narduch Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Council discussion going on right now: http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=12&rid=16&sid=1030&ref=TorontoCityCouncil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Executive committee approves BMO expansion plan March 19, 2014 Deputy mayor Norm Kelly praised soccer – a newer sport in the city – and the CFL, part of Canadian heritage, moments before the executive committee approved an expansion plan for BMO Field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpol Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Did you see grass today at TFC game ? Imagine when using with Argos all season ! Good Luck !What are all City of Toronto councillors getting from MLSE ? Shame ! Why multi billion $ company needs taxpayers help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Did you see grass today at TFC game ? Imagine when using with Argos all season ! Good Luck !What are all City of Toronto councillors getting from MLSE ? Shame ! Why multi billion $ company needs taxpayers help ? Argos don't play in march. The field's condition was due to an incredibly long, harsh winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Tim Lieweke announces on TSN Friday (at 7:35) that the Argo endzones will be artificial turf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Two different surfaces on the same field sounds really stupid and a recipe for injuries. How are players suppose to choose the proper footwear? After yesterday it sounds like the expansion is still in the early planning stages. They aren't exactly sure how they will make it work. They just continue to promise that they will make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Two different surfaces on the same field sounds really stupid and a recipe for injuries. The Argos endzones will be under the retractable stands during soccer matches, so it's not really relevant to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 The Argos endzones will be under the retractable stands during soccer matches, so it's not really relevant to that. Narduch is just showing concern for the Argos, the new neighbours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueviking Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 didnt commonwealth have plastic end zones for a few years before they got rid of the grass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 didnt commonwealth have plastic end zones for a few years before they got rid of the grass? That sounds highly dubious. I don't remember that at all. What would have been the reason for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 That sounds highly dubious. I don't remember that at all. What would have been the reason for that? The IAAF 2001 World Championships in Athletics which ran from August 3/2001 to August 12/2001. Not sure when it was installed but it lasted the rest of the football season and was removed in April 2002. Fantastic article by the Commonwealth Stadium groundskeeper about a year in the life of the Commonwealth Stadium turf in 2002. Gives you an idea of some of the issues they faced and how much FIFA is a pain in the ass (which is probably a good thing) Let's also keep in mind that this was twelve years ago and many of the technologies have changed including Commonwealth's change from a turf field to a FieldTurf Duraspine Pro artificial surface in 2010. And in just that short time it seems FieldTurf Revolution has superseded FieldTurf Duraspine Pro as the artificial surface de jour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 TFC might be able to keep BMO for itself. The Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson has just died, it might be all up in the air now. Gonna be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdude Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 TFC might be able to keep BMO for itself. The Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson has just died, it might be all up in the air now. Gonna be interesting. What do you mean by that? NFL (and new NFL stadium) to Toronto? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 TFC might be able to keep BMO for itself. The Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson has just died, it might be all up in the air now. Gonna be interesting. Nothing is going to happen in short term. If somehow someone from Toronto ends up owning BIlls, then except Bills to move to Toronto by 2020 to brand new stadium (which also be used to host World Cup if Canada wins bid). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Nothing is going to happen in short term. Yes, you're right. I jumped the gun, forgetting the recent signing of the ten year lease. The agreement includes a provision that locks the Bills in for the next seven seasons. The franchise would have to pay $400 million if it decides to leave before 2020. The team then has the option of buying out the remaining three years of the lease for $28 million. Trust me, NFL in Toronto in cohoots with MLSE is not good for either the Argos or TFC. Ralph may have just done both of them a favour. