Travel for January 30 Canada match

[Treppy2]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

I don’t think there will be.  The US is hosting 2 games that window and will be focused on those.  Hamilton is just enough out of the way that it should avoid a big US crowd.  
 

I expect this game will sell out fast as well.  It’s shaping to be a huge game and the hype for Canada soccer is building 

The two stadiums the US is using this window both have smaller capacities than THF, and there will be a "weighted random draw" for tickets. January or not, I suspect there will be plenty of US supporters who can't get tickets to their home matches travelling north to see their team in Hamilton.

[SoccMan]

5 hours ago, David Pinto said:

I'm all for taking jabs at hamilton but NOTHING is as terrible as Columbus. 

But Columbus now has a great soccer stadium , proper roof and fully enclosed and Hamilton has Tim Hortons Field .

[SoccMan]

4 hours ago, Pottsy3 said:

can confirm, have never paid parking for a Forge match. Avondale St has always done me well.

Your comparing a Forge game where you get maybe 3000 on most games to a full house , parking won’t be as easy .

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

If by that you mean trendy, no.  Classic, historical (as far as Canada can have) hell yeah.  If you can figure out how to grow grass indoors I suggest you give the jays a call and they will pay you a lot of money.

Sorry I disagree. I think its a crap relic. But really the stadiums should be in Montreal and Calgary first before replacing Commonwealth. But as I've pointed out, getting anything done in Canada is impossible. You don't need a fully indoor stadium. You also don't need a 50-60k stadium either. It's simple to create a mostly inclosed stadium that brings in natural air but protects fans and the play from winter elements 

Edited November 24, 2021 by SpursFlu

[SoccMan]

1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

I'm really disappointed by this but I actually understand the travel issues 

To me the big takeaway is this country should be embarrassed by the lack of appropriate facilities.

No disrespect to the people of Hamilton but I do not enjoy watching a football match from Tim Hortons field. Mostly because the conditions and the wide open feeling just zaps the energy out. I can only imagine what January will feel like. 

Anyways, whatever, let's just go get 3pts 

Yup been there a few times Pan Am games and a couple of Forge games , just basically two big grandstands and wide open spaces behind both goals , the last place I would want to watch a soccer game , but it is what it is like you said let’s get the 3 points because in the end that’s what this is all about , and maybe one day by Canada making World Cups regularly, things will change and proper soccer stadiums will be built like they are doing in the US .

[dyslexic nam]

In terms of flight times, is that an African swallow or a European swallow? 

[SoccMan]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I was trying to be nice but at this point your post is a joke, denigrating Commonwealth.

Totally agree with not having nice stadiums, but we are not a soccer country so we have to build stadiums with other sports in mind and that’s why we get stadiums that look like BMO Field and Tim Hortons Field , but at least we are finally getting some more enclosed stadiums like the one in Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

[Pottsy3]

36 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

Your comparing a Forge game where you get maybe 3000 on most games to a full house , parking won’t be as easy .

You don't think Avondale Street can accomodate 20,000 people's worth of cars? Smh

On a more serious note, yes parking is going to suck especially with it being in the winter but it's not like the Ti Cats don't average 20,000+ in the same stadium.

As a local, I'm trying to avoid driving at all costs this night. I'm so used to having to stay sober enough to make the trek home from Toronto for events.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Pottsy3

[Califax]

5 hours ago, zeelaw said:

Can we change this thread title yet. Aint happening west coasters.

"The Importance of Tim Horton's Field" ?? 🤣

[EJsens1]

6 minutes ago, Califax said:

"The Importance of Tim Horton's Field" ?? 🤣

Well if it’s going to be played there, hopefully they provide us with free leftover timbiebs 

[weathermanfran]

6 hours ago, jonovision said:

Outdoors in St Paul in early February has a very good chance of being a colder game than Edmonton was for Mexico.

Not only that, it could be significantly colder too.. below -20 celsius windchill is easily possible... that time of year is statistically the coldest. Good luck with that 🇺🇲's! 

[JamboAl]

Made a quick edit to the title; nothing is official yet until it is official...will fix once it gets announced.

