[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ But every venue would have its share of fixes and improvements. There will be a fortune spent on the Big O, probably a ton on BMO and no doubt a fair bit of money as well on Commonwealth. IGF would have been no different.

The temp seating arrangement wasn't perfect but it was workable. I was able to use the washrooms and get food without any trouble. With some extra money they could have done an even better job... perhaps provided a bit more crush space outside the stadium walls, that sort of thing.

BMO was literally built for soccer and has a grass field already; Olympic Stadium was also built largely with soccer in mind; Commonwealth Stadium can be converted to grass much easier than hear because it was built with natural earth in the centre and has irrigation in place.

Originally Posted by Kronos

http:////www.google.ca/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5782369/amp/Temporary-stand-Ekaterinburg-Arena-completed-World-Cup.html

The stadium in Ekaterinburg which is being used to host games during FIFA Russia 2018, usually seats 23000, was expanded to just 35000 with temporary stands outside the stadium.....think IGF would be fine considering that wacky set-up!

First off, this was approved over a decade ago, so FIFA has clearly changed the rules since then. Also, the stands are being placed outside the stadium proper, with dedicated concourse space. There's no loss of space in the stadium from the stands, and the extra people are being accommodated with extra space.

You also have to factor in what's available in one country – Russia – vs. a whole continent. There are dozens and dozens of venues much better suited as WC venues in North America than IGF, it's laughable to think we even had a chance.

I don't even know why we'd want it – it's be proven over and over how corrupt FIFA is and how most host cities almost never recoup the costs of hosting vs. the "economic benefit" of hosting. Even if we were selected, we'd probably get less than 5 games – if that.