Blast From the Past
CP: Chances "Very Good" Argos will be at Lamport in 2003
Dan Ralph July 21, 2001
Giles says chances 'very good' Argos will play at Lamport Stadium in 2003
TORONTO (CP) - Toronto Argonauts president Jeff Giles says chances are "very good," the CFL team will leave SkyDome for modest Lamport Stadium starting in 2003. "Unless someone gets in our way, it will happen," Giles said Thursday.
"We've had many corporate people tell us, 'If you move outside, we'll be there for you,"' he added. "We feel pretty confident with that. It's just a matter of convincing the city . . . it's the right thing to do."
After reportedly losing $6 million last year and facing a substantial seven-figure loss this season, owner Sherwood Schwarz is eager to move his club into a cozier open-air stadium, following the Montreal Alouettes' successful blueprint.
Lamport Stadium, a 20-year-old facility just west of downtown, has a seating capacity of about 10,000, with room for expansion.
Giles said the Argos would move into Lamport for the 2003 season and begin with a seating capacity of between 11,000 and 14,000 seats. The plan would be to increase capacity to about 20,000 via temporary seating within a few years.
Negotiations with civic officials continue but Giles would not divulge the nature of those talks. But he said it's crucial the Argos be outdoors once their SkyDome lease expires following the 2002 season.
"In the interests of the CFL in Toronto, we owe it to our fans to find out if the outdoor stadium is the solution," Giles said. "I think it's critical for the Toronto Argonauts' future."
The Argos would certainly face a bleak future by remaining at SkyDome, based on their recent attendance figures.
They've had two lopsided losses there to open the 2001 CFL season and fans are quickly losing interest. Only 11,041 spectators - Toronto's lowest recorded SkyDome attendance ever - witnessed last week's 30-16 loss to Winnipeg.
But attendance woes are nothing new for the Argos. Even when quarterback Doug Flutie was leading the team to consecutive Grey Cups ('96-'97), the club averaged less than 20,000 fans per game.
Last year, the Argos averaged a CFL-low 17,381 fans at SkyDome.
A big part of the problem, Giles says, is SkyDome itself.
"Everyone tells us they don't like coming there, it's too big, too impersonal, the sound system is no good, the field is too far away, there are two or three empty seats on either side of them, it doesn't feel like a football game," Giles said.
A crowd of about 17,000 is expected for Toronto's home game Friday against arch-rival Hamilton, a pivotal contest for the Argos because their next four games are on the road.
Lamport Stadium is close to a major Toronto expressway and the facility is located on a public transit line. But one drawback is the limited parking in the area.
Adding seats should not be a problem, say the Argos. CFL teams are masters of temporary seating, annually adding thousands of extra seats to their Grey Cup venues.
"Based on some numbers I've looked at, I don't think (Lamport) is big enough to put any more than 20,000," Giles said. "This city needs an outdoor 25,000-seat stadium so maybe over the next three-to-five years, as we're using (Lamport) as a temporary location, something could be built and we could move."
Giles said the Argos could break even by averaging about 17,000 fans at Lamport.
"Once we got to 15,000 people or more, we'd love to put the Vanier Cup there," Giles said. "It would be a great opportunity for all kinds of other events."
Giles said the Argos have secured enough corporate support to fund renovations to Lamport on their own, including about $100,000 to install a regulation CFL field. Presently, the artificial turf in the facility is of NFL dimensions.
While Lamport could easily accommodate the width of a CFL field, it would be a tight squeeze fitting in the 150-yard length (110-yard field, 20-yard end zones).
The Argos, Canadian Soccer Association and Rugby Canada have held preliminary talks about common interests in a 20,000-seat venue. Giles said the club hasn't decided yet whether it wants partners to assist in stadium renovations but would want to manage the facility itself, with other interested parties being tenants.
The CFL returned to Montreal following the '95 season when the former Baltimore Stallions relocated to the Quebec city. Despite fielding a competitive squad, the Alouettes played before sparse crowds - averaging about 5,000 fans per game - at Olympic Stadium before moving to Molson Stadium, a 19,000-seat downtown venue on the campus of McGill University, for a '96 playoff game.
The move has been a resounding success. The Alouettes sold out every home game last year and have sold nearly 60,000 tickets to this year's Grey Cup, which will be held at Olympic Stadium.
"People forget that just before Montreal moved to Molson Stadium they were averaging 5,000 fans a game (at Olympic Stadium)," Giles said. "We're not that bad, compared to them."
In fact, Giles said the Argos' financial plight isn't as bad as some might think. He said sponsorships are up 75 per cent over last year while expenses are down 25 per cent.
Giles also said that despite low attendance, the Argos' gate revenue is actually up 10 per cent over last year. He added that's because the team is no longer giving away tickets to games and exaggerating attendance figures, tactics Giles admitted were used by last year's regime.
"Everyone is saying that (last week's SkyDome gathering of 11,041) was the lowest attendance ever in the history of SkyDome," said Giles, who became the Argos president in December following his stint as CFL president. "Well, it's not, because we had many games last year that were lower than that.
"There were some incremental numbers added on. What we're doing this year is announcing what's in there."
Giles said the Argos had originally pondered moving to Varsity Stadium, which is owned by the University of Toronto. But the facility is slated to be demolished this fall and replaced with a 5,000-seat stadium, a recreational complex and student residences.
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