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Originally Posted by Djeffery
I think the stadium costs are more the issue than the cost of the team. NFL revenues are going to explode under the new TV deal, and teams can be pulling in upwards of $800 million or more per year each on average by the end of this decade, and the salary cap is about 48-49% of league revenue. I think some rich folks might look at the future revenues, presumed franchise value increases and say "yeah, I can swing that". But it's doubtful any of them want to spend that money on a stadium that has no hope of covering it's own costs.
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This country has people/corporations wealthy enough to own an NFL team, yes, but that combined with the costs of a stadium don't really line up. The NFL already has Canada as more-or-less a committed market and I don't think adding a team in Toronto does a whole lot more to that aside from cementing eight or nine games physically in the country every year. There's a reason why the NFL has already jumped Toronto in favour of places like Mexico City and London.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djeffery
However, I've often wondered what the renovation potential of the Skydome is, to turn it into a football only facility? Could they completely gut the lower level, and even lower the floor of the stadium, and rebuild that level into a nice tight football space, add some seating in that north end where the Budweiser and Westjet decks are and get the seating capacity over 60,000? The Blue Jays need a new ballpark anyway, so repurposing the dome would be a great idea.
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Similar to what is usually brought up re: the Argos, I think a football facility would do better outside of the downtown. I still think an area like Downsview would be ideal even given the past failed bids for that location. It's north enough to capture more northern and rural GTA and surroundings without being totally separated from the city itself. Downsview would have enough room for a stadium as well as additional builds and activations that would allow for things like tailgating and other pre/post-game events. It's already on a subway line. It's already on and near highways. It's not too far from Pearson.
If done right a multi-use football/soccer stadium at Downsview would potentially anchor NFL, CFL, CMNT, CWNT, and any other one-off event we'd like, and would act as a better centralized stadium than what BMO is forced into occasionally. It's a matter of cost as always, but if worked into a larger residential and commercial development I think it's feasible in a 40K-50K range in 10-15 years.
Would this facility need an NFL team as an anchor tenant? Probably.
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