Tailgating at BMO Field

[Neely2005]

"The one attraction the Boatmen are really banking on is tailgating, which will be allowed in areas around BMO Field this season.

The only catch is it isn’t BYOB due to Ontario liquor laws. Beer will be sold at “very fair prices,” according to Copeland, and patrons are allowed to bring their own food and barbecues. There will be areas for games of catch and other attractions.

Copeland and his team are doing everything they can to put the fun back in Argos football.
“We can’t just rest on the stadium alone,” Copeland said. “While it is going to be spectacular, it’s everything we’re doing around the stadium that’s really going to augment it for us this year. And that begins with tailgating.”

http://m.torontosun.com/2016/05/16/a...l-new-branding

So I've never been part of a real tailgate before. What should we expect?
What should we bring?
Will there be a tailgate at the preseason game?
Will there be a tailgate at the games during the CNE?
Where specifically will the tailgate take place?
How will it work?
How much will alcoholic beverages cost?
What kind / brands of alcoholic beverages will be available?
Will the police be hassling people who partake?

Lots of questions I know but hopefully we can discuss and find out some of the answers and post them here.

[Kenners]

will there be cider? i can't drink beer lol

[T-Bone]

What should we bring?

I recommend camping chair(s) at minimum. Obviously a BBQ and food if you plan to cook. Non-alcoholic beverages, a football, etc.

Will there be a tailgate at the preseason game?

I'm sure the Argos will let us know.

Will there be a tailgate at the games during the CNE?

Doubtful, as I don't think they're will be space. Besides tons of great stuff to enjoy during those games at the CNE.

Where specifically will the tailgate take place?

I'm sure the Argos will let us know but my guess would be the parking lot located on the east side of the stadium.

How will it work?

I'm sure the Argos will let us know.

How much will alcoholic beverages cost?

For TFC pre-games they offer small Budweiser draft for $5. Again, I'm sure the Argos will let us know.

What kind / brands of alcoholic beverages will be available?

If I remember correctly they didn't have much variety for TFC pre-game but again, I'm sure the Argos will let us know.

Will the police be hassling people who partake?

Unless you give them a reason, I don't see why they would. As the article said it will be a licensed area.

[Will]

Given that it'll be a licensed area, people who try to do their own thing would likely be hassled by the police in some fashion.

[ArgoZ]

Having a licensed area means controlled access, most likely a fenced off area. It will be interesting to see if actual tailgates (vehicles) will be allowed in that area, which will have to be quite large if they are. The Police will be there to monitor who is driving home and hopefully not any fights.

[Neely2005]

Yeah IIRC I remember reading that they plan to have a tailgate area for vehicles and one for people who don't drive to BMO Field.

[ArgoGabe22]

Like Angelo once said, I'm not much into the tailgating either. I'm there for the game. To each their own and anything to create a buzz is good for the team.

[T-Bone]

Yeah IIRC I remember reading that they plan to have a tailgate area for vehicles and one for people who don't drive to BMO Field.

My guess for the non-drivers the area will be on the north side of the stadium between BMO Field and the Food Building. That is where the TFC pre-game is currently held.

[Brian45]

Either way tailgating is a long time coming. Once upon a time we had a small legit tailgate in the parking lots that the new Delta Hotel and PWC building at Bremner and York now occupy. They allowed bbq and beer and police never bothered us. That was over a decade ago now.

[ArgoFan1]

I'll never understand why the difference between the laws in Hamilton and Toronto, as in Hamilton, you take your own beer and drink at your car, sit in your lawn chairs and make or take your own food. I've been doing that for years in Hamilton. They do it every single game and the police just walk around and never hassle anyone. I am just wondering since they say you have to buy their beer, if you have to drink it within a certain area or can you take your beer back to the car?? If you cannot have it at the car, where your food is, then what is the point??? That's not real tailgating. I love the tailgates in Hamilton, but really it is not a deal breaker for me with the Argos, as I go for the game. I'll probably take the car in for the first game and see what the traffic situation is like before I decide to drive in again. I recall the nightmare of parking at the Ex when the Argos and Blue Jays played there. I was not 100% happy to see the Argos go back there.

