Bingo! Exactly. IN the best possible year for weather, the pitch still required green paint and sand. Sebas comments were a warning.Originally Posted by OgtheDim
Bingo! Exactly. IN the best possible year for weather, the pitch still required green paint and sand. Sebas comments were a warning.
Well on the positive, once we get through the season we'll have no Grey Cup or shinny OR replacement pitch. So far.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
There should be a 35 000 seat hockey specific indoor facility built down there. As the centre of the hockey universe, Toronto should have such a venue... Canadian Hockey Coliseum.
Raps keep A.C.C.
They barely sold out this game plus the signlines in that stadium would be terrible... but it's a great idea maybe shape it down to 25k or 28k and your golden.
I herd there was big blocks of unsold tickets throughout the stadium even just 2 days before the game, it is believed they never actually sold out, rather covered it up with many free give aways and what not. Even guys on sports net talk show with Sid and Tim, who are big hockey guys, were saying they probably only sold like 20,000 tickets, now that number might be a bit of a joke, not sure how serious that number was, but main point was a lot of tickets were definitely not sold.
Many people call Toronto the hockey universe, but many of us know that is not true. It is more of a Leaf Universe, but even that might not be quite true when a team has suffered for so long, and ticket prices have been over priced for so long. I think a lot of people don't even bother trying to purchase tickets. Many people including myself stopped following Leafs and got more interested in TFC or Blue Jays or Raptors these days. Turns out Leaf fans actually don't always have a bottomless pocket of cash for everything Leafs.
Last edited by james; 01-03-2017 at 06:09 PM.
Bravo to you skeptics in recent posts above for calling a pocketful of bird poo for what it is. This event really was little more than a huge marketing mirage.
Kinda like calling the south end 'canopy' an actual roof.
I had the slightly undesirable duty of poking through the innards of this crassly commercial beast and, despite the feathers and lingerie fluttered by a slightly desperate NHL, found it to be a slightly lame exercise that, to their collective credit, was scarcely embraced by fans, players, media or corporate partners.
Quite frankly, and to my pleasant surprise, this city's sports fans are proving far too savvy to unquestioningly swallow this marketing bullcrap longterm. It might have worked once. It should work again with Montreal Canadiens as opponents. But my initial assessment that this sort of event might be an annual event has evaporated.
Toronto offers a cultured and well-moneyed audience that demands quality and a proper sporting experience for the financial and faithful support its passionate fans can provide. Sure, there was some fun to be had with this event. But it also opened a lot of eyes to the fact that this event probably won't fly as regularly as MLSE's money men had initially hoped.
To which I can only say 'fcukin' A'.
The sooner MLSE realizes that it needs to focus on making each venue it operates the best experience possible for the core product, the better fans will respond. BMO Field is a soccer stadium. Make it so. Enrich the soccer heritage it has fostered. Move the Argonauts out to a venue where they can create their own identity and begin re-growing their sport within a Toronto market that has long forgotten it. That isn't happening at BMO Field where all the complications with soccer will only work against the Argonauts.
And let the Leafs have this venue again once a more permanent and far tighter 35,000+ seat arrangement can be configured.
Last edited by greatwhitenorf; 01-03-2017 at 10:46 PM.
So the pitch is ripped up and we're ready for the reset. We get the first 3 weeks away from BMO, first 2 games. Plenty of time.
I can't imagine the Leafs coming back to the well after that barrel scraper that had an anniversary to back it up. That event was priced accordingly to what Leafs fans think of history and Canada thinks of its game. Leafs-Habs for half the cost would get the people out but I can't see it happening.
If so I wonder if they would sched it the same or opposite year as the next Toronto Grey Cup?
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
I'm guessing the next Grey Cup in Toronto is also seriously delayed, unless things really change with the Argos as well as CFL interest in the area. It seems most people (at least that are allowed to voice their opinion) are pretty unhappy with how things turned out here in the 2016 Grey Cup.
The papers are hearing rumors that there is no way the Grey Cup will be back in Toronto for at least a decade.
Next is Ottawa, then they will take it west to Alberta prolly but if the above is true, so be it. That's great. It just means that MLSE has decided that the Grey Cup isn't a money maker and the Argos move wasn't worthwhile. They certainly don't expect to make more money WITHOUT the Grey Cup here.
I feel for the groundscrew that will be so scrutinized for so little added value to our corporate overlords.
But just because we're keeping score it took 1 (ONE) Grey Cup in Toronto to discover that the Argos move was not the profit that MLSE hoped for. That's a shame for them but a win for me and TFC.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
Wonder if BMO will end up hosting a CPL cup if thats the format they are after.
My understanding is there is a deal with the Argos ownership to have another Grey Cup here in the next decade. It was part of the deal to get Bell/TSN to buy in.
