Rob and Doug Ford’s dream of having an NFL stadium in Toronto could turn into a nightmare
Just what do Rob Ford and his brother Doug want to do with the city’s shoreline? There’s been a lot of speculation about this since the pair started lobbing spitballs at Waterfront Toronto, the development body charged with sprucing up the derelict portlands. Last week, Doug shone some light on his plans when he told the Globe’s Marcus Gee that he dreamed of erecting, among other things, an NFL football stadium (and a monorail!).
As others have pointed out, there’s a bunch of problems with this idea. For starters, the plot of land Ford suggested as the site of the new stadium is the Hearn power station, currently owned by the Ontario government. But more fundamentally, NFL stadiums have a terrible track record in cities. How terrible? If the current NFL lockout lasts through to fall, leaving U.S. football stadiums sitting empty for months, some cities might actually be better off. NFL home games are such money-losers that the city of Oakland, having financed the stadium’s upkeep, would be better off if the Raiders didn’t even play.
According to the Atlantic Wire:
Take Oakland, for instance… the team pays $525,000 a season to rent the Oakland Alameda Coliseum and cuts the county in on “some revenue through concession sales and parking receipts.” Hardly enough to cover the $5 million the county says it spends each year “setting up for the team”… and annual $20 million payments on the bond debt from the city’s $200 million renovation of the facility in 1996. “Because it costs us so much to put on the games, this is not going to be much of a loss for us,” Deena McClain, interim director of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, admitted. “It’s probably a net gain.”
And that’s just one example. The Atlantic Wire has several more, including Cincinnati, Arlington (where the Dallas Cowboys play) and our very own neighbour, Buffalo.
The NFL is a hard bargainer; it’s very experienced at getting cushy deals from cities and states. If Toronto wanted to get a franchise, the city would have few if any bargaining chips, except for maybe giving up some land and helping fund the construction of a stadium. And therein lies the problem. We could lose some potentially prime real estate on the lake in exchange for what the Atlantic calls a “stupid stadium.”
• No NFL Season, No Problem for Cities with Stupid Stadium [Atlantic Wire]
• Doug Ford sees stadium in waterfront’s future [Globe and Mail]
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/real-estate/rob-and-doug-fords-dream-of-having-an-nfl-stadium-in-toronto-could-turn-into-a-nightmare/&title=Rob and Doug Ford’s dream of having an NFL stadium in Toronto could turn into a nightmare&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Portlands.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_65877" align="alignleft" width="350" caption="The land occupied by the Hearn Generating station, right, has potential as an NFL stadium site (Image: Scott Snider, from the Toronto Life Flickr pool)"][/caption]
Just what do Rob Ford and his brother Doug want to do with the city’s shoreline? There's been a lot of speculation about this since the pair started lobbing spitballs at Waterfront Toronto, the development body charged with sprucing up the derelict portlands. Last week, Doug shone some light on his plans when he told the Globe’s Marcus Gee that he dreamed of erecting, among other things, an NFL football stadium (and a monorail!).
As others have pointed out, there’s a bunch of problems with this idea. For starters, the plot of land Ford suggested as the site of the new stadium is the Hearn power station, currently owned by the Ontario government. But more fundamentally, NFL stadiums have a terrible track record in cities. How terrible? If the current NFL lockout lasts through to fall, leaving U.S. football stadiums sitting empty for months, some cities might actually be better off. NFL home games are such money-losers that the city of Oakland, having financed the stadium’s upkeep, would be better off if the Raiders didn’t even play.
According to the Atlantic Wire:
Take Oakland, for instance… the team pays $525,000 a season to rent the Oakland Alameda Coliseum and cuts the county in on "some revenue through concession sales and parking receipts." Hardly enough to cover the $5 million the county says it spends each year “setting up for the team”… and annual $20 million payments on the bond debt from the city's $200 million renovation of the facility in 1996. "Because it costs us so much to put on the games, this is not going to be much of a loss for us,” Deena McClain, interim director of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, admitted. “It’s probably a net gain.”
And that’s just one example. The Atlantic Wire has several more, including Cincinnati, Arlington (where the Dallas Cowboys play) and our very own neighbour, Buffalo.
The NFL is a hard bargainer; it’s very experienced at getting cushy deals from cities and states. If Toronto wanted to get a franchise, the city would have few if any bargaining chips, except for maybe giving up some land and helping fund the construction of a stadium. And therein lies the problem. We could lose some potentially prime real estate on the lake in exchange for what the Atlantic calls a “stupid stadium.”
• No NFL Season, No Problem for Cities with Stupid Stadium [Atlantic Wire]
• Doug Ford sees stadium in waterfront’s future [Globe and Mail]){kind=link}
Doug wants a modern stadium with a pro football team on the waterfront with transit access …
… give me a second …
Doug! Your wish is granted! Come on down to Bremner Blvd and take a look!
Is the land in Councilor Doug Ford’s riding? Then he should shut the fuck up. He is not the Mayor, even if he is the supposed “brains of the operation”. I am tired of these fools. Time will not be kind to the Ford legacy.
More bread and circuses for the 905 crowd.
Such total f#$%ing BS. Look at the skydome, bastard politicians made us the people pay for $600 million dollars to build it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then the people figured out it was not sustainable WHATSOEVER, so they sold the whole dam thing for $25 million to rogers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOTALLY F#$#%g CRIMINAL and those bastards should be in prison for racketeering and treason for such a robbery upon the people of Canada. I will never believe the bs that goes on in this cursed Marxist monopolistic state. Every dam thing should still be held at the old CNE stadium that they tore down for no good reason, the bastards.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20041129/skydome_rogersdeal_20041129/
Hey! listen up you Hogtown pinkos!! The Ford Admin. is now responsible for a gaggle of T.O. comedy acts making a bundle of shekels from their “Rob & Doug” (or is it “Bob & Doug”?) daily Burly-Q show down at City Hall, eh? If Les Freres Edsel (I mean Ford) want an NFL Stadium on the waterfront with a monorail….then so be it, eh? Now they’re goin national for all Can. comedy acts with His Worship’s “bird flipping” act! Can’t wait for them to go to a Leafs/Habs game at Le Centre de Bell in Montreal……on a Sat. nite! Ya know, with 7-8000 of the “real” Leaf Nation fans, not the reg. “fat cat” suits…..and on HNIC!! Maybe His Worship will learn a bit of Francais for la visite? “Hey Doug, how do ya say “F.O.” & “flip the bird” en Francais? “flippez le oiseau”? “How do ya say: “no more $6B Equalization payments for you “poutine packers”?