New Stadium Locations

[paulwoods13]

The problem with BMO Field is for people that have to drive or take the TTC. Yes there is GO Train access (depending on the start & end time of the game and where you're coming from) if you're coming from the East or the West. However if you're coming from the North it's brutal to get to and the TTC access is a joke. I've taken the TTC to BMO Field for TFC Games and to the Exhibition Grounds for Marlies Games & for Concerts at the Molson Amphitheater and it's brutal. If you're lucky the TTC will run a few extra Streetcars into the Exhibition grounds but nowhere near enough and you end up literally having to fight to get on the Streetcar and then you're crammed in there like a sardine.

There's no site anywhere that is immune to traffic from all directions. If it's brutal to drive to BMO from the north (and I'm sure it is), it must also be brutal to drive to Rogers Centre from the north. Just as it can be brutal to drive to RC from the west (it certainly was on Friday night, at least) and from the east quite often. No matter where the stadium ends up, driving there will involve fighting traffic for anyone who does not live within a couple of kilometres. The point I've been trying to make is that at least downtown (or at the Ex), you have an option to get there -- from all directions -- that does not require you to drive in Toronto traffic. Anywhere outside the downtown core will eliminate that option for at least some paying customers. If the team can offset any losses from that group with gains from other customers, moving to the suburbs would be a good idea. If not, it won't be.

I don't disagree that the leg of the journey from subway to Ex can be unpleasant on crowded streetcars, but Argo fans put up with that for 30 years when the team played at the Ex.

Then there's the issues with the Stadium itself. It's like a poor mans version of the old Ivor Wynne, albeit newer and in better condition.

I think it's fairly certain (based on comments from Leiwecke) that the stadium is going to be renovated extensively, whether or not the Argos become a tenant or partner, so I don't think the current setup should be seen as what we'd be moving into.

As to a Stadium in the Suburbs if it's relativley close to Yonge Street and/or Highway 7 there will be excellent Transit options via the Viva High Speed Buses and the regular YRT Buses and you can take the Subway to Finch Station - and hopefully one day soon all the way to Highway 7. You can also take the Subway to Downsview and soon you'll be able to take it all the way into Vaughan.

There are no high-speed buses that I know of from west of the city or east of the city to the area you are speaking of. Someone living in Oakville, Burlington or Milton (and presumably Pickering/Oshawa/Whitby although I am not positive about that) would need to take GO train to Union, then subway to the stadium. A journey that would take 90 minutes or more from most locations. If GO ever adds a route that goes across the top of Toronto from the eastern and western suburbs, it would be a different story, but I think that's unlikely as there already seems to be a shortage of usable rails.