One less Braley team in the league

[FrostyWinnipeg]

http://www.900chml.com/2015/05/15/35889/?sc_ref=twitter

 

Maybe he can buy the Bombers now

[Guest]

Until the deal is done, no point in getting anybody's hopes up. It is just me, or does this situation remind anyone of the whole Coyotes debacle ?

[johnzo]

It's amazing how shitty Rogers is being about this.

[Tehedra]

Yeah there is an interesting thread on riderfans I've been following that has been going on about this sale now for a couple months.  Rodgers are being assholes about things and the TFC community has been poor about the whole thing as well.  Lot's of good information though, like the fact that BMO itself was originally intended to be for soccer and football.  The stadium is actually owned by the government but MLSE has some kind of management rights to it. Rodgers seems to be upset that the Bombers don't want to pay rent anymore to them at the diamonds but at the same time wanted them gone from there too.  It really doesn't make a lot of sense, and then the news that Tim Burke is retiring just means things will be even worse in Toronto.  I really hope things work out because I feel the CFL needs that team.

[JuranBoldenRules]

Yeah there is an interesting thread on riderfans I've been following that has been going on about this sale now for a couple months.  Rodgers are being assholes about things and the TFC community has been poor about the whole thing as well.  Lot's of good information though, like the fact that BMO itself was originally intended to be for soccer and football.  The stadium is actually owned by the government but MLSE has some kind of management rights to it. Rodgers seems to be upset that the Bombers don't want to pay rent anymore to them at the diamonds but at the same time wanted them gone from there too.  It really doesn't make a lot of sense, and then the news that Tim Burke is retiring just means things will be even worse in Toronto.  I really hope things work out because I feel the CFL needs that team.

 

No it really wasn't.  It will take some pretty significant renovations to fit a Canadian football field in there.  BMO was about as basic of a soccer stadium as you could have built before the renovations that have already happened.  There was a proposal for a multi-purpose stadium at York in the mid-2000s but the fact that the Argos owners had literally no money to operate a football team let alone contribute to a stadium killed that one.

 

The people in Toronto and Ontario have been hoodwinked to maybe even a greater extent than we have been with IGF.  What happened to BMO being the national soccer stadium?  We're hosting the Women's World Cup and there won't be a single game played at BMO. 

 

Fact of the matter is that they bought and paid for a shiny new toy for MLSE, not much else.

[comedygeek]

The Argos play in Toronto, not the Bombers.

It's Rogers, not Rodgers.

The Argos have I believe one season to get out of the Rogers Centre. Rogers are kicking them out, while at the same time preventing them from moving into a perfectly logical new home. It's absolutely disgusting how little Rogers thinks of the CFL.

[holoman]

Yeah there is an interesting thread on riderfans I've been following that has been going on about this sale now for a couple months.  Rodgers are being assholes about things and the TFC community has been poor about the whole thing as well.  Lot's of good information though, like the fact that BMO itself was originally intended to be for soccer and football.  The stadium is actually owned by the government but MLSE has some kind of management rights to it. Rodgers seems to be upset that the Bombers don't want to pay rent anymore to them at the diamonds but at the same time wanted them gone from there too.  It really doesn't make a lot of sense, and then the news that Tim Burke is retiring just means things will be even worse in Toronto.  I really hope things work out because I feel the CFL needs that team.

AS a bomber fan I'd be really upset if they did want to pay rent for facilities in another city playing a different sport

[Tehedra]

I typed I meant Argos but Im usually thinking about the Bombers I knew it was Rogers too but someone else typed Rodgers and I just continued with it not sure why lol

[Guest]

No it really wasn't.  It will take some pretty significant renovations to fit a Canadian football field in there.  BMO was about as basic of a soccer stadium as you could have built before the renovations that have already happened.  There was a proposal for a multi-purpose stadium at York in the mid-2000s but the fact that the Argos owners had literally no money to operate a football team let alone contribute to a stadium killed that one.

Actually it was. According to the City council minutes. BMO received City Council approval on the basis that it was to be able to convert from soccer and Canadian football. Nobody really knows what happened though. Former Mayor David Miller was asked about it by Cybulski and Mackowicz and his reply was " I don't know, I only found out about it two years later". Rob Ford was asked about it and his reply was " I don't really know, some believe is was the Pantalone special, where Joe and all his soccer buddies tried to ensure that it was a soccer venue. Some believe MLSE wanted it only soccer specific. I also heard that BMO would only get involved with the naming rights if it was a soccer venue". Something along those lines IIRC.

 

According to Richard Peddie, it was built soccer specific because that's all they could do with the money they had ($62.9 million). The retractable seats supposedly cost $10-$15 million at the time.

 

Either way the point still stands, BMO was originally intended to be the home of TFC and the Argos, somebody either messed up big or got their way.

