John Tory Wins Toronto Mayoralty, Good for the Argonauts?

So Tory has defeated Doug Ford, but a not particularly remarkable 6% and is now the mayor of Toronto. Of course of interest to CFL fans is the fact that Tory was also a former commissioner of the CFL in the 90s, including during some pretty dark days for the league.

Obviously with Toronto the current problem franchise for the CFL and owner David Braley being somewhat of a lame duck owner, having a former CFL commissioner as the mayor has to help. The biggest roadblock currently for the Argos is finding a way to play at TFC's BMO field and that involves dealing with Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, the owner of the Leafs, Raptors and TFC.

Rob Ford certainly liked the Argos, however he was also a pretty big fan of bringing the NFL to Toronto (which somewhat like Quebec separatism seems to be on life support with the Bills having new owners). Somehow I don't think Tory will be leading a renewed NFL to Toronto charge (although there are rumours of the St Louis Rams leaving albeit back to LA not Toronto).

Hopefully Tory can find a way to facilitate a move of the Argos to BMO Field, while not totally screwing the Argos out of revenue from game day concessions and the like. The renewal of sponsorship for the facility is coming up and one would have to think that having the Argos at the stadium would be valuable for whoever the new sponsor is.

Certainly part of the value of the sponsorship for BMO is the fact it is right on the Gardner and a lot of drivers go by it everyday (part of the rationale of the Tiger-Cats having a stadium at Confederation Park besides the QEW and also why the Ticats want a city approved sign by the QEW (which the Ontario Ministry of Transportation doesn't want)). However the Argos draw considerably more viewers on television than TFC (whose viewership frankly is pathetic) across the country which would be valuable to a company like BMO which is national. The Argos should get some of this additional value, although I'm sure MLSE doesn't think the same (the Tim Horton's Field naming rights are rumoured to between $1 and $1.5 million)

BMO Field Expansion Approved, Argos Moving

The expansion of BMO Field has been approved (strangely with Argo fan Rob Ford the only one voting against). The Argos can now move there. I'm sure Toronto FC supporters are annoyed with gridiron football now to be played there.

I've argued that the Argos playing at BMO is valuable to MLSE because it adds value to the naming rights. Argos games get high television ratings and TFC historically hasn't.

As a Ticat fan, I'm glad our nemesis has somewhere to play. Although I'm kind of afraid of how expensive a beer will be there.

Toronto Argonauts Must Move From Roger's Centre By 2018

Here's the definitive Globe and Mail article on the subject. The Blue Jays want to install natural grass in the Dome and that precludes the Argos from playing there. I assume that for Grey Cups, the grass is removed at the end of the baseball season and thus Grey Cups in November can be played there.

So the Argos have to find a new home. MLSE has already mulled buying them and having them play at BMO Field. The Argos could play their potentially 11 games a year there on the natural turf without too much damage (rugby is already played on it), however MLSE could put back in artificial turf. That could make CFL haters the Red Patch Boys and former Toronto mayor David Miller* crazy, however Toronto FC has sucked its entire existence, but with and without grass. As I already mentioned in another post, having the Argos play at BMO on national television would boost the value of the naming rights.

Potentially the Argos could try an ultra cheap bare bones stadium somewhere or other. Really the Argos need a small stadium around 20,000 seats they can fill and the CFL needs the television money. People will watch the Argos on television but they won't watch TFC. Maybe the Argos could partner with the rugby and cricket folks for a stadium.

One thing to consider with television is that the CFL needs the Argos. They may be willing to fund $5 million per year over 20 years to help with a new stadium. Perhaps the Argos could partner with a developer and have some condo towers integrated with the stadium and get some money that way. This issue will probably simmer for a few years and then heat up.

*At least current Toronto Rob Ford is a CFL supporter, even showing up at a game in Saskatchewan.