World cup

[ArgoFan1]

I am betting the Argos will be getting stiffed in 2026 as BMO field get renovated to host the World Cup games. Maybe they will keep all those additional seats a while and host a Grey Cup that year, but I am full of dread that Argos will be playing home games at Guelph, or Tim Horton Field for the most part.

[OV Argo]

I am betting the Argos will be getting stiffed in 2026 as BMO field get renovated to host the World Cup games. Maybe they will keep all those additional seats a while and host a Grey Cup that year, but I am full of dread that Argos will be playing home games at Guelph, or Tim Horton Field for the most part.

NO WAY !

MLSE would never allow the Argos to play second fiddle to soccer.

Wait, hold the phone - MLSE and their bean counters have just determined that soccer is much more a Canadian sport and more "world class" than paltry Canadian football.

[kellynjk]

I just saw on the news that MLSE will indeed be relocating the Argos during the World Cup, although they didn't mention where. Also it will cost the taxpayers $25 million to add 18,000 additional seats to BMO stadium for the World Cup games. Taxpayers are also on the hook for cost over-runs and lack of revenue. Obviously they are hoping for a huge return on investment with crowds flowing to the city and games etc. but you have to wonder if the costs will outweigh any financial benefits to the city / province.

[Argo57]

I just saw on the news that MLSE will indeed be relocating the Argos during the World Cup, although they didn't mention where. Also it will cost the taxpayers $25 million to add 18,000 additional seats to BMO stadium for the World Cup games. Taxpayers are also on the hook for cost over-runs and lack of revenue. Obviously they are hoping for a huge return on investment with crowds flowing to the city and games etc. but you have to wonder if the costs will outweigh any financial benefits to the city / province.

MLSE are brilliant, they know the half wits at City Hall will give them whatever they want and also absorb any financial risks involved.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

. Also it will cost the taxpayers $25 million to add 18,000 additional seats to BMO stadium for the World Cup games. Taxpayers are also on the hook for cost over-runs and lack of revenue. Obviously they are hoping for a huge return on investment with crowds flowing to the city and games etc. but you have to wonder if the costs will outweigh any financial benefits to the city / province.

The NFL will award an International Series game to Toronto for 2026 and they will play it in the October/November time frame.
The enhanced stadium will allow the city to profit from game. Bell paid top dollar for the broadcast rights contract to the NFL
in 2022. They want to get a return on their investment.

[Scooter McCray]

Pack up your troubles in the old "kit" bag.
I shouldn't have had all that cough syrup this morning.
How many World Cup games are being played at BMO? How many weeks do they need to be displaced? They can go on one of their insane 4 game road trips, plus a Maritime home game and fit in 2 bye weeks. That should keep them out of Toronto for almost 2 months.

[paulwoods13]

How many World Cup games are being played at BMO? How many weeks do they need to be displaced? They can go on one of their insane 4 game road trips, plus a Maritime home game and fit in 2 bye weeks. That should keep them out of Toronto for almost 2 months.

Canada was originally promised 10 games, which likely meant 5 or 6 at BMO, but the number of games in the tournament has expanded from 80 to 104, so there will likely be a few more in Canada. It's hard to imagine Canada will get many (if any) games in later rounds. The tournament is scheduled to end on July 19, so games should be finished here by around July 5, I'd guess. However, it's conceivable a team or two might have Toronto as a home base past that date. The Lions are also going to be displaced by the tournament. Hopefully both teams don't end up with utterly terrible schedules, but we probably will (especially considering MLS schedule will also be compressed in 2026).

["Issues"Mcgee]

This is most disturbing news. The last time the Argos were displaced, it was painful and humiliating.

For all the talk about revenue for the city hosting these games, big deal. So the owners of a Sheridan or a Boston Pizza will make some cash, but it means nothing to the average Johnny Punch Clock paying for this with their taxes.

Also, Toronto can't even build a train that works right now. After the Pan-Am games were revealed to be a logistical and financial nightmare, I have zero faith in the powers that be to run a World Cup stint smoothly. This will be disastrously over budget. Just watch.

Looks like the Argos are gonna have to win a few more Cups and sell out BMO before they get any respect around here.

Too bad Tory's double life was revealed after the World Cup bid. Things may have gone differently.

That's my rant for the day.

[Scooter McCray]

Canada was originally promised 10 games, which likely meant 5 or 6 at BMO, but the number of games in the tournament has expanded from 80 to 104, so there will likely be a few more in Canada. It's hard to imagine Canada will get many (if any) games in later rounds. The tournament is scheduled to end on July 19, so games should be finished here by around July 5, I'd guess. However, it's conceivable a team or two might have Toronto as a home base past that date. The Lions are also going to be displaced by the tournament. Hopefully both teams don't end up with utterly terrible schedules, but we probably will (especially considering MLS schedule will also be compressed in 2026).

2026 could be a year to have the Grey Cup played indoors (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal), and schedule a later start to the season to avoid the scheduling hassles for the Lions and Argos.

[ArgoFan1]

It's not only the time of the 2026 CFL schedule that worries me.... as I am sure there will be a long construction schedule in which I am sure they will not have any fans being able to attend the stadium. We may be out of luck the latter part of 2025. If the World Cup ends in July, we will be okay after that. I am thinking that would be a good year to host the Grey Cup with all those extra seats. I am pretty sure those seats will only be temporary, this being Canada, and nothing in this country gets enough support to warrant a 45,000 seat stadium. Maybe only Blue Jays on opening Day.