[ADP10]

Apparently the turf in Columbus is the same as the one in Hamilton. So that might if been one the the reasons the states are playing there

[king1010]

1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

Yup been there a few times Pan Am games and a couple of Forge games , just basically two big grandstands and wide open spaces behind both goals , the last place I would want to watch a soccer game , but it is what it is like you said let’s get the 3 points because in the end that’s what this is all about , and maybe one day by Canada making World Cups regularly, things will change and proper soccer stadiums will be built like they are doing in the US .

there are a lot worse places I'd watch a soccer game in Canada than THF

Edited November 24, 2021 by king1010

[king1010]

4 minutes ago, ADP10 said:

Apparently the turf in Columbus is the same as the one in Hamilton. So that might if been one the the reasons the states are playing there

Colombus is grass? Who said it was the same turf? 

Edited November 24, 2021 by king1010

[ADP10]

1 minute ago, king1010 said:

Colombus is grass? Who said it was the same turf? 

found it on reddit, i think a dome by there or something is the same type of turf

[king1010]

2 minutes ago, ADP10 said:

found it on reddit, i think a dome by there or something is the same type of turf

a dome in Columbus that they plan on training in? 

[ADP10]

2 minutes ago, king1010 said:

a dome in Columbus that they plan on training in? 

a dome is over the old crew field, which now has turf apparently according to reddit

[RS]

19 minutes ago, ADP10 said:

a dome is over the old crew field, which now has turf apparently according to reddit

But the game is at the Crew's new stadium.

The U.S. can find artificial turf fields to train on anywhere. I doubt they made the decision to host a game in Columbus based on that.

[ted]

4 hours ago, king1010 said:

 

"Allegedly" 

Then head coach John Herdman threw one of his patented curveballs after the win over Mexico.

"I think everyone's got to understand the travel realities of January," said Herdman. "There's some ridiculous travel commitments there, and we've got to put the players' health, safety as well as the performance at risk. This isn't about touring the country and having a celebration, it's about going to the Qatar World Cup. We will do everything we need to do to do that."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/five-burning-questions-canada-finish-world-cup-qualifying/

Yup, no such confirmation. He did not say anything about player preferences. He literally said it was about more flying being a risk factor for the players health and safety.

It's bad enough we whine about this, let's not drag the players personal feelings into this one way or the other. 

[Joe MacCarthy]

1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

that’s why we get stadiums that look like BMO Field and Tim Hortons Field

But there's nothing wrong with that. With an extremely limited budget, they came up with a pretty good project for the buck using many modern concepts for fan amenities and revenue opportunities that weren't available in the old Ivor Wynne.  If you go to the New Canadian stadiums thread there are lots of articles detailing this.  It's a shame that the photo sharing site I was using went under and all the photos are lost but at least the articles are still documented in full.

Inside the CFL: Two Hamilton traditions
Ted Michaels Hamilton, ON (Sports Network) canada.com July 16, 2013

The new $145.7-million, state-of-the-art facility is being built on the same spot where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' long-time venue, Ivor Wynne Stadium, used to stand.

The facility will have permanent seating for 22,500 spectators with the ability to be expanded to 40,000 seats for major events, including the Grey Cup.

The Tiger-Cats will get to play in a brand new facility, which is being funded by a city contribution of $54.3 million, $22.3 million from the province of Ontario, and the federal government, which will pay the remaining $69.1 million.

"We received significant feedback from our fans during the stadium design and programming phases, through an extensive survey program," Matt Afinec, Senior Vice President, New Stadium Development, told Inside the CFL. "The common theme was unanimous. Tiger-Cats fans wanted the stadium to include features that enhance their live viewing experience, including food and beverage access and quality, easier washroom access, technology which includes a videoboard, LCD TVs in concourses, modern sound and lighting systems and so on, while at the same time maintaining the best sightlines for CFL football anywhere in Canada."

Plans for a brand new stadium don't happen overnight. Afinec noted that Tim Hortons Field will be unique to Hamilton, but at the same time will be loosely modeled on other stadiums.

"We visited a number of stadiums and arenas across North America to gather best practices in new venues. This includes facilities that were larger in capacity and had far greater construction budgets relative to what was going to be delivered in Hamilton.  However, we felt that great ideas rooted in enhancing the live viewing experience were transferable and could be customized to the needs of our local market, venue and construction budget. For example, we ultimately implemented the principle of two concepts from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The end zone patio at Tim Hortons Field is comparable in theme to the common areas in the end zones at Cowboys Stadium."

