TFC players and fans face Argos ground share despair
Players and fans of Toronto FC are facing the very real prospect of sharing BMO Field with the much-maligned Toronto Argos of the Canadian Football League. Reports this week indicate that a lease deal between TFC owners MLSE and Argos owner David Braley is close to completion, with BMO Field set to be CFL-ready in time for the 2016 season.
The CFL faces a crisis over the Argos. Due to be evicted from the Rogers Centre by the Toronto Blue Jays when their lease expires in 2017, the Argos are in limbo and in danger of imploding. The CFL is desperate to avoid the embarrassment of one of its few teams failing, especially as the aforementioned team is situated in Canada’s largest sports market. But with no government funding available for a new stadium, and York University unwilling to share its football facilities, a deal with MLSE to move into BMO Field is the last chance for the Argos and the CFL.
Coincidentally, BMO Field is currently being redeveloped and the final plans just happen to meet CFL criteria for a “suitable stadium.” Phase I, due for completion on May 1, 2015, adds an additional 8,400 seats including an upper tier on the East Grandstand as well as additional executive suits and amenities. Phase II sees the construction of full size canopies for the East, South and West Grandstands and will be ready by May 1, 2016. Overall ground capacity will be 30,000: the total budget for the project is CA$105m.
The deal, if it happens, represents a major blow for both the development and image of TFC in the soccer world. At a time where other MLS teams, including the newly admitted Minnesota United FC, are proudly championing their soccer-specific stadiums, TFC look set to face one of two evils: playing their home games on a grass pitch destroyed by scrimmaging linemen; or the indignity of playing on artificial turf.
The furor over the use of artificial turf during the FIFA Women’s World Cup highlights the feelings amongst players. Soccer Canada, whilst not converting pitches to grass, is instead footing an undisclosed bill to upgrade the artificial surfaces of several of the World Cup venues.
There is a long history of successful ground sharing amongst soccer teams. Current examples include Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich at the Allianz Arena; AS Roma and Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome; and perhaps, most famously, AC Milan and Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Soccer and rugby ground shares have been a little more hit-and-miss. The Reading FC/London Irish, and Wycombe Wanderers/Wasps collaborations have worked well, but Watford FC’s ground was often left in very poor condition after Saracens had played a match there.
The best example of what a TFC/Argos ground share could turn out like is the experience of Wembley Stadium in London. The English Football Association’s CA$1.4bn flagship venue has been used to host regular season NFL games since 2007. Despite having state of the art hybrid turf, NFL games reduce the significant parts of the Wembley playing surface to little more than a barren mud patch.
In November 2014, just six days after the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys had played at Wembley, Slovenia played England in a European Championship qualifying match. A member of the Slovenian backroom staff described the playing surface:
“Down the wings it is fine but there is a 10-metre square patch where the pitch is completely ruined, there is no grass there at all.”
There is also the issue of CFL pitch markings being visible during soccer games, something else likely to draw the ire of TFC fans.