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Nothing is going to happen in short term. If somehow someone from Toronto ends up owning BIlls, then except Bills to move to Toronto by 2020 to brand new stadium (which also be used to host World Cup if Canada wins bid). That will have to be a privately funded near 1 billion dollar stadium. There will be no fed money going towards that. Two billion for franchise and stadium? Believe it or not, not everybody at MLSE is in favour of that, it will be near 20 years before they see a return. There are some bean counters who aren't all drinking the American Dream Kool-Aid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillium Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 There are some bean counters who aren't all drinking the American Dream Kool-Aid. Joe.. the correct term is Kook-Aid, when in reference to MLSE or TFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Ralph Wilson's death opens door ever so slightly for NFL in Toronto: Kelly They’re slowly slipping away, the men who helped build the NFL into the biggest sports business on the continent. They’re vanishing in bunches, guys like Bud Adams and William Clay Ford and Al Davis. Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson died Tuesday, aged 95. He was amongst the brightest and curmudgeonly. He went kicking. Now that he’s gone, they can begin building the next iteration of the NFL, one that could include Toronto. Wilson ended his life with a reputation for being stubborn and out of touch (there’s a hint of megalomania in anyone that names a stadium after themselves), but he was one of the pillars upon which the NFL was built. Shortly after WWII, Wilson inherited his father’s insurance outfit. He became a collector of businesses in his native Michigan — mining, manufacturing, media. He was a long-time fan and small-time owner of the Detroit Lions when Lamar Hunt — another one of those swashbucklers from a vanished era — offered him a chance to invest in the AFL. It was almost certain to fail — the eight initial owners called themselves ‘The Foolish Club’ — but Wilson couldn’t resist. He wanted to put the team in Miami. That didn’t work out. Hunt offered him five other choices. Wilson chose Buffalo, a city he knew almost nothing about. His initial investment in 1960 was $25,000. “My friends thought I was a chump,” Wilson would say later. The team he started in Buffalo now has an estimated value of $870 million. It’s probably worth more on the open market. Wilson was admired in Buffalo but never loved. He was a notorious cheapskate who expected other people to pay for his toys. He did see the Bills through the glory days in the 1990s, but once that great wave broke against four Super Bowl losses he seemed to give up. From that point on, he hid behind a ‘small market’ tag, continuing to sow, but rarely seeding. The results showed on the field. All along, Wilson claimed he wanted the team to remain in Western New York. Had that been true, he would’ve sold it to a local group as he entered his winter years. Instead, the Bills are now left to his extended family. The team represents the bulk of his estate. They have a new lease deal and a renovation schedule, but those were Wilson’s plans. The club was his legacy, not theirs. So what happens now? Nothing. There is a succession map in place and it will move very slowly out of deference to the patriarch. It would be unlikely that any mention of sale would be made in the next year. The club will be placed in trust, and eventually, quietly introduced onto the market. The really important players in this deal aren’t the Wilson clan, but their 31 partners in NFL ownership, every one of whom must approve a deal to move the club. Where does Toronto fit in this? There is a plan here too, headed by musician Jon Bon Jovi. He leads a group that has been waiting for this moment — as Wilson dies, his clock begins ticking. What is complicated for others is already simple for them. They have the money — fronted either by MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum or Rogers scion Edward Rogers. They have the connections. Bon Jovi’s golf buddies include Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the two most influential owners. They are working on the stadium plan, which would be handled by Tim Leiweke and MLSE. Their biggest issue at the moment is unique. It’s the Toronto Argonauts. Forces inside this country reaching up the highest levels have made it clear that there will be no NFL franchise for Toronto if it jeopardizes the CFL. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell shares that feeling. He will not allow himself to be seen trying to kill a sister league. This is why the Argos are moving to BMO Field once their Rogers Centre lease runs out. This is why MLSE will soon own them. In order to win one football team, Toronto must save another. Now the rush is on to get that deal sorted before moving on to a much bigger one. This is all a hugely complicated process that could, in the end, be decided by one rich wingnut who decides that what he really needs to complete his life is a really bad, and possibly cursed, football team. But the Toronto bid has to be considered one of the favourites. It is holistically sound and, from the NFL’s perspective, maintains the team’s current marketing boundaries. It upsets no apple carts elsewhere. In coming to Canada, the league would announce itself as a global, rather than provincial, concern. Toronto could be the launch point for the new NFL. In order for that possibility to appear, we had to wait for the old order to fade into history. Source: http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2014/03/25/ralph_wilsons_death_opens_door_ever_so_slightly_for_nfl_in_toronto_kelly.