As Major League Soccer side Toronto FC broke ground on "long-awaited plans to renovate BMO Field, one potential tenant -- and a few million dollars in funding -- were still missing in action," according to Josh Rubin of the TORONTO STAR. The $120M renovation includes 8,400 new permanent seats, "bringing stadium capacity to 30,000." An additional 10,000 temporary seats are "also available for larger
events, including next summer's PanAm Games." The three-stage renovation
will "also include a canopy sheltering all but one section of the
stands." The final stage of the renovation "would include preparing the stadium" to host the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Chief Facilities Offer Bob Hunter said, "We've always hoped that the CFL comes. It's a natural for them. It’s a
great solution for them size-wise. They'll end up with 26,000 to 27,000
seats." MLSE is contributing $95M toward the expansion, and the City of
Toronto has agreed to contribute $10M. The anticipated funding
from the federal and provincial governments -- $10M each -- has "yet
to materialize." MLSE recently raised its stake in the project to $95M from an initial $90M (TORONTO STAR, 9/23).
