Don't you love it when a plan comes together!
According to a report in the Globe and Mail, Ottawa has dithered on providing the go ahead on funding its portion of the proposed BMO Field expansion. As such, MLSE is going ahead with its plans without the Feds' involvement.
The direct consequence of that is that the expansion of the field to accommodate CFL football is now off the table.
The Argos will no longer be destroying the pitch at BMO Field.
In the infamous words of Johnny Drama: VICTORY!!!!
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Yes, there is still technically the possibility of blowing out the north stand to accommodate an expansion, but that is a much more difficult proposition. The north end footprint is much tighter and with a upper deck already in place, moving the stands back is far more expensive and complicated.
The only way this realistically is saved from an Argos perspective is if the federal government bends immediately and decides to provide the funding.
Doing that would require the Harper Conservatives to reverse a policy of not providing public money to sports stadiums that aren't connected to an educational institution.
In Toronto.
It's possible that stranger things have happened, but it's hard to remember when.
Since the federal government's policy was well known, it begs the question if this wasn't MLSE's plan all along. Opposition amongst fans of the primary tenant (and far more profitable team) was strong and nearly universal. However, nostalgically motivated political pressure from within the city's political class demanded that MLSE "save" the Argos as well.
That doing so would legitimately hurt TFC was never considered by that political class, which, for the most part are part of a generation that does not understand or care about the sport of soccer.
A word about the Argos: Whereas it is true that this is a team that needs to step up and save itself for once (100 years of history; never owned own stadium), we all should hope that a solution arises that allows for that club to thrive and survive for another 100 years.
Argos fans should not be the enemy of TFC fans. They were just forced into that role by a stadium plan that was unworkable and antagonistic to its core. It may not seem like it now, but being a tenant yet again (playing in front of all those red and white seats as the double blue) was never going to be a good solution.
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