FWIW, Globe article from 19 months ago
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle24491064/
But that was before the wake-up call that was the Argos this season and the Grey Cup ticketing debacle. They seriously underestimated the damage done to the Argo's brand by the past two ownership groups. They expected to make money on the event and they most likely didn't. They'll wait as long as possible before bringing it back so they can ensure that they'll generate revenue.
Ah. Of course. If TSN gets some Grey Cup gate at all and papers the stands so it doesn't look shameful on their coverage they recoup a bit from peddling their losing product. This has little to do with MLSE and BMO.
At least it won't be for 3 years yet. Our pitch sched will be better this year.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
Toronto FC and the grounds crew were featured on SGL. Very nice case study with more chapeters on the way.
(Side note: In a perfect world, BMO Field would be like the diagram the site has shown)
http://sglconcept.com/case/BMO-field.php
Do you think it's still possible to put the roof on the north side? Plus on the website they referred to American football field sizes not CFL sizes.
Now that's a paid for Advertisement if I ever saw one.
I think it's most likely possible. The only thing to keep in mind is the 2 north end beams. They currently have flood light extensions for both beams. But why add a north end roof if there won't be as many seats as the south?
Yes I know that, but that's predicated on Argo's ownership assuming they can make a ton of money off the Grey Cup, as others above have alluded to. Judging by the initial 2016 Grey Cup ticket pricing, it seems they seriously miscalculated in Toronto. The general disinterest for the Argos also plays a role: there seems to be little excitement about the Argos at their "new" stadium. Local fans are the most important factor for Grey Cup success. Sure some CFL fans travel from around the country, but not in large enough numbers to sell a ton of tickets. Plus Grey Cup at BMO comes with a bunch of restrictions & extra costs.
Just like us, I'm sure Argos ownership & CFL will first "wait and see" how Argo's ticket demand, viewership, and on-field success develops before finalizing future Grey Cup plans. Based on some of what I've read, I think that Argo's season ticket numbers will crater next season. 2016 Argos season-ticket holders & other ticket buyers were seriously pissed off. Huge numbers of regular-season tickets were given away for most games, and generally available for very cheap. And Grey Cup ticket prices were slashed after dismal sales, so SSH'ers & others who bought Grey Cup tickets early looked & felt foolish. No rebates were offered to those people: only "credit" for future Argos ticket purchases.
Not that I care much, but Argos better start 2017 on a very different note if they want to have any chance of turning things around: much lower ticket prices, on-field success, etc.
Last edited by Auzzy; 01-07-2017 at 09:51 AM.
Just to be clear - my only point about the Argos and another Grey Cup is how there will be another quick turn around for the pitch potentially in the next 10 years.
It should be noted that the Argos are likely sometime to also host a home playoff game which means another quick turn around.
And, it seems that Fox and ESPN took note of how the mid week MLS playoff game ratings were actually quite good and are suggesting to the league to consider more mid week playoff dates.
All this becomes variables with the pitch.
It could be several years before the Argos host a playoff game at BMO.
Leaf Fans
I would say that Leaf fans are those from every smaller city/town across Ontario who want to eventually come to the mecca to watch a game. The demographics in Toronto have changed dramatically. The TFC game sold out in minutes, the Raptors have a young hip fan base. This 100 year anniversary classic which I watched with my sons and who were joking when all of the great grandparents were paraded out before the game is boring for them. The big screen actually had "make some noise" on it at one point. I think hockey is in trouble but the Bob McClown's of this world don't want to admit it.
and with money getting tighter while equipment becomes more ridiculous, it'll get worse.
I mean I'm financially comfortable and I am having a tough time seeing me choose anything more than timbits hockey for my young son.
Like for me growing up, ball hockey and neighborhood outdoor ice hockey will always be there, but organized ice hockey just seems too expensive and time consuming.
Ice hockey could go the way of golf and tennis, make it an elite sport that still draws a decent crowd
$200+ hockey sticks is just ridiculous.
I think the Leafs at BMO thing is dead in the water.
What we have to worry about next will be concerts.
I don't care if we're hosting CPL finals. At least that helps the game.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
MLSE won't let a concert ruin the field they spent millions of $ on. You know how well they keep and spend their money.
Are you being serious? Seriously can't tell.
They've already talked about the possibility.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
OVO Fest will be at BMO Field one day
06-18-09 i was there
Don't English premier stadiums hosts concerts all the time like Wembly or Ethiad stadium? Usually their pitch turns out fine
If we get a new soccer specific stadium on the water where that "new" budweiser place is I'm down with it!
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
"fine". Yes. But a search on either Wembley or Etihad post concert will not be unanimous.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
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