I agree, he should've kept his mouth shut about MLSE, it makes the CFL and Cohon come across as desperate...How would you also feel if you were another nearby municipality who was interested in building a stadium facility for the Argos...I'd feel pissed if I was a developer or mayor of a nearby municipality who was courting the Argos.
Because of Cohon's big mouth seeing him go go-goo-ga-ga over the prospects of the Greatest sports empire (said with tongue in cheek, believe me) owning the Argos, I seriously question whether there are any other options being discussed...I could be proven and in many ways I hope I am. I personally don't want to see the Argos as a second tennant to an MLS soccer team, under the MLSE umbrella. Some on here may believe that the Argos may have a higher profile, but the other argument could be that they will be just as marginalized and buried under the other MLSE sports properties.
Remember MLSE also owns the Marlies, and ask yourself if you want an owner that will treat the Argos as a cherished property with their own stadium, which is what an independent owner would do, or ask yourself if you want MLSE to perhaps treat the Argos as a 2nd class property like they do the Marlies in comparison to Leafs, Raptors and even God forbid...TFC.
PS- speaking of TFC, would MLSE also change the name of this sorry franchise if they buy the Argos. They would then own 2 football teams, one in Association football (soccer) and one in Canadian Gridiron Football. I was never a fan of the TFC name because of this...TSC ok, Toronto FC was a cheap ploy to pretend to be Liverpool FC. Even their Red uniforms was made to copy this and so is there nickname as they are referred to as the Reds....Hmm, "Reds", no wonder why I'm not a fan.
Pretty much all the ones you mentioned...the biggest highway in Canada and the 2nd busiest freeway in North America being the 401 is a stone's through from Downsview, the 400, the Allen Expressway, The DVP and 404, Black Creek Drive, Hwy 427, not just the 27....it's also relatively close to the Vaughan (Hwy7) as
corridor, and there are many alternative city routes that could dissipate traffic from many directions.
I think Downsview is an excellent compromise...the team would still be in the middle of Toronto and not be more than a half hour north of it's present location. If Vaughan is serious then that's fine, I'd be willing to go west toward those empty parcels of land on 427 and 7 or at Woodbine, but then it no longer becomes a direct route from Union Station.
As I've said before, it's to the point where they've just got to get out of that dome for Regular season games and maybe even playoff games if they can no longer be accomadated at the dome...their presence is invisible at the dome now during the season. Let's not even pretend that the Argos have a huge following in Downtown compared to the 416 burbs and 905 burbs...half the Argo fans showed up late last week because of the snarled traffic downtown. Had it not been for the Ticat faithful, which saddens me to say, the attendance for the Eastern Final would have been embarrassing. Possibly lower than the awful Eastern Final attendance to close out the CNE in 1988.
Follow the money, folks. There are no options other than BMO Field. Braley isn't putting one cent of his own money into a brand new, $200 million stadium and we have ample evidence in this country that other private interests aren't going to either unless the governments at various levels contribute the lion's share and that is not happening in Downsview, Vaughn, etc. You might be able to get some government money to upgrade BMO but that is all you are going to get from taxpayers.
Last edited by ArgoRavi; 11-24-2013 at 01:37 PM.
Cameron Dukes + Dan Adeboboye + Kevin Mital + David Ungerer + Damonte Coxie + DaVaris Daniels + Dejon Brissett = Unstoppable Force
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