wyliepoon
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Argos interested in BMO move?
September 11, 2007
Sportsnet.ca
By Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca
The owners of the Argonauts are committed to remain custodians of the team for a long period of time.
But Sportsnet.ca has learned Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon have begun initial research into possibly moving the team from the Rogers Centre to the newly-built BMO Field, if it could be retrofitted for football and expanded beyond the initial stadium size of 25,000 seats.
"We're here for the long haul," Cynamon told the media on Tuesday to diffuse rumours he and Sokolowski are looking to sell the team, which they bought after the 2003 season. "We made that clear from day one. We're in our fourth season. We have accomplished a lot with this team, but not everything. We enjoy operating and owning this team and we have absolutely no plans to depart our current situation whatsover.
"That's why I laugh at those rumours," Cynamon added. "Find me one person that we've had any discussions with and I'll admit it. It just doesn't exist. We don't even discuss it."
The Argo ownership reportedly has an option to play host to the Grey Cup in the next four years and sources suggest the target year is 2012. The Argos play host to the game this year for the first time in 15 years and it's expected to be a sellout that will reap a profit of $4 million to $5 million.
While happy with the setup at Rogers Centre, Cynamon and Sokolowski have begun initial exploration into the viability of possibly playing their home games at BMO Field, which is in it first year of operation and was one of the sites used for the World Under-20 soccer tournament. It is located on the same grounds where the Argos played their games at Exhibition Stadium until moving nearby to SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in 1989.
"We're starting to look at (moving) as a possibility, but we're really at the early stages," Cynamon said. "First of all, it's only been opened a year or so. We're all assessing the good and bad of the stadium. Second of all, it's not CFL ready, let alone enough seats for our fans. You've got those two hurdles that you have to deal with, which means you couldn't move there tomorrow if you wanted to. All that has to be assessed as far as what that would cost. What does that mean for our fan base? What does it means to shrink down the stadium size? What does all that mean? That's not anything we've done extensively yet, but we've never ruled it out. We definitely are going to investigate it."
Link to article
Argos interested in BMO move?
September 11, 2007
Sportsnet.ca
By Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca
The owners of the Argonauts are committed to remain custodians of the team for a long period of time.
But Sportsnet.ca has learned Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon have begun initial research into possibly moving the team from the Rogers Centre to the newly-built BMO Field, if it could be retrofitted for football and expanded beyond the initial stadium size of 25,000 seats.
"We're here for the long haul," Cynamon told the media on Tuesday to diffuse rumours he and Sokolowski are looking to sell the team, which they bought after the 2003 season. "We made that clear from day one. We're in our fourth season. We have accomplished a lot with this team, but not everything. We enjoy operating and owning this team and we have absolutely no plans to depart our current situation whatsover.
"That's why I laugh at those rumours," Cynamon added. "Find me one person that we've had any discussions with and I'll admit it. It just doesn't exist. We don't even discuss it."
The Argo ownership reportedly has an option to play host to the Grey Cup in the next four years and sources suggest the target year is 2012. The Argos play host to the game this year for the first time in 15 years and it's expected to be a sellout that will reap a profit of $4 million to $5 million.
While happy with the setup at Rogers Centre, Cynamon and Sokolowski have begun initial exploration into the viability of possibly playing their home games at BMO Field, which is in it first year of operation and was one of the sites used for the World Under-20 soccer tournament. It is located on the same grounds where the Argos played their games at Exhibition Stadium until moving nearby to SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in 1989.
"We're starting to look at (moving) as a possibility, but we're really at the early stages," Cynamon said. "First of all, it's only been opened a year or so. We're all assessing the good and bad of the stadium. Second of all, it's not CFL ready, let alone enough seats for our fans. You've got those two hurdles that you have to deal with, which means you couldn't move there tomorrow if you wanted to. All that has to be assessed as far as what that would cost. What does that mean for our fan base? What does it means to shrink down the stadium size? What does all that mean? That's not anything we've done extensively yet, but we've never ruled it out. We definitely are going to investigate it."