Toronto FC fans returned to a new-look BMO Field when the team hosted its home opener against the New York Red Bulls earlier this month. The stadium's transformation into a FIFA World Cup venue is almost complete.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
BMO Field is almost ready for its World Cup close-up.
Built for a bargain-basement $62.9-million, the Toronto lakefront stadium has undergone more than $300-million in improvements since opening in 2007. Today it is going through the final touches of another facelift to ensure the venue is ready for Canada’s opening game June 12 at the FIFA World Cup.
The clock is ticking. FIFA takes over the stadium on May 13.
The bill for the latest round of improvements is $146-million, with $123-million coming from the City of Toronto and $23-million from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which manages the city-owned venue and owns its two major tenants – Toronto FC and the CFL’s Argonauts.
The renovations started last season with a full-court press beginning Nov. 16, the day after the Northern Super League championship game. And despite a harsh winter, they have remained on schedule.
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“Lots of hot chocolate delivered to the group,” joked Stephanie Jones, MLSE’s program lead, stadium and operations, FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto.
“There were two days that we lost to snowstorms and having to get snow off the grounds to continue construction,” she added. “But those days were padded within our schedule so we are … very much on track for handing [the stadium] over to FIFA.”
Some 17,000 temporary seats have already been added (10,000 in the north end, 7,000 in the south). There are 33 new suites across two levels in the north end.
The temporary seats will be in use for the May 9 visit of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, TFC’s final home game before the World Cup.
BMO Field will grow from its 30,000-fan capacity to 45,000 for this summer's World Cup games.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
“That will effectively be a test event,” said Chris Shewfelt, Toronto FC’s vice-president of business operations.
The home dressing-room has been expanded to accommodate 26 players, with a similar increase planned for the visitors’ room.
Four new video boards are up and running, one at each corner, as is the stadium’s expanded video production control room and a new stadium kitchen.
The sideline boasts new team dugouts. Elsewhere the stadium WiFi, sound and lighting system have been upgraded.
A new playing surface, installed in November, drew rave reviews from TFC players and staff after the March 14 home opener, a 1-1 draw with Red Bull New York.
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“The coaches came back in from warm-up and they go, ‘If you can’t play on this field, you can’t play,’” said Toronto coach Robin Fraser.
“It was great … probably the best it’s ever been at this time of year,” added captain Jonathan Osorio. “It’s really nice and it’s still growing in. It’ll just get better as we play.”
There will be more changes outside the stadium in the lead-up to the World Cup. That means getting to the venue will become more complicated as tournament-related construction continues at Exhibition Place.
Fans attending TFC’s March 14 home opener had to make a longer trek around the stadium to get to some gates.
As the stadium remains under construction, fans attending games ahead of the World Cup can anticipate obstructions on the stadium grounds.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
And expect more obstacles to pop up.
“You’re going to see an evolution of the grounds across the next number of weeks,” Shewfelt said diplomatically. “So in order to hand it over [to FIFA] on the 13th [of May] you’re going to see some additional footprint that will be taken over around the Ex Place ground, whether that’s to help build the broadcast studio, to help build the Fan Experience [zone] on the east side of the stadium.”
A sizable security zone will surround the stadium during the tournament, limiting access to certain points.
The last World Cup game at BMO Field is July 2, with FIFA controlling the stadium through July 9. The temporary seats and other tournament-related infrastructure in and around the venue have to be removed by 11:59 p.m. on July 31.
“It’s a big lift. … It’s significant work,” said Shewfelt. “That will be maybe one of the most challenging parts of this entire project – the deconstruction project post-[World Cup] games. It’s very accelerated.”
The Toronto Argonauts host the Calgary Stampeders at BMO Field on Aug. 6 while Toronto FC, after six straight games on the road, entertains the New England Revolution on Aug. 15.
Capacity for Toronto’s six World Cup games will be just over 45,000.
Currently, BMO Field has “28,000 and change in seating capacity,” which grows to around 30,000 when standing-room areas factor in.
Post-World Cup, once the patio over the north end suites is completed, capacity will be some 31,500, including standing room. Of that, 28,000 to 28,500 will be seated.
The rooftop patio likely won’t be ready until the 2027 season.
The stadium now boasts 67 traditional suites plus three outdoor suites, three “super-suites,” four premier club areas and one VIP centre-field suite.
Due to sponsorship issues, World Cup organizers will call the venue Toronto Stadium during the 48-team tournament, which runs June 11 to July 19.