[Joe MacCarthy]

2 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Sorry I disagree. I think its a crap relic. But really the stadiums should be in Montreal and Calgary first before replacing Commonwealth. But as I've pointed out, getting anything done in Canada is impossible. You don't need a fully indoor stadium. You also don't need a 50-60k stadium either. It's simple to create a mostly inclosed stadium that brings in natural air but protects fans and the play

You can think it is a "crap relic" and that is your uninformed opinion.  There has been no talk of replacing Commonwealth so I have no idea what you are on about there.  A few years ago there was talk of a mid size 10-15 seat stadium to fill a need but that was not a CW replacement.

You say we can't get anything done in Canada, well I don't know where you have been in the last 10-15 years Rip Van Winkle because we went on a stadium replacement building boom which I never dreamed would happen.  Montreal (Molson) refurbished, Saputo (Refurbished/new), BMO (new), Ottawa (New/refurnished), Hamilton (New), Winnipeg (New), Regina (New), Edmonton (ongoing upgrades), Vancouver (major refurbishment) Moncton (New), Kingston (New)

This simple stadium you're talking about probably starts at 200 million and don't look at new high school stadiums in Texas that are made with cheap labour and aren't winterized that are built for 65 million (like that famous one everyone crowed about) and was condemned a year later

[Joe MacCarthy]

1 hour ago, ADP10 said:

Apparently the turf in Columbus is the same as the one in Hamilton. So that might if been one the the reasons the states are playing there

Where did you get that information as I have been unable to find out what the new stuff is in Hamilton.  Or are they just speaking about a generic FieldTurf like surface.

[Joe MacCarthy]

2 hours ago, SoccMan said:

Totally agree with not having nice stadiums, but we are not a soccer country so we have to build stadiums with other sports in mind and that’s why we get stadiums that look like BMO Field and Tim Hortons Field , but at least we are finally getting some more enclosed stadiums like the one in Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

And that roof in Winnipeg cost 40 million, that's something to think about when you're spending the public's money.

[SoccMan]

34 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

But there's nothing wrong with that. With an extremely limited budget, they came up with a pretty good project for the buck using many modern concepts for fan amenities and revenue opportunities that weren't available in the old Ivor Wynne.  If you go to the New Canadian stadiums thread there are lots of articles detailing this.  It's a shame that the photo sharing site I was using went under and all the photos are lost but at least the articles are still documented in full.

Inside the CFL: Two Hamilton traditions
Ted Michaels Hamilton, ON (Sports Network) canada.com July 16, 2013

The new $145.7-million, state-of-the-art facility is being built on the same spot where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' long-time venue, Ivor Wynne Stadium, used to stand.

The facility will have permanent seating for 22,500 spectators with the ability to be expanded to 40,000 seats for major events, including the Grey Cup.

The Tiger-Cats will get to play in a brand new facility, which is being funded by a city contribution of $54.3 million, $22.3 million from the province of Ontario, and the federal government, which will pay the remaining $69.1 million.

"We received significant feedback from our fans during the stadium design and programming phases, through an extensive survey program," Matt Afinec, Senior Vice President, New Stadium Development, told Inside the CFL. "The common theme was unanimous. Tiger-Cats fans wanted the stadium to include features that enhance their live viewing experience, including food and beverage access and quality, easier washroom access, technology which includes a videoboard, LCD TVs in concourses, modern sound and lighting systems and so on, while at the same time maintaining the best sightlines for CFL football anywhere in Canada."

Plans for a brand new stadium don't happen overnight. Afinec noted that Tim Hortons Field will be unique to Hamilton, but at the same time will be loosely modeled on other stadiums.

"We visited a number of stadiums and arenas across North America to gather best practices in new venues. This includes facilities that were larger in capacity and had far greater construction budgets relative to what was going to be delivered in Hamilton.  However, we felt that great ideas rooted in enhancing the live viewing experience were transferable and could be customized to the needs of our local market, venue and construction budget. For example, we ultimately implemented the principle of two concepts from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The end zone patio at Tim Hortons Field is comparable in theme to the common areas in the end zones at Cowboys Stadium."

Yes I get you , but they build these Tim Horton open end zone no stands stadium so they can add temporary seating for the Grey Cup , but in the meantime for the majority of CFL games and soccer games we have to sit through two stand open end stadiums instead of nice enclosed stadiums.