BMO Field

• 1. Introduction

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  BMO Field sits at Exhibition Place in Toronto, on a patch of ground that has held five different stadiums. The latest was supposed to be a simple soccer-specific arena seating 25,000 people. Instead, it became the subject of years of competing proposals, a series of fraught political negotiations, and a renovation project that ultimately cost $150 million. Today it is home to two professional sports teams, has hosted MLS Cup finals, a Grey Cup, an NHL outdoor game, and FIFA tournaments for both men's and women's youth football. In 2026 it will temporarily shed its corporate name entirely and become Toronto Stadium for six matches of the FIFA World Cup. How a modest single-sport ground became one of Canada's most contested and most versatile sporting venues is a story that begins not with a groundbreaking but with a string of proposals that collapsed before a single foundation was poured.

• 2. Five Stadiums, One Address

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  Exhibition Stadium, the most recent predecessor on the exact site, lost its two anchor tenants in 1989 when SkyDome opened and the Toronto Argonauts and the Toronto Blue Jays departed. The old ground was demolished a decade later, in 1999, leaving an empty lot at Exhibition Place. When the Canadian Soccer Association announced plans in July 2003 for a 30,000-seat, $82 million stadium at that site to host the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, it set off a chain of negotiations that would drag on for years. An earlier proposal would have placed a 25,000-seat, $80 million venue on the University of Toronto's St. George campus, involving the Argonauts, the CSA, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. That deal fell apart in 2004 when the university's new president withdrew support after costs rose above $100 million. A second attempt targeted York University, with the Argos pledging $20 million on top of government funding, but the team pulled out after signing a new lease at Rogers Centre with significantly reduced rent. By 2005 the site had returned to Exhibition Place, and a partnership between MLSE and the CSA finally stuck. The total construction cost settled at $62.9 million for the stadium itself, with land valued at an additional $10 million.

• 3. Financing the Build

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  The funding arrangement that made BMO Field possible drew from multiple levels of government and a sports conglomerate with something to gain. The Canadian federal government contributed $27 million, the Government of Ontario added $8 million, and the City of Toronto paid $9.8 million in cash and contributed the land, valued at $10 million, while retaining ownership of the stadium. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment put in $8 million toward construction costs and agreed to cover any overruns. In return, MLSE received the management rights for the stadium. The company then paid $10 million for naming rights over the term of a 20-year management agreement, and later resold those rights to the Bank of Montreal for $27 million over the first ten years. On the 11th of May 2006, Major League Soccer confirmed that Toronto FC would join the league as its 13th team and first Canada-based franchise, with BMO Field as its home, beginning in 2007. One provision in the original city-approved proposal called for a stadium "capable of a conversion to a football format," but at the last minute the Argonauts tried to join the project. MLSE, citing budget and time limitations, built a stadium that could not fit a CFL field without demolishing the end zone stands.

• 4. Renovations and the CFL Question

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  Tom Anselmi, former executive vice-president and chief operating officer with MLSE, spelled out the problem in 2009: without major work, BMO Field could fit only a 100-yard field with 15-yard end zones, or a 110-yard field with 10-yard end zones. Both options fell 20 yards short of the standard Canadian football configuration of a 110-yard field with 20-yard end zones. On the 16th of December 2009, the Argonauts officially abandoned the idea of moving to BMO Field after the CFL concluded it was unsuitable in its current form. The conversation resumed when Tim Leiweke took over as president of MLSE in June 2013 and began publicly discussing a major expansion. Preliminary plans released on the 5th of March 2014 called for upgrades originally budgeted at $115-120 million. The City of Toronto, as the stadium's owner, insisted that any renovation include lengthening the playing surface to CFL specifications, partly because the Argonauts were required to vacate Rogers Centre by the end of the 2017 season. Under a two-phase process, the field was lengthened and capacity raised for $77 million by the 1st of May 2015; the roof was added by the 1st of May 2016 for an additional $43 million. A $1 million subsurface heating system and a $1 million artificial lighting system were installed to encourage grass growth. Portions of the CFL end zones remained artificial turf, and even after all the work, each end zone measured only 18 yards deep rather than the standard 20, a constraint imposed by the available space and the safety zone required beyond the field of play.

• 5. Ownership, Politics, and Money

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  On the 20th of May 2015, it was announced that two of MLSE's ownership partners, Bell Canada and Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Group, had acquired a stake in the Toronto Argonauts. That acquisition unlocked the third phase of renovation, with the new Argos ownership committing $10 million to conversion costs and MLSE matching the sum to close a $20 million funding gap. The deal also secured two Grey Cup games for the newly renovated stadium. Meanwhile, the question of federal and provincial contributions had become politically complicated. Provincial Minister of Tourism and Culture Michael Chan said MLSE had submitted a funding request that was under review, while Federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel's office stated flatly that "the federal government has no program to fund professional sports facilities." Leiweke countered that the federal dollars were not going to the stadium itself but to support temporary expansions for events like the Grey Cup. The province of Ontario eventually contributed $10 million, announced at the reopening ceremony. MLSE agreed to pay the city a fixed annual rental fee of $865,000, replacing a revenue-sharing arrangement that had returned an average of only $397,000 per year over the previous five years. The new lease arrangement guaranteed the city $25.4 million over its term, and with projected parking revenues, the total was projected to exceed the former deal by $19 million. The renovation ended up costing $150 million in total, with BMO extending its naming rights sponsorship for an additional ten years in February 2016.

• 6. Matches, Milestones, and Records

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  Toronto FC played their first game at BMO Field on the 28th of April 2007, and the first goal was scored by Eddie Johnson of the Kansas City Wizards in that 1-0 opener. The grand opening celebration on the 12th of May 2007 saw Danny Dichio score the first Toronto FC goal at the stadium, which was also his club's first MLS goal. In 2010, BMO Field became the first venue outside the United States to host the MLS Cup final, with the Colorado Rapids defeating FC Dallas 2-1. The 2016 MLS Cup final saw Seattle Sounders FC win 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw, in front of 36,045 fans. The following year, on the 9th of December 2017, Toronto FC defeated Seattle 2-0 in the same fixture to become the first MLS team to complete a domestic treble and the first Canadian team to win the MLS Cup. On the 1st of January 2017, the stadium hosted the NHL Centennial Classic, with the Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in overtime in front of 40,148 spectators, at the time the largest crowd the venue had seen. That record eventually fell on the 9th of May 2026, when Toronto FC hosted Inter Miami CF in front of 44,828 people. The largest CFL crowd at the venue came at the 104th Grey Cup on the 27th of November 2016, when 33,421 attended.

• 7. The World Cup Transformation

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  BMO Field's selection as a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue set off the largest single round of spending in the stadium's history. Toronto's initial commitment was $37 million for updates including a temporary expansion to 45,000 seats. The final plan grew considerably: the city contributed $132.9 million and MLSE added $25 million, for a combined outlay of $157.9 million, completed in two phases across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. Upgrades included a new rooftop patio and lounge, team dugouts, LED videoboards, and a new sound system. Temporary seating of 17,756 additional seats will bring the total capacity to 45,736 for the tournament, satisfying a FIFA requirement. On the 4th of February 2024, it was revealed that the stadium will host the opening match for Canada on the 12th of June 2026. In total, the venue will host six matches: five in the group stage and one in the knockout rounds. For the duration of the tournament, the stadium will be renamed Toronto Stadium, following FIFA's policy on corporate-sponsored names. Vancouver is the only other Canadian city serving as a World Cup host.