Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[elly63]

It's kinda sad how this thread slowed down after the big Canadian stadium building boom. I thought Calgary would be the last of it but there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon there. So I decided to take a walk down memory lane and again it was unfortunate to see how much history was lost because of pictures I (and others) had posted that were lost to picture archive sites going belly up. Oh, well, I thought I'd post the links below in case anyone else got sentimental

Stadiums and Arenas of Canada

Stadiums and Arenas of Canada Part 2

[watchedmofu]

No expansion at Tim Hortons field this year for the Grey Cup game. Hamilton gets to full out in 2023

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Likely due to Toronto cfl interest so poor they can't host it there and the Big O in Montreal the roof issue has not been resolved so you only have Hamilton and Ottawa as viable eastern hosts right now.

It's pretty easy to look at the recent Grey Cup hosts and conclude that the CFL is retreating from Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, given that it'll be eight years and seven Grey Cups consecutively outside of those cities once Hamilton 2023 is wrapped up (twice the length of the previous record of non-Big 3 hosting), but doing so would ignore the fact that Winnipeg, Regina, and Hamilton have all built new stadiums in the past decade (with Ottawa building half of one).

On the other hand, yes. Olympique is no longer suitable and neither is Rogers Centre, so what you're left with is a preference for Grey Cups not only in markets that are better for the league but also in stadiums that are better for the league, anyway. It just so happens that all of those options are outside of Canada's three largest markets.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Michael Connors @MikeConnors
A press release from Mary Brown's says they have bough the naming rights to Mile One Centre. They say it will be renamed the Mary Brown's Centre.

Mary Brown's says the stadium will be rebranded with a new sign Nov. 5 with a gradual changeover of branding in the comping months. An MB Chicken Express will also open in the arena.

People here are so embarrassed. I kind of love it

It’s already been widely nicknamed the “Big Mary” after one of the chain’s most popular sandwiches.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

It's pretty easy to look at the recent Grey Cup hosts and conclude that the CFL is retreating from Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, given that it'll be eight years and seven Grey Cups consecutively outside of those cities once Hamilton 2023 is wrapped up (twice the length of the previous record of non-Big 3 hosting), but doing so would ignore the fact that Winnipeg, Regina, and Hamilton have all built new stadiums in the past decade (with Ottawa building half of one).

On the other hand, yes. Olympique is no longer suitable and neither is Rogers Centre, so what you're left with is a preference for Grey Cups not only in markets that are better for the league but also in stadiums that are better for the league, anyway. It just so happens that all of those options are outside of Canada's three largest markets.

Montreal and Vancouver are due, and I'm sure the new owners there will come a-knockin' on the league's door to host one. Toronto is more of a question mark because a) they had it not all that long ago (2016) and b) the team seems to be at a low ebb of fan support which means it would probably be a tough sell right now.

Is Olympic Stadium not capable of hosting a Grey Cup game now? I remember there were issues with the roof before and holding events there during snowy seasons, but didn't they get that straightened out? Or is the Big O effectively closed down for the winter?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by esquire

Is Olympic Stadium not capable of hosting a Grey Cup game now? I remember there were issues with the roof before and holding events there during snowy seasons, but didn't they get that straightened out? Or is the Big O effectively closed down for the winter?

Olympique's $250M roof repairs have been pushed to 2024.

Given the nature of things, Pomerleau-Canam were the only group to bid on the new roof construction.

[thurmas]

The new lions owner seems committed to rebuilding the fan base there and they are selling out 12500 a game at the 50% covid capacity limit i think that fan base can be rebuilt. Alouettes draw well when they are winning. Toronto is still the problem area. They did draw 591000 viewers on tsn for their Thanksgiving game against the ticats on Monday. With jays out and tfc in the dumps hopefully they can rebuild some interest this fall.

[thurmas]

I have seen a lot of complaints though recently of how difficult and expensive it is for fans to get transit access to BMO for Argos and TFC games. I wonder if maybe the Argos should head back to Rogers center as their attendance was better there and it has much betterfan access. They would need a synthetic field though to go over top the baseball field to resolve the issue that had rogers kick them out of there.

[JustForTheHalibut]

It's been almost a decade, well since 2014 If I remember right, since BC Place hosted the Grey Cup last, we're due.

So without the extra seating that usually is added to the smaller stadiums for Grey Cup does that mean that it'll just be 24,000 capacity at Tim Horton's Stadium this year, presuming no covid restrictions?

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

People here are so embarrassed. I kind of love it

It’s already been widely nicknamed the “Big Mary” after one of the chain’s most popular sandwiches.

Mary Brown's Centre?
oh dear, well at least they didn't call it Dirty Sanchez Spot!
lol


While I was checking YouTube of CFL Grey Cups and regular season games, I also found a cool video from a couple Americans of a regular season game in Regina with a look at the stadium athletic facilities, it seems Grey Cup like festive already there. 2022 should be interesting in their new stadium.

• Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkMFBslyVdk

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Olympique's $250M roof repairs have been pushed to 2024.

Given the nature of things, Pomerleau-Canam were the only group to bid on the new roof construction.

Interesting, thanks.

Seeing that the 2022 and 2023 Grey Cups are spoken for, there we have it... maybe Montreal gets 2024 or 2025.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I have seen a lot of complaints though recently of how difficult and expensive it is for fans to get transit access to BMO for Argos and TFC games.

