks away. I don't think we can criticize them about telling us what they are all thinking long before they make a decision. Would you prefer they just kept completely quiet until a decision is made? There's no indication they aren't talking to each other. They both seem quite clear that putting down grass at Rogers isn't an option.
The game is most likely March 6th to March 8th - unless Tauro pulls off a minor miracle tonight in Mexico City. Even if they do, I'm quite sure that whichever opponent we draw, won't object to Toronto give up home-field advantage and swapping dates - particularly if it means they won't have to play outside in mid-March!
Theres nothing happening at SkyDome from mid-Feb to mid-March. Hell, TFC can run training camp there to get them prepared for the CCL match.
2012 will be such a momentousness year!
The year TFC goes the furthest Canadian team in the CCL
The year TFC draws the most in attendance in the CCL, beating Montreals record in the year they join the league
The year TFC makes the playoff
The year where 2012 brings the feelings of 2007
Personally I don't care where they are playing it.
football outdoors in winter is too much for players and casual fans to handle ?
i just don't know how they do it in europe every year, must be magic or sorcery
Glad to see the debate going on - we all know what a poll can do for a thread! 2/3 supporting BMO so far, and we've heard contradictory evidence that either/neither will be possible. Once again the board delivers drama!
One quick comment - funny to see people automatically dismissing players from warmer clients as not being able to handle the cold... doesn't seem to stop the same types of players from prospering in Europe! But certainly one would think we would have an advantage over an entire team.
Again, I want to call on the leaders of the group to mechanize, and ensure wherever the game is played we have our say with ticket allocation/pricing and seating protocol. And if you already have, please let us know the details in the membership section.
They don't deal well with the kind of temperatures we can get with in early March - not in England at least.
Remember how many cancelled EPL games there were this year? In London last winter, the coldest it ever got on any day, was only -9°C - and it got up to 0°C every day. There was a day in January that the high was only -1°C - however the lowest it got the entire month was only -2°C. You know how the ground freezes in Toronto in the winter, even if there's no snow - and the grass turns brown - and you can't dig in the garden because it's frozen? That doesn't happen in England - people grow some veggies in their garden through the winter. The grass stays green, and it's very unusual for the ground to freeze. Even on many houses, they don't insulate the pipes; it's not unusual to see the waste-water (sewer) from a second story bathroom going in a pipe on the outside of the house, into the ground.
True,Apparently Europe has tropical temperatures so non of our foreign players would be able to adapt and play in the city where they live-Toronto.
As far the pipes goes,well , they had to be fixed sooner than later,MLS schedule is moving more toward the 1st week of March so Tommy you will have to spend some teachers pension $$$ no matter what you cheap F*$@
BMO Hands Down - We can play in the freezing weather and snow...can the opponents? I think not. Advantage TFC.
BMO.. thread over.
Skydome for me.. the weather advantage is negligible -- both teams have to play in the same conditions, and I don't think our players will enjoy it either. It'll be ugly football too, particularly if it rains.
People think that the CCL is more important than playoffs -- well, the general public doesn't understand that yet. If you have the game at BMO, the average person won't show up, and we've lost an opportunity to get people hyped up about TFC. We already have the diehards on board. The opportunity to bring more people on board shouldn't be lost. And I'm not going to rag on casual fans here. Get as many in the stadium as possible, and Skydome is the place to do that.
I also think it'll be much louder and imposing (there's a home field advantage in that) under a domed roof than at the roofless, cold, wet BMO. If Montreal can beat Santos Laguna inside a dome 2-0, then we can beat our likely Mexican foes at home as well. We don't need to have a crutch, like the weather.
sir, i think you may have this a little backward ... playing in our home is not romanticism, it is what it is, home - and it will always be to our advantage playing at home .... seems that all those calling for a bland skydome filled with 35-50,000 casual 'supporters' are the ones subscribing to romantic dreams ... the casual fan is not gonna intimidate the opponent, no matter how many cheap or free tickets are given out to make that happen ... bigger is not always better ... we had upwards of 20,000 to BMO on March 26 earlier this year ... the grass is not always greener on the inside (actually its plastic and oddly blueish-green)
wow, seriously, skydome sucks ... ya wanna be warm and comfy to watch TFC in CCL quarter finals, which will be the new next-biggest-game-in-club-history, stay home ... i wanna see football played by warriors on a grass pitch, not on a plastic carpet in a sterile cavern ... this is not romanticism ... and i think you will be very surprised how many would brave whatever march brings weatherwise to see this with me (this poll should be indicative of that ... currently running 66% in favour of our home field)
that's england ... how do they do it in russia in march? or germany? poland? ukraine?
mine was really a rhetorical question ... we know football can be played in cold weather, and the grounds at BMO are heated ... this shouldn't be an issue
this is toronto, not edmonton, and we're talking about march not january, aint that big a deal
insulate the pipes, let's move on
Watch, the game in March is going to be the sunniest Winter day in the history of Toronto
Regardless of where people were born/raised, the fact is that TFC players will have spent the majority of January-March in Toronto, with the exception of the pre-season training in Florida. It's not a matter of what people would prefer, but what they are accustomed to and what they can handle.
Since the Mexican league will be at the height of the Aperatura, it's extremely unlikely that any team will be here more than a couple days ahead of the match, and therefore completely unaccustomed to the temperatures. So, with all due respect, ALL of our players will be much more accustomed to the climate than ANY visiting team.
Insulating the pipes sounds like a good idea. However, I have no idea how easy that is at BMO Field. Of course it's owned by the City/Ex, I'm sure everything has to get approved etc & related complications. Also, were the pipes & washrooms ever designed to be insulated? Are they easily accessible, or in confined/uninsulated spaces which make it more difficult?
What are attendances like in Russia Lobo? And since when is the SkyDome not our home? I've been going there since i was 3 years old in 1989, and our Ontario tax dollars paid over 600M for it. I've had some of the fondest memories of my life there (not just baseball: CFL, Raptors, Mandela, concerts etc) and I can assure you that when it's packed with enthusiastic fans that the atmosphere is stellar. The Dome is like our Wembly: for big matches we go to the big house.
Are Mexicans going to be shocked that Canada has cold weather? Or that a Canadian soccer club can fill 40+ thousand seats? I for one would rather not freeze my ass off- we have plenty of dates thru the year to do that. I'd rather see my TFC fill the big house. And you can't question my passion... I've been at my seat in 112 since January '07- in freezing snowy weather before the stadium was finished.
This is a special event people, let's treat it as such. Next year they can winterize BMO and we'll go there in 2013 CCL, but at least once let's do it up big.