Yeah I don't get why people tend to assume that the Argos would have to be owned by MLSE in order to play at BMO Field. I don't think Wagner is suggesting that in his post, but others have. BMO Field is a property managed and maintained by MLSE that just for now happens to have one primary tenant - Toronto FC, which just happens to be also run by MLSE. And if they can bring in another tenant to maximum potential revenue from the property, they will likely do so.
Last edited by Cashcleaner; 03-24-2015 at 05:11 PM.
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.
So the city gets the money from a lease? Or MLSE?
The City gets a cut of most of the revenue (after costs) and obviously has a portion of time set aside for community events - but I'm not sure about the complete details
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.
Bob McCowan looking for callers on this now
Ugh...some dude on twitter tried to tell me that the municipal workers in Edmonton know more about doing a thorough change over from gridiron to soccer then those at Wembley.
The ignorance out there on this issue is high. People in Edmonton thinking the status of the Esks to that of FCEdmonton is the same as the Argos to TFC.
Can't wait for the first discussion on the TSN football panel about the Argos not getting first choice of dates etc.
Kelly uses a staffer to do this stuff btw, but it is driven by his own thoughts. Thankfully they don't tweet out his former ramblings about climate change.
Maximum of 10 home games (9 regular season and 1 playoff game) they play there preseason game at varsity. the schedule can work for both. Houston Dallas L.A. Chicago all have some football games played in there stadium at points in the year and all still have grass. Will not be any worse then how the field was at the beginning of last season.
Where's CSA in all this mess? Isn't this suppose to be "National Soccer Stadium"? What was the point of getting Feds involved when first funded this stadium if they're letting MLSE do whatever it wants with it.
Note: Without CSA, there will be no tax money coming from Federal government to build BMO field which was built for FIFA Under 20 World Cup and Canadian national soccer teams (both men and women).
Chicago had significant issues last season due to the local burghers wanting high school football at that supposedly sss.
I share the concerns with pitch quality. I share the concerns with painted ads and lines left behind. I am concerned with MLSE guiding the process. How the stands will adjust is only one area still to be properly determined.
For me though, the biggest concern is one of karma. The Argos arrive like a bad smell. No options, no profit, no money, an owner who wants out yesterday. The Argos have been a sinking ship in the GTA for decades. I am one of many who are astounded at the Ontario tv ratings for CFL and Argos. I have not overheard water cooler talk about the Argos in eons. NFL and US College = football in the GTA.
The Argos are the ghost of Toronto sports teams and they could be said to stagger into BMO because they have no place left to go. I should pity them. I should recall the glory days and what they meant to me as a child, a teen, a young man....but if they stagger it is due to decades of self-inflicted wounds. Pull together.....ha. This is their last stop.
The assumption is that if MLSE owned the Argos, they would have more incentive to accommodate them.
While it's true that MLSE will make some money off the Argos as tenants for 9 dates per year (plus playoffs), it's less clear whether that money is worth the tradeoff of whatever the impact is on the team they DO currently own, which has a million times the future growth potential for them, than a CFL team does.
If they don't own the team, then the Argos are just another date in the event calendar - except they're an event that requires extensive stadium retrofitting, potential damage to their expensive soccer pitch, and a compromising of the experience for the fans of the team they actually own.
I don't think the calculus is (or at least, should be) a simple "more money = good" axiom.
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
There were a few little things thrown out today across twitter speculating that the move of the Argos to BMO is not being met with universal cheer by TFC brass.
They will never admit it, of course. But I do remember Larson, for one, indicating that TFC brass are anxious to continue to be able to draw good players, and don't want the field to be an issue.
On another note, I don't think Braley gives 2 bits of cat dung about what happens to TFC if his team is playing at BMO. And he probably cares even less to acquiesce to MLSE beyond the contractual. Good thing MLSE has great lawyers.
Well, it shouldn't be, but have you seen how these guys have run their other businesses? Think of BMO as your cable and phone service... Maybe one thing that will keep MLSE (through Bell/TSN) from getting too interested in the Argos and the CFL is the steps the CRTC is taking to reduce the amount of Canadian content required.