New Stadiums For 5 CFL Teams?

[Brockleigh]

From TSN.ca:

REPORT: CFL TEAMS PUSHING PLANS TO BUILD NEW STADIUMS

TORONTO - The CFL could be on the verge of a construction boom that could change the look of the league and dramatically improve its economics as well.

The Globe and Mail reported on its website Tuesday that five CFL teams - the Montreal Alouettes, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders and the ownership of a conditional Ottawa franchise - are aggressively pushing plans to build new stadiums or drastically alter and refurbish old ones.

With the anticipated makeover of Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium and a potential redesign of Toronto's BMO Field to accommodate the Argonauts, the CFL could be looking at well over a half-billion dollars invested in stadium infrastructure during the next five years. Some think this type of investment is long overdue.

''This is a league that is primarily driven by ticket sales, so the weakness is when you have older stadiums it's harder to attract people,'' CFL commissioner Mark Cohon told The Globe and Mail. ''You can have a great product on the field, but when people go to a stadium where it's not a nice experience to be in ... then they go down to the street to an NHL game with beautiful suites, great concessions and easy to get in and out of, that creates a hard operating environment for our teams.''

[WallysWorld]

McMahon Stadium is old (built in 1960), but has been upgraded twice in the last 20 years. Just wish they would replace the metal bleachers, where my season tickets are, with the nice formed plastic seats.

[David Winter]

potential redesign of Toronto's BMO Field

 
My understanding is that would be very, very pricey. If the reports out of Toronto, printed at the time of that stadiums construction, are to be believed, the owners of the stadium went to great lengths to ensure the stadium design couldn't be modified for anything but soccer. You'd have to widen and lengthen the playing area to fit a CFL sized field, and based on the way it's supposedly constructed, that doesn't seem practical.
 
Having said that, BC place is supposed to be getting retrofitted with a retractable roof, and that was deemed impractical for 20 years....
 

[Brockleigh]

My understanding is that would be very, very pricey. If the reports out of Toronto, printed at the time of that stadiums construction, are to be believed, the owners of the stadium went to great lengths to ensure the stadium design couldn't be modified for anything but soccer. You'd have to widen and lengthen the playing area to fit a CFL sized field, and based on the way it's supposedly constructed, that doesn't seem practical.

I couldn't agree more, Dave. I've been to a number of Toronto FC games and sat in the End Zone with all the ultra-passionate nutbars. One of the great things about the stadium is how close you are to the field, and the field goes almost right up to the stands at either end. The field is just under 110 yards long, and to accommodate football, they'd need to tack on 50 yards for a CFL sized field. That would completely kill the atmosphere within the stadium, which is why the TFC supporters are opposing the idea. Oddly enough, the stadium design is very reminiscent of Ivor Wynne stadium. The layout and sightlines are almost identical.