[Brian45]

From my understanding on what I have read is that there will be a lot or lots that will be deemed licensed and you will be able to set up your tailgate at your car ad you would in hamilton. The difference being that you'll be buying beer through the Argos in said parking lots. I don't know how that distribution will work or if you'll be able to buy a case or just individuals or what. The other reason it's different than Hamilton is that Police won't be able to look the other way when if its not licensed because it's the CNE grounds and a public lot and they even have a station on the grounds. Again I used to drink and tailgate at a private lot for a few years near the Dome with zero hassle.

[Neely2005]

I'll never understand why the difference between the laws in Hamilton and Toronto, as in Hamilton, you take your own beer and drink at your car, sit in your lawn chairs and make or take your own food. I've been doing that for years in Hamilton. They do it every single game and the police just walk around and never hassle anyone. I am just wondering since they say you have to buy their beer, if you have to drink it within a certain area or can you take your beer back to the car?? If you cannot have it at the car, where your food is, then what is the point??? That's not real tailgating. I love the tailgates in Hamilton, but really it is not a deal breaker for me with the Argos, as I go for the game. I'll probably take the car in for the first game and see what the traffic situation is like before I decide to drive in again. I recall the nightmare of parking at the Ex when the Argos and Blue Jays played there. I was not 100% happy to see the Argos go back there.

The Ontario liquor laws are the same province wide. Hamilton police may choose to be more lenient than Toronto police when it comes to enforcing those laws.

[Brian45]

^That's exactly it. I've tail tagged for TFC before, they do come around and look for booze.

[Argoknot]

Argonauts open doors to tailgating, with a Toronto twist
Because of existing liquor laws, an Argos official says the team will be selling the liquor but promises to make them affordable.
Sean Fitz-Gerald Sports Reporter thestar.com May 28, 2016

In Toronto, a city where alcohol and professional sports have endured a glacial courtship, where Major League Baseball once housed its only dry stadium — not one dry section; an entirely alcohol-free park — one team is introducing a beer-tinged tradition in the hope of sparking renewed interest while also attracting younger fans.

The Argonauts want to tailgate.

For the first time, the team is planning a real pre-game tailgate, where fans are allowed to park their cars, pull out their barbecues and grill their own food. Beer, a key ingredient in the process, will be permitted as the team opens its debut season at BMO Field.

There is one catch.

“Our liquor laws prevent people from bringing their own beer,” said Michael Copeland, the team’s president and chief executive. “But other than that, it will be true in all other respects.”

The team will sell the beer. Copeland said the Argos are still finalizing the prices, as well as the brands that will be available for purchase, but stressed the idea the team is trying to create an “accessible experience” for fans and that “overpricing for beer just shoots us in the foot.”

“When people experience it, they’re not going to think, ‘Oh, I wish I could have brought my semi-warm case of beer in with me,’ ” he said. “We’re going to price it affordably, because again it has to be an authentic experience.”

Special zones will be reserved for tailgating within the lots at Exhibition Place, as well as Ontario Place. Copeland said the team has not finalized the parking rates, but suggested a modest premium would be levied on the designated tailgating zones.

He said there would be a minimum of 250 tailgating spaces for each regular season home game, but felt that number could swell to 1,000 depending on demand and availability at both venues. (Duran Duran is scheduled to play the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on July 13, the night Toronto hosts Ottawa, creating a crunch on available parking spaces.)

Copeland said access to the tailgating section will likely be made available through a presale process. The team is planning a trial run at its pre-season game against Hamilton on June 11, building to the main launch 12 days later, at its regular season home-opener.

“We’ve got a very, very strong core fan base, but it does skew older,” Copeland said. “And we need to bring in new fans, probably more urgently than most sports teams.”

The Argos have been working with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the government organization that administers the Liquor Licence Act. Copeland has also had talks with Toronto Mayor John Tory, as well as Exhibition Place, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others with a stake in the process.

Beer sales will end 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Cars entering the special tailgate area will be searched for contraband alcohol. It will be open to all ages, with Copeland envisioning children throwing a football around with parents.

