In October of this year, construction kicked off on Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment's (MLSE) expansion and renovation of BMO Field, home of the Toronto FC Major League Soccer club. Designed by San Francisco-based architecture and planning firm Gensler, the expanded facility will see an increase in capacity, and the addition of a roof over seating areas in a following phase. 

Construction of the BMO Field expansion, image by Anthony Maniatakis

Construction of the first phase is already well under way, with recent photos revealing that much of the steel structure for the 8,400 new seats has been installed. In addition, the expansion will add 12 new executive suites, 2 party suites and a loge box to the stadium, similar to the executive sections seen in MLSE's other major sporting facility, The Air Canada Centre. New washrooms and concession stands are also being built to serve the added capacity.

Construction of the BMO Field expansion, image by Anthony Maniatakis

A larger HD video board will also be installed at the north end of the stadium, while a new addition to the 2nd level concourse at the south end of stadium will open up the currently-divided concourse into a continuous level. Once the first phase of construction is completed in May of 2015, the stadium's permanent capacity will have increased to 30,000, with temporary seating able to accommodate an additional 10,000 people.

Construction of the BMO Field expansion, image by Anthony Maniatakis

With a price tag of $65 million, the first phase of construction will be followed by a second phase costing $40 million. Phase 2 of construction will feature the addition of full size canopy covering most of the facility's seating, as well as a new audio/visual system, slated for completion by May of, 2016. 

Construction of the BMO Field expansion, image by Anthony Maniatakis

A possible third phase, tentatively planned for completion by May 2017, would involve further upgrades to the facility to accommodate a CFL field. This is being contemplated due to the upcoming expiration of the Toronto Argonauts' lease at the Rogers Centre, and its subsequent conversion to a natural grass surface better suited to Major League Baseball standards.

To better illustrate the changes coming to BMO Field, MLSE has released a video fly-through of the expanded facility, showing the work of the first two phases.

Additional renderings of the BMO Field Expansion can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.