[Guest]

The Argos play in Toronto, not the Bombers.

It's Rogers, not Rodgers.

The Argos have I believe one season to get out of the Rogers Centre. Rogers are kicking them out, while at the same time preventing them from moving into a perfectly logical new home. It's absolutely disgusting how little Rogers thinks of the CFL.

The Argos have to be out of the dome after 2017.

[bluto]

one of these days i'll be able to talk about this bullshit... the handcuffs are coming off soon, but there's lots that i can't put out publicly.

[WBBFanWest]

one of these days i'll be able to talk about this bullshit... the handcuffs are coming off soon, but there's lots that i can't put out publicly.

You don't want the other Argo fan to find out?

[SPuDS]

one of these days i'll be able to talk about this bullshit... the handcuffs are coming off soon, but there's lots that i can't put out publicly.

Great peter catans ghost! He's alive!! Popeye letcha outta the klink early? Lol. i look forward to when you can vent.. should be a doozy

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

Somebody call my name? Always good to get your take on all things Argo

[comedygeek]

 

The Argos play in Toronto, not the Bombers.

It's Rogers, not Rodgers.

The Argos have I believe one season to get out of the Rogers Centre. Rogers are kicking them out, while at the same time preventing them from moving into a perfectly logical new home. It's absolutely disgusting how little Rogers thinks of the CFL.

The Argos have to be out of the dome after 2017.

 

 

Thanks for the correction! So there's still a bit of time, but not an indefinite amount.

[SPuDS]

Somebody call my name? Always good to get your take on all things Argo

Just thought it sounds like something Ron burgundy would bellow out during a moment of surprise such as this..

[IC Khari]

Where the heck is Bluto? I'd like to hear his comments about this and the Argos situation in general, seems like eons ago when he last posted here ...

[Rich]

Where the heck is Bluto? I'd like to hear his comments about this and the Argos situation in general, seems like eons ago when he last posted here ...

Look 7 posts up.

[bigg jay]

Where the heck is Bluto? I'd like to hear his comments about this and the Argos situation in general, seems like eons ago when he last posted here ...

 

Look a few posts up (post #11 to be exact).

[IC Khari]

Guess I should read the whole thread instead of just the OP ... Good to see you back Bluto!

[SPuDS]

Where the heck is Bluto? I'd like to hear his comments about this and the Argos situation in general, seems like eons ago when he last posted here ...

at first thought you were joking... Then I realized you were serious lol smooth move ick

[IC Khari]

Ya I'm good for that once and awhile

[mbrg]

one of these days i'll be able to talk about this bullshit... the handcuffs are coming off soon, but there's lots that i can't put out publicly.

 

Best to not air all the dirty laundry in public - nothing good ever comes of that.

 

 

Just PM all of us individually instead.

[kelownabomberfan]

Bluto - can't wait for the update. Would really like to see the Argos at BMO field. I would assume the soccer snobs probably aren't wild about sharing the facility with the lowly gridiron team, and they are total class acts, those fans, especially the way they treat female reporters.

[Rich]

Bell and Larry Tenenbaum to buy the Argos.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/bell-tanenbaum-to-own-argonauts-1.286511

 

 

The long-awaited sale of the Toronto Argonauts is expected to be announced as soon as Wednesday, paving the way for the CFL team to move into a renovated BMO Field in time for the 2016 season.

The new Argo ownership will be a partnership between Bell and Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum, two of the three partners in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Negotiations between Argos owner David Braley and MLSE, which manages BMO Field, go back more than year.

However, those talks became complicated when MLSE’s third partner, Rogers Communications, did not want to be part of the deal.

Bell is the majority owner of TSN, the exclusive television rights holder of the CFL.

The deal includes the Argos hosting two Grey Cup games, including the 2016 CFL championship game.

Whether either or both of those games will be played at Rogers Centre or BMO Field is yet to be determined, with the possibility the 2016 game could coincide with the NHL staging its first Toronto outdoor game at BMO.

Braley, who also owns the CFL’s B.C. Lions, took on the Argo ownership in February of 2010 after six years of operation headed by Toronto businessmen Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon.

Attempts by Sokolowski and Cynamon to move the Argos from Rogers Centre to a new stadium, first at the University of Toronto and later at York University,  both failed to get off the ground.

In 2013, Rogers Communications, owner of the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre, told the Argos they would not be welcomed as a tenant beyond 2017, due to the baseball club’s desire to install real grass at the facility.

The Rogers Centre has been heavily criticized as a football venue and the Argos have been frustrated at the inability to secure favourable dates for their schedule in recent years.

The CFL believes getting into a suitable outdoor facility, such as BMO Field, will significantly improve both the fan experience and the economics of operating the team.