New Stadium Locations

[argotom]

Back to the topic on hand. Markham is the only logical location. It is central from all directions, the city, east, west and north in the GTA.

[Neely2005]

Back to the topic on hand. Markham is the only logical location. It is central from all directions, the city, east, west and north in the GTA.

Richmond Hill is more central than Markham and Vaughan is just as central as Markham.

Yonge and Highway 7 / 407 is pretty much the dead center of the GTA.

[QBall]

From today
On other matters, Leiweke said:

-- The chances of an NFL team coming to Toronto in the next decade are "pretty good."

Really Tim? The NFL seems to think differently

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/98...nfl-wants-both

L.A. or London first? NFL wants both

[rdavies]

Really Tim? The NFL seems to think differently
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/98...nfl-wants-both
L.A. or London first? NFL wants both

"Goodell is a huge proponent of playing in London. There will be two regular-season games played in London this season and three in 2014. The games are wildly popular and have been sellouts." You are proving you are worthy of a franchise," Goodell told the European fans."

Looks like the Bills in Toronto series is proving otherwise.

Lots of US fans don't want a team in London, reminiscent of US fans not wanting TFC in MLS. Personally I have a hard time believing that quite a few players won't have a problem with living there. Players in other sports already whine about taxes, customs (border crossing) and not being able to see themselves on ESPN while playing in Canada, let alone the different culture that is England.

[QBall]

"Goodell is a huge proponent of playing in London. There will be two regular-season games played in London this season and three in 2014. The games are wildly popular and have been sellouts." You are proving you are worthy of a franchise," Goodell told the European fans."

Looks like the Bills in Toronto series is proving otherwise.

Lots of US fans don't want a team in London, reminiscent of US fans not wanting TFC in MLS. Personally I have a hard time believing that quite a few players won't have a problem with living there. Players in other sports already whine about taxes, customs (border crossing) and not being able to see themselves on ESPN while playing in Canada, let alone the different culture that is England.

Can you imagine people in London waking up at 3:00 A.M. to watch their London team play an away game in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland or San Diego at 7:00 PM PST?
As I understand it the NFL won't allow a corporation or group to own a team, it has to be an individual, so I don't know why Robbers is trying so hard. I don't know too many Canadians who have the cash sitting around to pay the $1 billion expansion fee.

[Ron]

IMO CFL (Argo) fans are more obsessed about the NFL in Toronto than NFL fans. Even here we have a Argo stadium thread turned into an NFL in Toronto thread.

The NFL ain't coming in many years if ever. So why do we talk about it so damned much?

[argos1873]

As I understand it the NFL won't allow a corporation or group to own a team, it has to be an individual, so I don't know why Robbers is trying so hard. I don't know too many Canadians who have the cash sitting around to pay the $1 billion expansion fee.

That's not entirely true, a corporation can own a certain amount of a team so long as a certain amount is owned by an individual, and then there are certain percentages that the individual's family can own. I don't know the numbers off hand, but for this discussion it doesn't really matter as an NFL team, not even a relocation of the Bills is in Toronto's future in the conceivable future. Let's put it this way, if you are Ralph Wilson or whoever is controlling his estate, and you have 2 suitors for your team, do you sell it to Toronto, or do you sell it to LA? And which one do you think the NFL will UNILATERALLY agree to? The answer to both? LA. Toronto doesn't even have a suitable NFL stadium for god's sake. The NFL isn't coming to Toronto any time soon folks, regardless of what the local NFL hypers would want you to believe.

[Neely2005]

Well this Thread certainly went off topic.

[Will]

Well if this poll tells us anything it is that there is anything BUT consensus amongst Argo fans.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Just curious. But for folks here that go to both Argo and Blue Jays games, how much of a difference is the game day experience between the two franchises? And if the Argo's had their own stadium and had a more control of the game day festivities could that translate into more fans coming to the game?

[ArgoGabe22]

Not sure if anyone goes to Jays games except maybe for one?

[argolio]

I haven't been to a Jays game since 1991 so I can't help you there.

[Neely2005]

Just curious. But for folks here that go to both Argo and Blue Jays games, how much of a difference is the game day experience between the two franchises? And if the Argo's had their own stadium and had a more control of the game day festivities could that translate into more fans coming to the game?

I went to 1 Blue Jays game this season, it was my first in years. Baseball fans aren't as boisterous as football fans so it's a very different atmosphere.

As to a new stadium I think that the biggest thing would be that the Argonauts would get much better dates. This seasons home schedule was a joke. The Argonauts get the Blue Jays scraps when it comes to scheduling.

[OV Argo]

Its true that most of the world may refer to football played in North America as American football, but the proper way to refer generically to both games is Gridiron football.



