Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[The Fisher Account]

You can't (or wouldn't want to) build a baseball stadium in Montreal without a retractable roof. I mean, unless you don't want to play any home games in April

[logan5]

Too bad about Labatt Park. The next closest possibility I can see is the area called Griffin Town. A little out of the dt area, but still quite urban.

edit - Having a look at that area on street view, it looks like a lot of residential development is imminent, so I don't know where a stadium could be built, at least in the core.

[Oilkountry]

Props to WPG and T.O. for paying tribute to the heritage of the building its replacing. MTS Centre (If I remember correctly) reused some red brick from the old Eatons building and also housed the old statue. It's nice to see that kind of history honored by the developers

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Here's what the Montreal Baseball Project people wanted to do with their ballpark

[Villaggio]

Source: Nouveau Colisée (facebook page)

[Coldrsx]

When does the Empire Strike Back?

[tovan]

Sources indicate that Toronto Argonauts owner David Braley has agreed to terms with Woodbine Entertainment and an unnamed leading Toronto development company for the sale of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club to be finalized as early as June 2015. Mr. Braley would retain a minority stake in the club with Bell Canada set to sign on as the exclusive premier sponsor of the club. A 4 year lease to begin in 2016 with a 2 year option for the Argos to play at the newly renovated BMO Field is rumoured to be in the works and would be signed immediately upon completion of the sale. Signing of the lease would provide much sought after stability for the club which has recently seen a decline in interest across the city and is set to be forced from their current Rogers Centre home in 2017.

Woodbine has stated a desire to diversify their interests as the horse racing industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years. The purchase of the Argonauts is widely seen by company executives as the showcase for a new division of the company which would see other sports and real estate assets added to their portfolio. It is understood that advanced discussions are ongoing with the North American Soccer League to bring an expansion team to the Greater Toronto Area.

Woodbine’s plans are no surprise to senior City staff and the Mayor’s office who have been quietly involved in preliminary discussions with the company regarding the redevelopment of the Woodbine Racetrack lands in the Rexdale neighbourhood. The proposal includes the expansion of on-site gaming to include table games and additional slot machines subject to Provincial approval. However, the proposal is focused on the development of an urban entertainment destination, which would include a new 30,000 seat outdoor stadium, luxury hotel, convention centre, Las Vegas style show theatre, commercial development and residential towers. The 30,000 stadium would become home to the Argonauts and potential NASL expansion team and would be expandable to 60,000 for special events. Completion is being planned for 2022, when the Argonaut’s lease for BMO Field would expire. This new endeavour would leverage Woodbine’s property assets and connections in the entertainment industry as well as the developer’s experience in commercial and residential real estate development. If successful, it would create thousands of local jobs in the Rexdale neighbourhood. A formal statement is expected to be released next week.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

You can't (or wouldn't want to) build a baseball stadium in Montreal without a retractable roof. I mean, unless you don't want to play any home games in April

It's more than strange that suddenly after a century of doing so people think that one can no longer watch baseball outdoors in April in this country. Do people realize that Montreal has had a baseball team for much of the last 100 years yet only a small number of those years were at Olympic Stadium?

And Montreal in April isn't any different than Minneapolis in April. And yes, the Twins play in an outdoor ball park.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by tovan

Sources indicate that Toronto Argonauts owner David Braley has agreed to terms with Woodbine Entertainment and an unnamed leading Toronto development company for the sale of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club to be finalized as early as June 2015.

It's always better to include a fake link and a conception drawing of a project that never came fruition to help with legitimacy. Brevity and remaining fairly close to the present situation is also important, nice try though.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

*checks date*

Yep - ignores that story

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Re the Expos.

It's definitely a possibility but it's going to take lots and lots o' dough. The $350m mentioned earlier might be a down payment on a stadium but it'll take much more than that to land an expansion team and build a new ballpark. I'm sure the conversation will start somewhere around $1b.

Fingers crossed...

[esquire]

Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot

*checks date*

Yep - ignores that story

Given the post time it's like he was sitting there, rubbing his hands with glee and smiling, just waiting for midnight to roll around to hit "submit reply".

The funny thing is that it actually would make very good sense as a plan... Woodbine has a great location that is probably much more convenient than BMO for the Argo fanbase, there is plenty of room, and they would have the wherewithal and connections to make it happen.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Very well thought-out "April Fools" Joke... Well done!

[elly63]

Learn from ol' elly, you got to start conditioning people about a week before. I had one going a while back about the new Hamilton stadium using a render of the proposed New York West Side stadium for their 2012 Olympic bid. It was all shiny metal so of course I used the tie in with the Steel City. Hardest part was hiding the NY sign on the side of the building.

I was thinking of doing one this year about Calgary but the fan-made cowboy hat arena and horseshoe stadium were too well known.





It wasn't an April Fool's joke but one of the best/worst scams was the guy who posted "leaked pics" about a 2026 Canadian WC bid. I knew it was a scam right away because of my familiarity with stadiums and soccer but a whole bunch of people bit, including mainstream media.

I didn't think it was very clever, for instance he had LA's Farmer's Field as a render of a proposed new Toronto stadium and he had the Moncton stadium sitting in for a new Halifax stadium (among other errors) but few seemed to pay attention. I also knew because there was a little known render that I had run across for a new Saskatoon stadium, the scammer used that as a new Calgary stadium. Anyway he hosed a lot of people who should have paid more attention.

[elly63]

Gotta say that the concept horseshoe stadium design by Dave Delisle is kinda cool

[The Fisher Account]

Originally Posted by isaidso

It's more than strange that suddenly after a century of doing so people think that one can no longer watch baseball outdoors in April in this country. Do people realize that Montreal has had a baseball team for much of the last 100 years yet only a small number of those years were at Olympic Stadium?

And Montreal in April isn't any different than Minneapolis in April. And yes, the Twins play in an outdoor ball park.

Yeah and they have to cancel a bunch of games every year due to weather.

People aren't' the same as they were 100 years ago. Don't forget the effect of television. Want to sit outside in 0 degrees weather or watch from the comfort of home on your big screen?

[king10]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

You can't (or wouldn't want to) build a baseball stadium in Montreal without a retractable roof. I mean, unless you don't want to play any home games in April

Minesota seems to manage. Though their april games are a little on the chilly side. But i mean if the Al's play outdoors in late november baseball fans can show up in early april.

[king10]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Re the Expos.

It's definitely a possibility but it's going to take lots and lots o' dough. The $350m mentioned earlier might be a down payment on a stadium but it'll take much more than that to land an expansion team and build a new ballpark. I'm sure the conversation will start somewhere around $1b.

Fingers crossed...

Thinking tampa relocation and no expansion fee. Mtl in the AL east with boston toronto new york baltimore. that would be an awesome rivalry and would attract well at the gates.

[Hybrid247]

OSEG wants to build a gondola ring around TD Place stadium that will hold seats to watch the game. Apparently every cable car will have one cheerleader. This is going to be interesting...

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=582323

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by Hybrid247

OSEG wants to build a gondola ring around TD Place stadium that will hold seats to watch the game. Apparently every cable car will have one cheerleader. This is going to be interesting...

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=582323

Yes, Hamilton is also getting an NHL team and Canada has been selected to host the World Cup.