As times change, economies and societies change with them. From a time in the mid 90's, when it appeared professional sports in Canada was on life support, to today, where professional sports in Canada seems as strong as it ever was, Canadian sports fans have been riding a roller coaster of mild success and seemingly prolonged failure for quite some time now. In some ways, traditional, Canadiana in our sports scene is going stronger than ever, and still, the global nature of sports (as has oft been predicted for the last 20 or 30 years) is making a real impact on the Canadian landscape. Canada's historical favourite sport is thriving, Canada's only exclusive professional league is seeing its first wave of new construction in decades, and Canada's favourite "World's game" is seeing a huge boom in infrastructure and professional expansion.
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| More hockey, hockey, hockey... |
I suppose the best place to start is with Canada's first love (and fuck lacrosse). The game of hockey, particularly at the highest professional level, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance in the wake of the US economic downturn. All of a sudden the real money of fans in markets like Winnipeg and Quebec City seems a lot more enticing than the theoretical money of fans in markets like Atlanta and Phoenix. Canada has already re-claimed one team from the wave of southern expansion and it seems entirely possible that a second could be on its way. With the prospect of new, NHL caliber arenas in Toronto and Quebec City, it seems only a matter of time before Canada sees an eighth (and if we dare to dream, ninth) NHL team.
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| New Winnipeg Bluebombers Stadium |
Canada's lone, exclusive professional (or more specifically, relevant) sports league, the CFL, is also on a tear of new development. With BC Place already refurbished to nearly NFL caliber levels, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats set to move into new buildings in the next couple years, and the Ottawa Roughriders still trying (although somewhat uninspiringly) to return to the CFL in a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium, the league might look like an entirely different animal by the end of the decade. Throw in the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are in the very preliminary stages of trying to get a new stadium built, and pretty soon the majority of CFL teams could be playing in brand new venues. For a league that spent the last couple of decades playing in dilapidated and neglected stadiums that could be seen, at best, as high in "character" while low in just about everything else, this could be a real turning point for the league. If the Toronto Argonauts could ever get their shit together and move out of the soul sucking cavern that is the Rogers Centre football configuration, and into an outdoor, 25-30K, CFL specific stadium, that franchise, and by-proxy the league could be on a real roll.
A big part of what made Toronto's newest franchise such a success was the character of the stadium. Torontonians wanted a change from indoor sports, and BMO Field (along with Toronto FC), offered fans that chance. I think a similar Toronto Argonauts stadium would probably have the same effect on the fanbase.
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| A stadium like this would save the Argos |
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| BMO Field |
Speaking of Toronto FC, the third aspect of Canada's evolving pro sports scene starts with them. People have projected for decades that soccer was "the next big thing", both in Canada, and the United States, but it seems that finally, in Canada at least, that soccer may finally, actually be “the next big thing”. After Toronto FC's initial success (at the box-office, not on the field, obviously), Major League Soccer saw potential. In conversations after that initial success commissioner Don Garber drew comparisons to the NHL. He saw that the NHL was able to not just sustain itself, but grow by being a big player in Canada (not to mention off put some of the losses of American franchises with the profits of Canadian ones). Garber saw that the Canadian market seemed to be more accepting of Major League Soccer as a professional league, and decided to act. Soon enough, both Vancouver and Montreal would be given franchises and Garber's plan to cash in on Canadian soccer fans was underway.
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| Big, beautiful, soccer specific-ish stadium |
Not that there is anything wrong with that. As a Canadian soccer fan I am happy to be taken advantage of (to a point. I won't pay TFC's ever inflating ticket price, but I am happy to have more teams in Canada). To look back at the difference in soccer infrastructure in this country over the decade is almost unbelievable. From a nation with zero soccer specific stadiums, to a nation with three-ish (okay, two but BC Place isn't that bad) in just over 5 years time is incredibly impressive. BMO Field, while barebones when it comes to amenities is a SSS with natural grass, and a primary tenant, something Canadian soccer fans could have only dreamt of ten years ago. Throw in the great location and Canada (and specifically Toronto) has got something that could now be called a true home field for the national team. Toronto FC and Canadian soccer fans have really hit the jackpot with BMO Field. It can be hard to look past the dismal performance of the home team, but in the grand scheme of things, the progress is astounding. August nights at BMO Field, with the sights and sounds of the CNE midway as a backdrop to a Toronto or Canada home game, have become a real special atmosphere. One that Canadian sports fans ought to be proud of, and one that sports fans anywhere in the word ought to be jealous of.
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| Concept for renovated Stade Saputo |
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