Exactly. Canadians invented a form of Rugby, the Americans took it and quite rapidly changed it, and with the introduction of import players, coaches and executives, the Canadians changed their game to closely resemble the American one, which continues to this day. So to say they are playing our game is correct. But so is saying we are playing theirs.

Football - wether the American or Canadian version - both adopted from rugby and subject to many changes over the years - is a uniquely North American sport - there is no official or better version of the game, and one version is just not a copy of the other - not even close - and IMO it is silly to think so.

There is Canadian football and there is American football - both great versions of a game and with their own distinct rules - thank gawd for this variety (I like and appreciate both versions of the game and am glad they are each their own - wayyyyy to much sameness in a lot of things today IMO)..

Canadian football just does not - IMO - get the respect it deserves for it's consistent quality and historical signifigance (not just the CFL but Canadian University ball, Junior ball, all the levels of minor ball down thru all the people who play the game, like adult touch football or just kids chucking the ball around in the park - and IMO again - that this happens in it's own country is sad and pathetic ; and we can thank the many wannabes and lemmings in the media up here for this. Canadians are constantly reminded how hockey is "Canada's game" and that is a great sport with so much history here. Not enough people get, however, that football is every bit as much a Canadian sport as hockey is. Pity, eh ?

[rdavies]

Another lightning bolt thrust against the Argos. After the U of T president changed and the U of T deal fell through and C and S made the (in hindsight) bad decision to continue at the RC now we have the pro football mayor declaring himself a crackhead (exaggeration) and basically killing his tenure as mayor. Can this team finally get some off the field luck working for them?

[ArgoRavi]

Another lightning bolt thrust against the Argos. After the U of T president changed and the U of T deal fell through and C and S made the (in hindsight) bad decision to continue at the RC now we have the pro football mayor declaring himself a crackhead (exaggeration) and basically killing his tenure as mayor. Can this team finally get some off the field luck working for them?

Has Ford done much for the Argos? We know that he and his brother have been on record about going after an NFL franchise. I am not sure that Roger Goodell will be taking any calls from the Fords anytime soon though, especially after Ford wore an NFL tie for today's big "crack admission" press conference: http://blogs.canoe.ca/slam/sports/ba...poor-judgment/

[Tau Ceti]

Has Ford done much for the Argos? We know that he and his brother have been on record about going after an NFL franchise. I am not sure that Roger Goodell will be taking any calls from the Fords anytime soon though.

Rob Ford has done zilch for the Argos. He talked about the need for a new stadium when he came back from Winnipeg but no one on city council takes his pontificating seriously.

Karen Stintz is on record as an Argo fan, by the way. She tweeted from a game or two last year. Plus she never seems to be high on... aww, too easy.

[rdavies]

Has Ford done much for the Argos? We know that he and his brother have been on record about going after an NFL franchise. I am not sure that Roger Goodell will be taking any calls from the Fords anytime soon though, especially after Ford wore an NFL tie for today's big "crack admission" press conference: http://blogs.canoe.ca/slam/sports/ba...poor-judgment/

I think where we would have seen some influence would have been when MLSE came looking for building permits and the like for BMO. I would have thought that the mayor would have asked the question about a city owned stadium not making itself available to a team that would be without a home.

After I posted, I saw the "tie" article. Thinking of it now, that may have been his greatest service to Argo and CFL fans.

[paulwoods13]

I think where we would have seen some influence would have been when MLSE came looking for building permits and the like for BMO. I would have thought that the mayor would have asked the question about a city owned stadium not making itself available to a team that would be without a home.

The mayor has had almost no influence on government in Toronto for many, many months. He is a one-man band on a council of 45. The notion that he could influence council is based on how thing are supposed to work in a normal city.

[T-Bone]

I think where we would have seen some influence would have been when MLSE came looking for building permits and the like for BMO. I would have thought that the mayor would have asked the question about a city owned stadium not making itself available to a team that would be without a home.

Leiweke mentioned at the TFC Presidents Breakfast at the end of September that the city (Probably Ford) had approached MLSE about what it would take to renovate BMO Field to accommodate the Argos. There was a rumor that PCL already has plans drawn up which is quite possible as Leiweke also mentioned at the breakfast that they were well on their way with roof designs for BMO Field. Any renovation to BMO Field has to be approved by both the Exhibition Board and City Council. MLSE can easily go in and say, here are the plans with accommodations for the Argos which cost X amount and here are plans with out accommodations for the Argos which cost X amount. We are willing to cover 100% of the cost for the cheaper plan that doesn't accommodate the Argos so if you want them in there you can pay for that plan. The only way MLSE will pay for renovations to BMO Field that accommodates the Argos is if they buy the team because they feel they can make a return on that investment, otherwise I highly doubt it will happen.

After I posted, I saw the "tie" article. Thinking of it now, that may have been his greatest service to Argo and CFL fans.

Ya, I was quite happy it was a NFL tie vs. a CFL tie as well.