The current home of the MLS' Toronto FC and future home of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts, BMO Field, is in the midst of a major renovation that is upgrading the stadium for Canadian football use while greatly expanding seating capacity and fan comfort. Led by Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment, with builders PCL Constructors, and architects Gensler, the project attained a significant milestone over the weekend, when PCL crews carefully hoisted a roof section above the stadium's south stands following the successful installation of the east and west roof sections.

The process of raising the 490 metric tonne (980,000 pound) roof, which can be seen in the time lapse video above, was accomplished with the use of two lattice boom crawler cranes, each capable of hoisting 500 tonnes. The cranes, one of which was so large it had to be transported to the site using over 100 tractor trailers, lifted and crawled the 377 by 68 foot roof structure into place in tandem.

South canopy in place at BMO field, image courtesy of MLSE

A statement by PCL Toronto senior project manager Neil Barrows reads “A critical lift such as the one we performed to raise the roof on BMO Field is an orchestration of precision and patience to ensure that every element goes exactly as planned. We have been methodically planning for this moment for over two years in coordination with our partners to ensure it’s done right for the safety of all workers and the enjoyment of fans.”

Following the 2014-2015 expansion of the field's seating capacity, work on the second phase commenced this past October following the conclusion of the Toronto FC's season. Though all three canopies have been successfully installed, there is still much more work to do before upcoming events like the May 7th TFC home opener versus FC Dallas, the June 23rd Toronto Argonauts home opener versus the Hamilton Tiger Cats, and the 2016 Grey Cup scheduled for November 27th.

Unlike the smaller south canopy that was lifted in one piece, the east and west canopies were assembled on site, and are only now in the process of being fitted with the panels that will provide weather protection for the fans seated below.

Aerial rendering of BMO field, image courtesy of MLSE

The east and west canopies are currently supported by temporary shoring towers (seen in blue, below) rising from the sidelines of the field. Once work on these canopies is complete, the temporary shoring towers will be removed leaving the canopies supported by four massive white-painted steel super-columns. They transfer the massive structural loads down to the bedrock below via a system of micro piles drilled 7 metres below ground.

Temporary shoring towers, image courtesy of UT Forum contributor G.L.17

Additional information and renderings of the BMO Field Renovations can be found in our dataBase file for the project, 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.