![]() But, as new team president Michael Copeland said in an interview last winter, “just opening the doors isn’t going to do it.” The Argos won the Grey Cup, at home, in 2012, and parlayed that into three straight seasons of declining attendance. BMO Field offers a cozy, 27,000-seat venue near the lakefront that is such a nice place to spend a summer day that it was a huge part of the off-field success of Toronto FC even as the soccer team was a mess on it. The stadium, just by being Not the Rogers Centre, is the most important change. Lions owner David Braley did, as a favour to the league? What if the team was supported by a marketing campaign, with billboards and television advertisements, as opposed to the campaign of last season, which was a marketing push worthy of a speakeasy?Ĭan the defending champion Eskimos refocus under rookie coach? A look at CFL's West Division What if the Argos played in a cool, open-air stadium, instead of a two-thirds-empty Rogers Centre that often had all the charm of a grade-school band rehearsal? What if they had wealthy owners who were committed to the team and didn’t buy it, as B.C. It has to be the final attempt, because the move to BMO, under the new ownership of Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Media - two of the three parts of the MLSE conglomerate, minus Rogers Communications - represents the realization of every what-if scenario that has for years been floated by Argos boosters in the Toronto area, even as the team’s off-field fortunes sagged. But for the Argonauts, this season marks the start of life at BMO Field, and it is nothing short of the final attempt to make the team, and the CFL, truly relevant again in this city. So, a secure stadium lease would be something on its own. “For a lot of these guys, it’s a long time coming.” “It’s really great, it really is,” Milanovich says. After that, a whole schedule at one building, any building, with actual lockers and a training room and whatnot, must seem downright luxurious. Also not so great: a home date in Fort McMurray, or two more in Hamilton, in front of fewer than 4,000 fans. “It can be tough to look your players in the eye and tell them that they have to go play a home game in Ottawa when you’re fighting for the lead in the East,” Milanovich says. “It’s nice, it’s nice, yeah,” he says this week, almost sheepish about the good fortune that has befallen his team after years when a black cloud hovered permanently over it. The difference between having a home stadium, that is, and not a series of temporary shelters: the four different parks that were “home” for the Argos in 2015.Īnd so, the head coach smiles. It’s about the differences for the Toronto Argonauts between this season and last. TORONTO - The question has not yet been finished when Scott Milanovich starts to smile. Patrons are allowed to bring food and portable barbecues to the tailgate lots - parking spots must be paid for - but they are not allowed to bring their own alcohol. The cost, in dollars, the beers that will be sold in the tailgate parking lots and at the Shipyard, the patio area near BMO Field. BMO Field will also host an NHL Winter Classic between Toronto and Detroit on Jan. Ottawa and Hamilton, both of which had new stadiums earlier than Toronto, have not hosted a Grey Cup at their current facilities. The 2016 edition of the game will be played there, despite Toronto having hosted the championship game in 2012. Number of Grey Cup games that have been awarded to the BMO Field and the Argos. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |