TiCats to decide whether to open stadium early

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Hambone
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
Council voted 39-3 on Thursday in support of the move, with Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, councillor Doug Ford, among those voting against it.
D'oh ...
Not that anybody can figure out what goes on between Rob Ford's ears, including Ford, but I don't understand why he's been against the BMO proposals unless it's a principle thing and he's against the city kicking in money. He's very much known to be a huge supporter of football. As one councillor had pointed out you can look at it two ways. The City kicking in $10 million for a pro sports facility or a private group (MLSE) kicking in $90 million to upgrade a City owned facility.
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Solar Max
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Hambone wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:
Council voted 39-3 on Thursday in support of the move, with Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, councillor Doug Ford, among those voting against it.
D'oh ...
Not that anybody can figure out what goes on between Rob Ford's ears, including Ford, but I don't understand why he's been against the BMO proposals unless it's a principle thing and he's against the city kicking in money. He's very much known to be a huge supporter of football. As one councillor had pointed out you can look at it two ways. The City kicking in $10 million for a pro sports facility or a private group (MLSE) kicking in $90 million to upgrade a City owned facility.
He's a huge supporter of NFL football, not the bush league kind, as he calls it.
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JohnHenry
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In all fairness Ford is a CFL supporter as well as minor football. He coached a high school team last season. I don't recall him ever calling the CFL bush league? He attended the Argos exhibition game at Varsity last year as well as the EDF (despite the league advising him not to). He also went on a tour to watch the Bombers and Riders last year and had great things to say about fan support in those cities (and apparently to research stadium designs and the local liquor laws). ;)

Ford said he didn't support giving MLSE $10 million because the city didn't have the money and would have to borrow it. The city had already donated the land and helped finance BMO's construction only 7 years ago. It is MLSE who would benefit the most with the proposed upgrade. So Ford said why couldn't MLSE just borrow the money themselves? :ref:
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David
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Rob Ford for all his faults is a football fan, often seen in an Argos jersey (better than the soccer loving guy we have, who's a Whitecaps season ticket holder, full stop). Ford travelled to Winnipeg and Regina this past year and had nothing but complimentary things to say about the stadium experience in both places.

My guess for voting against BMO Field expansion is he wants an Argo-specific stadium to be built in Downsview or Woodbine (BMO Field is right down by Lake Ontario and can be VERY cold and blustery).


DH :cool:
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notahomer
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Yes, IIRC, Ford is quite the football fan of all varities (NFL, CFL and minor leagues). IIRC, the Toronto Argos did ask him NOT to make press statements while wearing their uniforms but that was in large part due to him describing how there is no way he would ask a woman at his office, if he could perform oral sex on her, SINCE he's got a wife and can get all that he needs from her. :dizzy: Certainly can understand why the Argos would prefer these kinds of comments NOT be made while wearing their football jersey.

I'm glad Toronto has voted to expand this stadium. The CFL sure seems to be upgrading in the stadium department.
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Coast Mountain Lion
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David wrote:Rob Ford for all his faults is a football fan, often seen in an Argos jersey (better than the soccer loving guy we have, who's a Whitecaps season ticket holder, full stop). Ford travelled to Winnipeg and Regina this past year and had nothing but complimentary things to say about the stadium experience in both places.

My guess for voting against BMO Field expansion is he wants an Argo-specific stadium to be built in Downsview or Woodbine (BMO Field is right down by Lake Ontario and can be VERY cold and blustery).


DH :cool:
BMO Field is indeed near the lake, almost exactly where the Argos played at Exhibition Stadium for over a quarter of a century. The Mistake by the Lake was a bad stadium, but the location wasn't the reason for that. It was expanded for the advent of the Blue Jays in 1977, in which a decent if dated football stadium was converted into a stadium that was passable for baseball but atrocious for football.

Woodbine would be equivalent to making the Lions play in Cloverdale or Pitt Meadows, but without the same high level of public transit (he said ironically). Downsview would be better, being near the 401, 400 and Allen Expressway as well as the Spadina subway.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2 ... roved.html
BMO Field expansion funding approved by city council

Council voted 39-3 to expand city-owned soccer field, at a cost of $10 million. MLSE will put in $90 million, but says senior governments must kick in a share of the $120 million cost.

y:Paul MoloneyCity Hall Bureau reporter, Published on Thu Apr 03 2014

Toronto will invest $10 million in expanding city-owned BMO Field after council voted 39-3 Thursday in favour of the deal.


Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the city’s tenant in the facility where Toronto FC plays, will put at least $90 million toward the $120-million expansion.


Voting against the deal were Mayor Rob Ford and Councillors Doug Ford and Mike Del Grande.


“We’re very grateful for the leadership and support of the City,” said MLSE president Tim Leiweke. “This is an important issue, not just for Toronto FC, but also the CFL, the Pan Am Games, our ability to host Winter Classics, Grey Cups, and the proposed 2026 World Cup bid for Canada.”


The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts team is looking for a new home, and the BMO Field project includes lengthening the field for football. The stadium is also expected to host 2015 Pan Am Games events.


Argos executive chair and CEO Chris Rudge said he was pleased by the near-unanimous vote and said the football team expects to be talking at length with MLSE about the plan.


“It provides a purrfect-sized stadium for us, and with covered stands to keep people out of the inclement weather,” Rudge said. “It’s a masterful piece of public-private partnership, winning all around.”


CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said the league wants to see the Toronto franchise — now based at Rogers Centre — playing in a “smaller, more intimate stadium.”


MLSE’s Leiweke said MLSE will now work to obtain $10 million each from senior governments.


“For the province, the upside is the taxes and economic benefit,” Leiweke said. “For the feds, it’s obviously these big events like the Pan Am Games and the Winter Classic that we would be able to host.”


Ottawa doesn’t want to be seen as putting money directly into the stadium, but there should be a way to structure a transaction without setting a precedent, he said.


He warned the project won’t happen if the other governments don’t participate. “It’s part of our agreement with the city. If we don’t get the other sources (of funding), then the deal falls apart.”


The mayor didn’t speak during Thursday’s council debate. He was the sole opponent when the deal was endorsed 11-1 by council’s executive committee last month.


Ford didn’t speak at the executive committee either, but later told a newspaper he viewed it as “corporate welfare.”


City manager Joe Pennachetti told council Thursday morning that it was “a very good deal” in that the city will get its money back with interest over 20 years.


MLSE, in turn, gets a 10-year extension of its lease, to Dec. 31, 2037, rather than 2027.


Pennachetti was repeatedly pressed by Del Grande on why the city is putting up money for a project — proposed by MLSE — to increase seating to 30,000 from 21,566 and add a partial roof covering most of the seats.


MLSE wants more seating to handle expected higher attendance for soccer.


“Why would we want to get involved with an organization that is extremely wealthy?” Del Grande wondered. “Just the cost of a player on their roster would be worth $10 million.”


Pennachetti responded that there’s virtually no risk that taxpayers could lose money on the venture.


“We’re enhancing our own asset and it’s costing us nothing at the end of the day,” he said. “I believe this is a significant enhancement to a city-owned asset that basically is something that rarely comes along …


“It’s something that I would say is one of our bigger city-building projects in the last term of council,” he added. “It’s not corporate welfare.”
Older news re BMO Field. These themes are large. Expansion. Ownership. Stadiums.

If the renovations to BMO Field go ahead, with adaptation for the Argonauts, and if David Braley finds suitable new owners for his teams, I would say that the CFL would be reaching a new level of solidity and stability.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=454959
REGINA -- Ground has been broken for the stadium that will be the new home for the Canadian Football League Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Officials from the city, the province and the team were on hand as the first shovel went into the dirt at Evraz Place northwest of downtown Regina

Sean Hamblin, district manager of construction company PCL Management, said it will take a few months to notice any above-ground work at the site.

More than 300,000 cubic metres of dirt is to be removed over the summer -- about 25,000 truckloads of material.

GROUND BROKEN FOR ROUGHRIDERS' NEW CFL STADIUM

6/16/2014 2:39:10 PM

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere (foo-ZHAYR') said the new Mosaic Stadium will become one of the city's landmarks.

The $278-million stadium is to be completed by August 2016.

The design was released last month and calls for a 33,000-seat facility that can be expanded to hold 40,000 fans for special events.

The stadium is to have wider seats, a sunken bowl for easier spectator access and expansive concourses. Although it is open-air, it features a translucent spectators roof that extends over the seats to provide protection from the elements.

The venue is being described as "roof ready," meaning a full cover could be added at a later date.

The current stadium near downtown Regina originally started as a rugby field in 1910 and is known for its old wooden-bench seating and wind exposure.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Ground broken ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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They should also get a new game clock.
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Lions4ever
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TheLionKing wrote:They should also get a new game clock.
Gold. Pure gold.
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sj-roc
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Lions4ever wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:They should also get a new game clock.
Gold. Pure gold.
You know how the bouncers at some nightclubs stand just outside the door with those handheld counters to keep track of how many people are inside? They should get one of those guys to stand on the sideline, right next to the Riders' bench.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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David
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TheLionKing wrote:They should also get a new game clock.
:rotf: :thup:

How many 'last minute' Rider drives have the Leos faced at Taylor Field through the years that have taken 68 seconds to play?


DH :cool:
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Sir Purrcival
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same manure, different driveway
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DanoT
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So with the new roof at BC Place do the Riderfans still believe that the Lions pipe in stadium noise during live plays?

I've kinda enjoyed keeping that myth alive.
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