[paulwoods13]

It's not only the time of the 2026 CFL schedule that worries me.... as I am sure there will be a long construction schedule in which I am sure they will not have any fans being able to attend the stadium. We may be out of luck the latter part of 2025. If the World Cup ends in July, we will be okay after that. I am thinking that would be a good year to host the Grey Cup with all those extra seats. I am pretty sure those seats will only be temporary, this being Canada, and nothing in this country gets enough support to warrant a 45,000 seat stadium. Maybe only Blue Jays on opening Day.

It would be utterly ridiculous if they needed nine months to put in temporary stands, and even more ridiculous if they installed permanent seats to make the stadium far bigger than is normally needed. Of course, I would not put it past those in charge to do either of those things. Let's hope not.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

It's not only the time of the 2026 CFL schedule that worries me.... as I am sure there will be a long construction schedule in which I am sure they will not have any fans being able to attend the stadium. We may be out of luck the latter part of 2025. If the World Cup ends in July, we will be okay after that. I am thinking that would be a good year to host the Grey Cup with all those extra seats. I am pretty sure those seats will only be temporary, this being Canada, and nothing in this country gets enough support to warrant a 45,000 seat stadium. Maybe only Blue Jays on opening Day.

They will use the expanded seating for an NFL International Series game.

[kellynjk]

Well I worked at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports during the Pan Am games, so I can tell you that putting in extra seats in a stadium can be done in a matter of weeks (4 - 6 weeks), so I don't think we need to worry about it taking months to do this. Plus temporary seats are far easier to put in than permanent seats, so I imagine the idea is temporary seats only. But I will say that for the lousy maybe 10 games that Toronto MAY get to host, it will hardly make up the cost to the city ($25 million plus). Plus I really don't trust the costs over-runs which the city will also be responsible for (extra security and the rest). I seriously don't see this as a win for the city, province or MLSE. Plus as we are sharing the hosting duties with the US, I have no doubt that the premium matches (who knows quarter-finals, semis and finals) will be played in the US, not Canada.

[ArgoRavi]

Well I worked at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports during the Pan Am games, so I can tell you that putting in extra seats in a stadium can be done in a matter of weeks (4 - 6 weeks), so I don't think we need to worry about it taking months to do this. Plus temporary seats are far easier to put in than permanent seats, so I imagine the idea is temporary seats only. But I will say that for the lousy maybe 10 games that Toronto MAY get to host, it will hardly make up the cost to the city ($25 million plus). Plus I really don't trust the costs over-runs which the city will also be responsible for (extra security and the rest). I seriously don't see this as a win for the city, province or MLSE. Plus as we are sharing the hosting duties with the US, I have no doubt that the premium matches (who knows quarter-finals, semis and finals) will be played in the US, not Canada.

Are we also not sharing hosting duties with Mexico?

[kellynjk]

Yes you're right all three countries are hosting the World Cup, Canada, US and Mexico with 16 host cities. Most of the host cities are in the US, only Toronto and Vancouver will be hosting games in Canada.

[shayman]

The original bid said that 7 group matches, 2 round of 32 and one round of 16 match would take place in both Canada and Mexico, but I think the current format is up in the air since FIFA has changed format from sixteen groups of 3 to twelve groups of 4.

So BMO could still be on the hook for a later round of 32 or round of 16 match in addition to the first round ones.

[paulwoods13]

The original bid said that 7 group matches, 2 round of 32 and one round of 16 match would take place in both Canada and Mexico, but I think the current format is up in the air since FIFA has changed format from sixteen groups of 3 to twelve groups of 4.

So BMO could still be on the hook for a later round of 32 or round of 16 match in addition to the first round ones.

Before the tournament was expanded to 104 games, the plan was 60 in U.S. and 10 each in Mexico and Canada. Undoubtedly a few of the extra 24 matches (say 4-6) will be added to the junior partner countries. How many will be late in the tournament is a guessing game but I think it's fairly safe that Canada won't have the fifth match for any team, but probably will have a few post-first-round matches.
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[Smallz38]

Remember when the whole point of building BMO field was so that we wouldn't have another 40-50k seat stadium since we had the Skydome? I really hope we don't have a repeat of 2015, or can at least work something out ahead of time to play somewhere close like at U of T, instead of having home games in Alberta, Ottawa, and Hamilton. I doubt it's physically possible but at this point we'd have to propose something crazy like expanding Lamport to accommodate 20-30,000 fans.

I know I'm preaching to the choir but this is just beyond frustrating that we get treated with so much disrespect despite being one of the oldest and most successful sports franchises in the city. Just another piece of adversity to overcome, like we always do!

[ArgoGabe22]

There is no way BMO Field is ready to host a World Cup game. It’s in such a bad area that the GO Train tunnel was severely backed up. And I feel if you’re familiar with the area, then any travelling fans are in for a real surprise how complicated it is to get into BMO Field. And good luck driving in.

[Will]

There is no way BMO Field is ready to host a World Cup game. It’s in such a bad area that the GO Train tunnel was severely backed up. And I feel if you’re familiar with the area, then any travelling fans are in for a real surprise how complicated it is to get into BMO Field. And good luck driving in.

Another pedestrian bridge or tunnel is needed for Liberty Village.