TORONTO (Aug. 16) — Pause for a moment and imagine the ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs authorizing the club to play three important “home” games next season in Florida, Tampa Bay and Carolina. Or, Rogers Communications — were the old SkyDome suddenly inhabitable — agreeing to a series of “home” games next month in Boston, New York and Houston. Before finishing your pause, understand that there is no such thing as a “home” game on the road. Especially when playoff seeding is at stake. Then, put yourself in the helmet and shoulder pads of the Toronto Argonauts, next summer, while they venture into Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and (gulp!) Hamilton for encounters that were scheduled to originate at BMO Field. The Argos playing a “home” game in the Hammer is akin to the Buffalo Bills playing at “home” in Arrowhead Stadium. Or, the Dallas Cowboys calling Lambeau Field “home” on a frigid November afternoon. There is simply no way to reconcile one with the other.

As such, good old Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has sold out its weakest link. Again. With the World Cup of Soccer slated to overtake BMO Field next summer, MLSE has agreed for its football team to play “home” games on the enemy turf of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the oft–reviled Tiger–Cats. Just like that. With the express approval, no doubt, of the Canadian Football League office. Rather than spending some of its gazillions to re–fit a nearby university stadium — York, Guelph, Western (in London) — MLSE has chosen to take the money and run. Big surprise. Argonaut subscribers will therefore be accorded six actual home games in 2026… with the Hamilton “home” match as part of the season–ticket package. Again, imagine the Los Angeles Rams traveling to Levi’s Stadium south of San Francisco for a “home” game against the rival 49ers; all expenses paid by fans of the L.A. club. It is not only insanity, but the most–egrigious betrayal of team supporters one could possibly conceive. Only because it’s the Argonauts — a distant No. 4 on the MLSE rung; largely talentless this season and nose–diving from Grey Cup champion to last place in the overall standings — is there not an uproar. MLSE is sneaking out of town in the middle of the night without a smidgen of conscience.

Back in 2010, when B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver underwent a major facelift, a temporary home facility for the B.C. Lions rose on the site of the former Empire Stadium, where the club had played from 1954 to 1982. Empire Field, as it was called, had a capacity of 27,528 and hosted the Lions for the entire 2010 schedule, then part of 2011. Unlike MLSE, ownership of the Lions did not elect to scatter its “home” games throughout rival CFL cities. A cheaper alternative would have resulted in temporary expansion of nearby Thunderbird Stadium, opened in 1967 and home to the University of British Columbia football team. Instead, the Lions ensured their fans would be able to watch the storied club in a modern facility on the familiar grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition. Nostalgia arose from the project given that old Empire Stadium had hosted the Grey Cup game in 1955–58–60–63–66–71 and 1974. Leon McQuay’s infamous fumble for the Argos late in the ’71 championship occurred on the grounds of the temporary B.C. Lions’ home. It was a natural, well–conceived project with loyal ticket buyers at the forefront.

WHILE B.C. PLACE WAS UNDER RENOVATION IN 2010, VANCOUVER FOOTBALL FANS WERE PROVIDED A SMART, TEMPORARY FACILITY — SEATING MORE THAN 27,000 — ON THE GROUNDS OF THE FORMER EMPIRE STADIUM. HERE IN TORONTO, THE ARGOS WILL PLAY AT “HOME” ON THE ROAD.

The same MLSE executives (Keith Pelley, Dale Lastman, Pinball Clemons) who were shown on TSN jumping up and down last November when Robert Priester cemented the Grey Cup victory over Winnipeg with a fourth–quarter interception return for a touchdown, have now told Argonaut fans “we don’t really care; it was just a moment in time.” There is absolutely nothing apart from ingenuity, planning and desire that would prevent MLSE from copying the 2010 B.C. club and constructing a temporary facility at York University; either expanding the current York Lions Stadium (opened in 2015) or building a larger accommodation on the vast and vacant soccer field that borders Steeles Ave. between Keele and Jane St. Play the entire 2026 season at the facility, then return to the dreary Canadian National Exhibition the following year. When Ed the Conqueror, who owns all of Toronto professional sport, saw more dollar signs, he put his family’s name on the ridiculous concert stadium that currently occupies the old Downsview Air Force Base north of the city. Without assuring, of course, there were enough toilets, water and food for ticket patrons… or, a reasonable escape route from the facility to the lone subway platform in the area. The international rock group Coldplay laughed out loud at the project while visiting for a series of shows in June. “Anything for a fast buck” has long been the unofficial motto of Rogers. MLSE could lay out one–fifth the expense for a decent, temporary football stadium at nearby York U. But, it’s only the Argonauts, so why bother?

Yes, there is still time for the Bay St. conglomerate to abandon the insipid “play home games on the road” idea before next CFL season and spend some of its vast resources in order to not appear schlocky. But, again, it’s only the Argos — the championship team torn to shreds in free agency last winter, resulting in the worst version of the club, arguably, since 1981. Whoever shows up next Saturday at BMO Field for the game against B.C. will again be treated to that screaming banshee over the P.A. system imploring the fans to “make noiiiiiise!” for a team that cannot get out of its own way. Kids playing street football could accumulate reams of yardage against the club’s swiss–cheese defense; the poor souls sprinting toward the Pioneer Village subway station (or trying to) after the Coldplay concerts would outgain the non–existent Argo rushing attack. The soulless team is likely to finish 2–16 after winning the CFL title last November. So, why bother extending yourself financially for those that still care about the club? That’s the actual mindset of MLSE; not the politicial “we’re so sorry” bunch that apologized in a release to football fans on Friday for the “unavoidable” inconvenience next season of the World Cup schedule.

It is simply, and sadly, a joke.

FROM THE VAULT…

 
IN MY COLLECTION, ADDED RECENTLY, IS A PROGRAM FROM THE FIRST–EVER VISIT OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS TO PITTSBURGH: A 5–3 VICTORY FOR GORDIE HOWE AND CO. ON DEC. 30, 1967 AT THE OLD CIVIC ARENA. HERE ARE SEVERAL IMAGES FROM THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE LINE–UPS.

 


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