Toronto FC fans are closer than ever to seeing their team play on a grass field, as municipal officials approved a plan to install a natural surface at BMO Field for the start of the 2010 season.
Twenty-nine Toronto City Council members delivered a unanimous vote in favor of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment's proposal to not just replace BMO Field's FieldTurf with grass, but also to fund other projects to ensure that Toronto soccer enthusiasts will still have places to play. Year-round usage was a key factor in the city's original hand in funding BMO Field, and thus in order to get the city on board, MLSE needed to find other venues to house the many amateur or recreational league teams that rented the pitch for the winter months.
The new venue is, in fact, just a few minutes' walk away from BMO Field. The bubble that has been erected over BMO for the last two winters will now be blown up over Lamport Stadium, a smaller public facility that currently serves as the home ground for the TFC Academy's Canadian Soccer League matches. Another facility (a new artificial turf field in Toronto's Etobicoke neighborhood) is also in the works.
Between funding these new projects and spending an estimated C$3.5 million for the lengthy process of installing, growing and maintaining grass at BMO Field, MLSE will be spending roughly C$5.5 million of its own funds, with no cost to Toronto taxpayers.
The cost is a small price to pay for TFC's ownership group considering the expected benefits that a grass field will bring to both the club and to Toronto's ability to host international soccer matches and tournaments. The FieldTurf surface has degenerated after 2-1/2 years of near-constant use.
"When it was first laid down, I thought it was OK. When it's first down and fresh, it's not too bad," said Reds captain Jim Brennan. "But now, I'm happy to see it go. ... Now it's at the point where it's so worn down that we don't like playing on it, so I don't think there's any kind of an advantage. I think our game is totally different when we play on grass."
TFC interim head coach Chris Cummins echoed Brennan's comments about the extra physical demands that the FieldTurf puts on players, and also noted that with a grass field, the club might be able to sign players who wouldn't have been keen to play on an artificial surface.
"I'm sure there have been one or two players that, because of the turf, have said maybe not [to coming to TFC]," Cummins said. "It's going to help every player because we can do a lot more in training. We can only do a certain amount on the turf because of the amount it takes out of your body. We can spend more time out there walking through what we need to do."
Given the amount of civic money that went towards BMO Field's construction, the approval of Toronto City Council was seen as the only obstacle in the way of the plan to install grass by next spring. The Exhibition Place board of governors voted in favor of the plan in mid-September, and the final level of approval from the provincial and federal governments is expected to pass with little difficulty.
Once this clearance is given, preparation for the grass field will begin as soon as Toronto FC's season is complete. Whether that is after their final regular season game on October 24 in New York or after a possible MLS Cup Playoff match remains to be determined.
In order to give the groundskeeping and installation crews as much space as possible to complete the project, the Reds will begin their 2010 season with a number of road dates. The club visits the Columbus Crew for First Kick 2010 on March 27, then have an off week before traveling to face the New England Revolution on April 10. The rest of the MLS schedule has yet to be finalized, but it is likely that the Reds will play at least one, most likely two, additional away matches before getting to unveil their new field at the home opener.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
