The new stadium going up in Regina looks awesome, its state of the art and looks totally pro.
TD Place is going to be another great place as will Tim Horton's Field
So why does Argos get a Turd dump like BMO field? (That is, if they get it) Its a cookie cutter stadium, built with Lego blocks.
Toronto needs a 1st class place to call its own.
BMO with the over $100 mill in renos will be fine, it's a football first stadium and will be quite fine. Even now as it is, I'd rather go to a game there than the RC, any football first stadium for that matter, which is a basebal first stadium, circular multipurpose cookie cutter stadiums were definitely baseball first when they were built, football was an afterthought. RC is a perfect example, one of the few doughnuts still standing.
BMO is only marginally better then the crap dome.
Both are a disgrace for a city this big.
Toronto got the BEST deal for taxpayers. In Saskatchewan with a much smaller population they will be paying
$253 MILLION DOLLARS of Saskatewan tax payers dollars with only $100 Million to be paid back.
MLSE is paying most of the upgrade/expansion to BMO - Toronto and Ontario taxpayers, by far got the better deal.
Yeah…you guys really need to vote our your other big disgrace in Rob Ford.
and before this gets too political, we all accept that he’s done crack, he’s abused alcohol on several occasions, has serious personal issues that need dealing with and has made a public spectacle of himself countless times. You’d be hard pressed to find a better example of acting disgraceful.
I’m glad he’s getting the help he needs (finally) but these are not qualities you need in a mayor. If you are so concerned about stopping the gravy train, there are other conservative mayoral candidates you could vote for.
But the Riders are community owned and money spent on the stadium is viewed as more personal in nature in Saskatchewan in a different way than say a stadium like BMO is where people feel it's more a private company's playpen. And also in the CFL stadiums aren't viewed as much as multimillionaire playpens for rich athletes, much more of a community asset and feel to the stadiums.
My bet is the community pride of a stadium with a community owned team is more than for privately owned teams and community pride can go a long way to make the quality of life in an area just plain better.
Not saying there aren't detrators in Saskatchewan about the stadium, of course there are, that is always the case with stadiums and arenas especially when pro athletes play out of these and are paid for mainly by taxpayer money and some of these taxpayers might not care for sport at all but would have preferred to see the money spent on say a new theatre or arts place.
The Skydome is an engineering marval, that was built with proven technology, on time and on budget, and will be standing long after all of us are gone.
Time for the CFL to start seeking a new owner for the Argos, and or another GTA CFL team and investors who will build a decent stadium for them, IMHO The Argos rightfull home is the Sky Dome, its the current owner of the building who is the problem, not the Building.
Anyways, the problem with the Dome is that it's too big, I mean, the Eastern Final this year rocked in the Dome. It's just that the Argos can't consistently draw 35+ thousand a game, nor is there an expectation that any CFL team (save maybe Sask) are going to draw those kind of numbers.
Agreed accept it was never really completed as to the designs, it went 200 million( over budget because they ran 3 shifts to complete it for the blue Jays home opener in 89(?)
It was supposed to have Marble tiles throughout!
Yes and Saskatchewan is a lot richer than Ontario too, it’s a “have” province that doesn’t have that massive sink hole called the debt. The Potash industry is booming and they have a huge export market.
If ANY politician in Ontario said they were going to support spending $250 Million for a football stadium they wouldn’t get elected.
Bingo.
Ontario taxpayers are more concerned about other things. New football stadiums are not a priority. If Saskatchewan taxpayers want to make a stadium a priority, great!
But Toronto needs a coherent transportation infrastructure plan a lot more than it needs another stadium.
And when olivia gets in…
Well we can make all the points we want, but when the Argos move to BMO in 2017 and Riders move to Mosaic Field that same year, it will be like comparing the ACC with the Cow Palace in Calgary.
And yes, as an Argo fan, I am happy for the Rider fans, but I am also very Jealous as well.. Heck, I am Jealous of Ti-Cat fans too, they have the awesome Patios on each endzone.
Toronto, gets a Turd stadium, plain and simple...
Toronto’s a lost cause. (the city not the team) need to find a new place to live.
Well then the people of Toronto voted for an outstanding, experienced candidate who might spend more then needed.
The point is, you shouldn’t vote for a candidate whose platform you don’t believe in just to get the existing incumbent out, but you shouldn’t vote for a candidate like Rob Ford who makes your city into an international joke.
But Rob Ford has brought more publicity for Toronto and Canadians than any tourism campaign. They’ve heard about him in Europe the UK and of course the talk shows in the US. Wherever he goes he’s asked for his autograph.
He goes on late night TV gets a standing ovation, the host takes a few shots at him and Rob Ford gets to say what a great city he lives in and everyone should come etc We were on a cruise ship sailing out of Tampa during the winter and one of the comics in the comedy club joked about Rob Ford.
His name is in the news all the time and he will come out of rehab smelling like roses and he will be re-elected with a landslide.
I certainly won’t vote for him, I don’t live in Toronto
It’s a joke of a stadium, not good to watch any sport.
A marvel yea right, that was $400M over budget and there were stories of abuse by the contractor and going right down the line as no doubt pockets were filled by everyone on the backs of the taxpayers.
Just like the Big O.
They have a 1st class stadium, people just want more!! RC has a retractable roof, holds 60K, maybe it’s not the best stadium, but people think it’s a dump…Why because you’re far away from the action??? Compare old Tiger Stadium to Comerica Park, now you’re far away. At Tiger Stadium, you practically RIGHT on top of the players and the field.
I live in Michigan, the Pontiac Silverdome, IMHO was the best stadium, then the Lions leave and go build Ford Field, less capacity, the seating area isn’t even symmetrical, because they want one side of the stadium to house suites, closer to downtown. Plus the Lions weren’t getting the revenue from the concessions that was being sold at the Silverdome. I’m sure Ford Field is nice, but to me the Silverdome was better.
The problem with the Rogers Centre is that it is too big for the Argos for their regular season games. It is fine when there are 35,000+ people in there for a football game and the place has atmosphere.
Sure they have to cover a bunch of lower rows behind the benches with a tarp and seats near the 50 yard line are a bit further from the sidelines than ideal - but when it has a big crowd it is just fine for football. I've been to Grey Cups, some Argos playoffs games, a couple of the International Bowls, a Vanier Cup and yes even a couple of Bills games that had quite good atmospheres with 35,000 +. Nobody was complaining about the venue after those games. (other than the Bills because it was too loud at time for the 'visiting' teams for their liking).
Heck the same is even true for baseball and the Jays. Some seats are not ideal for baseball and it can seem a bit like a morgue at times with some small weeknight crowds but you get a decent crowd in there and the experience and atmosphere are just fine. I was there yesterday and they had almost 30,000 in there and it was great and today's game should be rocking - I hear it is a sell out. I think the best sports crowd I've ever been a part of was a World Series game there when Joe Carter hit the series winning home run. That was INSANE. And today with the $200 million plus that Rogers have poured into that place (after buying it for next to nothing) the amenities and condition of it are still very good.
The problem is too many Argos games only draw in the 18,000 range - many often seemingly not that engaged because something about staring at 30,000+ empty seats has a way of sapping energy. They'll be fine once they get to BMO which even now has perfectly comfortable plastic seats with all kinds of legroom (I was just there last week for a TFC game and there really is above average legroom). Once the concessions are expanded, washrooms and new video boards added and the upper deck to the east stands and roof over the fan areas it will be just fine. Not luxury, not extravagant but certainly very acceptable for football and soccer both. Just look at the ACC - MLSE do not do things on the cheap, I have no reason to expect their $100 million + in improvements to BMO will be done on the cheap either.