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Yes, you're right. I jumped the gun, forgetting the recent signing of the ten year lease. The agreement includes a provision that locks the Bills in for the next seven seasons. The franchise would have to pay $400 million if it decides to leave before 2020. The team then has the option of buying out the remaining three years of the lease for $28 million. Trust me, NFL in Toronto in cohoots with MLSE is not good for either the Argos or TFC. Ralph may have just done both of them a favour. RIP I don't see how exactly TFC will be negatively affected by Toronto NFL team. It's really Argos who will be affected the most in Toronto Sports landscape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob.notenboom Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Admittedly I would fall more in the 'keep Argos out of BMO' camp for the simple reason that I would like to see a dedicated soccer facility. However, with a very small amount of tweaking, this year's schedules for TFC and the Argos would be workable. TFC@Home Argos@home May 31 June 7 June 19 June 27 July 2 (switch H&A with July 5) July 12 July 19 (Switch H&A with July 12) July 26 Aug 12 Aug 17 Aug 23 Aug 30 Sept 6 Sept 13 (Switch game from Oct 18) Sept 21 Sept 27 Oct 4 Oct 8 Oct 10 (Argos play after TFC so limited impact on soccer viewing experience) Oct 18 Oct 25 Nov 7 A couple of flaws in this: 1) When the Voyageurs Cup moves to the summer this will add fixture congestion. However, this year due to the break for the World Cup there is already fixture congestion. How much fixture congestion would be determined by how far TFC went in the VC. I decided not to speculate. 2) I also ignored playoffs for both teams but obviously that would provide an additional difficulty. 3) Not sure if I included summer friendlies such as the one with Spurs. However, there is still some flexibility in the schedule as there are long stretches where no one plays: 11 days from June 7-19; 9 days from July 2-12; 17 days from July 26-Aug 12. To me the schedule looks very workable. Most times a TFC game follows an Argos game by 5 days or more (in one case there is only 3 days in between). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I don't see how exactly TFC will be negatively affected by Toronto NFL team. It's really Argos who will be affected the most in Toronto Sports landscape. If you think that MLSE (in control of an NFL team) would care about TFC, I've got some swamp land you might be interested in. Leafs in the winter, NFL in the summer/fall and scraps for anyone else. Argos would be toast in that market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 If you think that MLSE (in control of an NFL team) would care about TFC, I've got some swamp land you might be interested in. Leafs in the winter, NFL in the summer/fall and scraps for anyone else. Argos would be toast in that market. I'm not sure why this NFL Toronto thing is expected to automagically destroy the Argos, the fanbase of which has to be at least 50% composed of people who would support the CFL over the NFL on principle and have strong emotional ties to the club; as well as TFC who're receiving significant investment and for all intents and purposes could someday fill a 40,000-seater with regularity. When you consider that the NFL Toronto series has been declining in popularity, drawing less than 40,000 last time. That's a pretty significant drop from how it began, and while an NFL team in Toronto would most likely be profitable, it seems a little silly to think that 1) those profits would dwarf the Argos and TFC combined in perpetuity 2) MLSE would simply decide that the additional profits from CFL and MLS was money they literally didn't want anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 If you think that MLSE (in control of an NFL team) would care about TFC, I've got some swamp land you might be interested in. Leafs in the winter, NFL in the summer/fall and scraps for anyone else. Argos would be toast in that market. The fact that MLSE is willing to ruin the authenticity of soccer at BMO Field tells you all you need to know about how important TFC is to them. On the NFL, I think that is still a long shot. I can't see anyone or group fronting the $2 billion to make it happen. Back on topic, I wonder what MLSE will do if they don't get the Fed and Provincial funding. Its not looking good on those two fronts. That also puts the City money in jeopardy too. Do they still go ahead with the plan? Do they cut costs with a project that already looked bare bones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 The fact that MLSE is willing to ruin the authenticity of soccer at BMO Field tells you all you need to know about how important TFC is to them. Yeah, the premier league style stadium and repeating ad nauseum that it will still be primarily a soccer facility with a focus on keeping the intimacy shows exactly that. It's not like they just dropped over $100 million on the club to make it competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Yeah, the premier league style stadium and repeating ad nauseum that it will still be primarily a soccer facility with a focus on keeping the intimacy shows exactly that. It's not like they just dropped over $100 million on the club to make it competitive. If they were serious about TFC they wouldn't be risking the playing surface. They would also be planning to build a Red Bull Arena type stadium. This proposal doesn't even come close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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