“It’s starting to take shape as an opportunity to do something that might get more people out to watch CFL football, which is their goal, and do it in a respectful way that’s not going to put others at risk,” said Andrew Murie, chief executive of MADD Canada. “The worst possible scenario is someone gets hurt and that’s one of the outcomes we don’t want.”

Tory, the former CFL chairman, said the team has his “full support” to run a tailgate.

“I wanted to make it work both because I thought it was a sane way for responsible adults to entertain themselves, but also because I wanted to try and help the rebirth of the Argos,” he said. “I have the CFL in my blood both from being a fan as a boy, but also of being the chairman and the commissioner in days when it was pretty dark.”

Having struggled for years to build a fan base at Rogers Centre, the team needs to spark new interest in its new home. Earlier this month, the Argos dispatched players to a bar in nearby Liberty Village — an enclave of young professionals — behind the rallying cry of, “Who wants sangria?”

Tailgating has been a staple of football for generations in the United States, both at the collegiate and professional levels. Several versions have been attempted around Toronto, but usually revolving around a pedestrian area featuring expensive beer.

Part of that is tied to Ontario’s liquor laws, which have deep historical roots.

“There was a large population who felt that a lot of things were immoral,” said Dr. Ron Stagg, a professor in the department of history at Ryerson University. “And they were particularly immoral on Sundays, because Sunday was supposed to be reserved only for worshipping.”

In Ontario, until the late 1950s, Stagg said the government tied the purchase of alcohol to a kind of passport. One side would list the customer’s personal information, and the other would list their purchases.

“If you bought too much,” Stagg said, “they would ban you.”

In 1977, as the Blue Jays were preparing to make their big league debut, the Ontario government announced it would not allow beer to be sold at Exhibition Stadium. Fans were unhappy — sometimes chanting “We want beer” in the stands — but the protest never quite evolved into outrage.

“To be honest with you, they didn’t know any better,” said Howard Starkman, a long-time Blue Jays employee now working as a consultant with the team. “Most of the people who came to our games just really didn’t realize they were missing anything, other than people saying you were supposed to have a beer and a hotdog at a baseball game.”

Beer finally broke through in 1982.

The tailgate has taken a bit longer.

“Why it wasn’t done before? I can’t answer that question,” Copeland said. “I think, perhaps, people just didn’t pursue it to the extent that they may have been able to.”

[Neely2005]

Hopefully it's Less than $5 for a regular sized beer.

[Will]

I think as long as people behave then they'd consider expanding the tailgate. However, I don't believe that they would hesitate to shut it down if people abused it.

[Kenners]

So i've never been to a tailgating event, i'm new to football in general i'm stoked. like many new Argo fans, I have no idea what to expect or even what the protocols are for going to a tailgate....I also don't plan on driving most times to games which may be a detriment lol but still...

i know tailgating will be different here in TO so no one can tell us how it'll be, but i figured stories of how tailgating events elsewhere will help give a good idea....what are some tips, tricks, expectations and unwritten rules?

[Invader]

"Search every vehicle for contraband"...do they do this at tailgates in Buffalo too and wouldn't this contravene our constiltutional rights (presumption of innocence)? Sorry, wrong country, I guess...we do things differently in We the North.

A 100% markup for beer sounds reasonable enough for Canadian sensibilities, so I'll predict a $4.00 price on "beer". So what if you don't like beer, will they offer wine, coolers, hard drinks and Bud, for example?

[Neely2005]

"Search every vehicle for contraband"...do they do this at tailgates in Buffalo too and wouldn't this contravene our constiltutional rights (presumption of innocence)? Sorry, wrong country, I guess...we do things differently in We the North.

A 100% markup for beer sounds reasonable enough for Canadian sensibilities, so I'll predict a $4.00 price on "beer". So what if you don't like beer, will they offer wine, coolers, hard drinks and Bud, for example?

They don't need to search vehicles in Buffalo because you can bring your own beer. Also if it's private property you have to follow their rules. I'm not sure if the CNE grounds are considered private property or not though.

[PullTogether73]

A 100% markup for beer sounds reasonable enough for Canadian sensibilities, so I'll predict a $4.00 price on "beer". So what if you don't like beer, will they offer wine, coolers, hard drinks and Bud, for example?

Bud isn't a beer?