Toronto Soccer Stadium coming together

In just a little over a year, Toronto will have a new national soccer stadium. The $62.9 million ($53.7m USD) has to be ready by May 1, 2007. The under-20 soccer championship will kickoff play at the stadium on June 1, 2007, but they plan on having their new MLS team play a couple matches on the pitch during the month of May.

The stadium itself will be owned by the city, but will be managed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). MLSE are also the owners of the Toronto MLS squad who will start play next season.

This new stadium will have 20,000 seats with stands within a yard of the pitch. However, the pitch will be FieldTurf artificial playing surface.

The MLS club will pay rent for use of the facility, but MLSE officials do not think it will cause ticket prices to be unreasonable.

"Tickets are going to very reasonably priced. This is not hockey and it certainly isn't basketball either. This is a Marlies ticket or a junior hockey ticket. This is a $20-to-$30-max dollar ticket," said Bob Hunter, executive vice-president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

While it is good to see them stressing the low cost of MLS tickets, I think Hunter might have inadvertently degraded his product with the above quote. By comparing the pro soccer team to a second league or less hockey team, he has made the players look a little less then spectacular. I'm sure he did not mean that, but I think that is how it came across.

MLSE hopes that USL's Toronto Lynx will also call the new field home, but no deal has come about at this time.

By the way, Hunter also said that he really likes the complex FC Dallas built saying, "we stole a lot of good ideas from them."