Toronto BMO Field Renovations | ?m | ?s | MLSE | Gensler

Hasn't attendence actually been declining at FC games recently?

Average attendance this year was up slightly from 2009. What is true, however, is that the increase in attendance in 2010 was less than the new seats avaiable (so there were always some seats available this year)...I believe they think they have fixed this by increasing the number of season ticket holders (which has gone up from 16k in 2009 to 18k in 2010) which means there are less seats for them to sell on a game by game basis which should recreate the scarcity factor that was in play from 2007 - 2009 but less so in 2010.
 
This isn't some general trend or anything. Win some games and we'll see a packed house every night.
 
Also keep in mind that the weather this year was abysmal for almost every game. My girlfriend works as an usher there and it rained or was cold and/or windy for many games. It almost turned into a running joke.
 
Also keep in mind that the weather this year was abysmal for almost every game. My girlfriend works as an usher there and it rained or was cold and/or windy for many games. It almost turned into a running joke.

That's a major reason why the Jays are now playing indoors in a downtown facility.
 
That's a major reason why the Jays are now playing indoors in a downtown facility.

There seems to be a chilling wind most times there's a game. I don't know about prevailing winds down by the lake, but do the designers of these kind of venues consider these things when orienting the playing fields ?
 
There seems to be a chilling wind most times there's a game. I don't know about prevailing winds down by the lake, but do the designers of these kind of venues consider these things when orienting the playing fields ?

Yes it is a factor that they consider but it is, by no means, the be all and end all. In addition to the simple fact that is the site size/configuration, in soccer stadiums there is a preference for play to run north/south (so that a setting sun does not interfere with one keeper more than the other).

Typically in soccer stadiums, fans are covered by roofs and there are wind barriers at the end of the seating areas....but, typically, soccer is not a summer sport so these things might not have been deemed "as necessary" in Toronto.
 
Typically in soccer stadiums, fans are covered by roofs and there are wind barriers at the end of the seating areas....but, typically, soccer is not a summer sport so these things might not have been deemed "as necessary" in Toronto.

How is soccer not a summer sport? It is almost exclusively a summer sport.. :confused:
 
Maybe. Many people seem to think (and I would agree with them) that this was just posturing in the lead up to the World Cup Bid announcements today. FIFA has never been a fan of MLS's schedule and I'm sure saying that they were looking into changing it was meant to appease FIFA before the vote. Russia made a similar move though they're going ahead with it.
 

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