I don't really think this is an issue. BMO has direct access from both GO ($4 from Union) and TTC (streetcars can be free if you want to easily farehop, though I don't recommend that of course - otherwise they're $3). Maybe you're seeing complaints from people who drive cars and expect to be able to drive and park wherever they go.

Originally Posted by thurmas

I wonder if maybe the Argos should head back to Rogers center as their attendance was better there and it has much betterfan access. They would need a synthetic field though to go over top the baseball field to resolve the issue that had rogers kick them out of there.

My understanding was that Rogers was reconfigured in a way that now only baseball can be played in the facility. Either way, another location change isn't really going to do much to benefit the Argos. If they can't draw at BMO they probably aren't going to draw much differently at Rogers. The crowd capture issues began during their tenure at Rogers and have continued onwards since then - it's not a facility issue but a market issue.

Originally Posted by esquire

Seeing that the 2022 and 2023 Grey Cups are spoken for, there we have it... maybe Montreal gets 2024 or 2025.

Vancouver 2024 and Montreal 2025 would make sense if Olympique is renovated by then.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

My understanding was that Rogers was reconfigured in a way that now only baseball can be played in the facility. Either way, another location change isn't really going to do much to benefit the Argos. If they can't draw at BMO they probably aren't going to draw much differently at Rogers. The crowd capture issues began during their tenure at Rogers and have continued onwards since then - it's not a facility issue but a market issue.

My memory is vague but I thought Rogers Centre was going to have its 100 level seats locked into place during baseball seats to accommodate a natural turf field, but that hasn't happened, has it? If not, the 100 level seats should still be able to move to accommodate football or soccer. If it doesn't interfere with baseball in any way I'm not sure why Rogers would mind taking money from a paying customer.

But that said, yeah, the bigger question is whether the CFL would need the extra seating. They did sell out the last two Grey Cup games at Rogers Centre in 2007 and 2012 but the market has declined since then. It may be that the 33,000 seats they had at BMO Field for the last Grey Cup in Toronto are enough.

[thurmas]

I liked the tarping configuration the argos had when cinnamon and sokolowski owned the Argos from 2003 to 2011 it had all the Argos logos from the past and Argos legends images in the upper deck and north endzone seats, it looked nice and they were drawing 26000 to 30000 fans a game in that era.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by elly63

It's kinda sad how this thread slowed down after the big Canadian stadium building boom. I thought Calgary would be the last of it but there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon there.

Brampton is mulling a $35M cricket stadium where the CAA Centre currently sits:

https://thepointer.com/article/2021-...truggling-city

Mississauga is mulling a 'major' soccer stadium in the NW section of that city in the hopes of landing a CPL franchise, along with various other national events:

https://www.insauga.com/mississauga-...-part-of-city/

https://www.insauga.com/mississaugas...et-a-pro-team/

New CPL stadium is still on the horizon in Saskatchewan.

[suburbanite]

BMO field is getting a subway connection with the Ontario Line. Will be many years before it comes into service and transit connectivity alone isn't going to solve the Argo's problems.

[Djeffery]

When they put the full dirt infield in Rogers Centre, they did a full excavation (unlike Tampa, whose dirt infield basically sits on top of the concrete floor of the stadium). I think this excavation precludes the 100 level seats from rotating out to football configuration. Also, the dugouts were greatly expanded. It used to be that the dugouts were the size of the roof above them, and the roof retracted to become the floor of the stadium and completely covered the hole below. Now the dugouts are about 3 times the size but the roof is still the original roof, so another relatively easy way would need to be created to fill in that space.

Also keep in mind MLSE owns the Argos and operates BMO. While Rogers is a slightly more than a third partner of MLSE, they 100% own the Rogers Centre, so the other 2 partners in MLSE might not be interested in taking money out of their pockets and putting it solely in the pocket of the third partner.

[esquire]

^ Rotating the seats would not be feasible during baseball season based on the above description, but I don't see how it would make a difference in the off season given that there's plenty of time to fix up the infield (assuming that rotating the seats would even affect it).

I find it hard to believe that Rogers would permanently kneecap their venue from ever hosting football (CFL or NFL), soccer or rugby again.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

I find it hard to believe that Rogers would permanently kneecap their venue from ever hosting football (CFL or NFL), soccer or rugby again.

I think that was all part of the plan to make it a baseball only facility. Don't forget they were seriously looking at how they could grow grass in there to make it an all around more attractive facility for baseball.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by esquire

I find it hard to believe that Rogers would permanently kneecap their venue from ever hosting football (CFL or NFL), soccer or rugby again.

The upsides of those sports are so marginal relative to their company-owned baseball team though.

The occasional NFL preseason game? The CFL? A few FIFA soccer games? They're peanuts compared to improving the experience for 81 games of baseball a season.

I'd imagine with enough money they could fix it, but the fact remains: Want the NFL? Drive to Buffalo. Want the CFL/soccer/rugby? BMO Field.

Multipurpose stadiums have been mostly knocked in North America for a reason (aside from the money grab from government): They weren't that great at either being baseball or football venues.

[esquire]

^ Yes, but the point is that once baseball season is over, it's not clear how rotating the seats would have any impact on "the experience" for baseball. The challenges Djeffrey mentioned sound easily surmountable.