Toronto FC's last home match until August comes Saturday against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, the reigning MLS champion.GIORGIO VIERA/AFP/Getty Images
While Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi is the star attraction Saturday at BMO Field, the stadium itself will be under the spotlight.
Toronto FC’s last home game before the World Cup is doubling as a test run for the lakeside venue ahead of the 48-team tournament, with all 17,000 temporary seats installed for the men’s soccer showcase being used for the first time.
A record crowd of some 45,000 is expected – surpassing the 40,148 who attended the NHL’s outdoor Centennial Classic between the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 1, 2017.
Those in attendance will have to navigate new entry points to the stadium, via a pair of gates on the east side of the venue nearer the Coca-Cola Coliseum and Enercare Centre, as part of its expanded World Cup perimeter.
The two gates will serve as the main points of entry during the World Cup.
Fans will likely get a taste of Toronto traffic, with the Don Valley Parkway – a major north-south artery – closed for the weekend for maintenance.
“I’ve had some disastrous drives to the stadium for the Canadian national team games in the last six or eight months,” said Toronto head coach Robin Fraser. “So I would advise everyone to leave early and/or take public transportation.”
Adding to the congestion is an afternoon Blue Jays baseball game, three kilometres to the east at Rogers Centre, that will start two hours after the Major League Soccer kickoff.
“The volume of events around the city is a lot this weekend, for sure,” said Chris Shewfelt, Toronto FC’s vice-president of business operations. “And getting ready for a [World Cup] test event … is different than hosting a normal Miami match.
“So yes, increased capacity but also increased observation by everyone from FIFA to certain city agencies that are involved in FIFA like the ISSU – the Integrated Safety and Security Unit – to all the different constituents that are going to be involved in pulling off the games in June-July.”
All 45,000 seats at BMO Field, including those temporarily installed for the World Cup, are expected to be filled for Saturday's Inter Miami visit.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
BMO Field will host six World Cup games, starting with Canada’s June 12 opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina. That will be followed by four more group-stage games featuring Ghana, Panama, Germany, the Ivory Coast, Croatia, Senegal and Iraq before a round-of-32 fixture on July 2.
Due to sponsorship issues, the venue will be known simply as Toronto Stadium during the tournament.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns TFC and manages the city-owned stadium, has increased game-day staff – from food and beverage workers to security and housekeeping – in order to handle the bumper crowd Saturday.
“The building’s jammed,” said Shewfelt.
“We’ve never put just under 45,00 people into the building before,” he added. “So this is our way of making sure we get it right. … The pressure’s on, but we’ve been preparing for this for a very long time.”
It’s not just the temporary seats at the north and south end of the stadium that are being used for the first time. Saturday will also test new concessions and restrooms as well as the ability to get fans in and out of the stadium in a timely manner through the expanded perimeter.
To help facilitate the flow of fans, gates will open 90 minutes ahead of the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, instead of the normal one hour.
For the June 12 World Cup opener, the perimeter gates will open four hours before kickoff to allow fans into the so-called “Fan Experience Zone” on the east side of the stadium and to take their seats ahead of team warm-ups.
The gates will open three hours before kickoff for the other tournament games in Toronto.
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Metrolinx is adding additional GO trains on the Lakeshore lines to help get fans to Exhibition GO station before and after Saturday’s match. It is also increasing security at Union Station and nearly doubling staff at the Exhibition station.
“They are using this as a true test event also,” said Shewfelt.
The expanded BMO Field perimeter was to undergo its first test Friday for the evening ‘Legend’ game pitting such former TFC stars as Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore against Brazilian icons like Ronaldinho, Adriano and Emerson.
More than 27,000 tickets were sold for the Legends game, with the temporary seats in the upper south stand open for the first time.
An array of new suites in the north stand opened in a staggered approach over the last four or five matches. The expanded visiting dressing room is also in operation.
Both Miami and Toronto are coming off dreadful home results.
Miami saw its nine-game unbeaten run (5-0-4) in league play snapped in shocking fashion Saturday. Blowing a 3-0 lead against Florida rival Orlando City, Miami lost 4-3 on a 93rd-minute goal by former TFC winger Tyrese Spicer.
Miami, third in the Eastern Conference at 5-2-4, has yet to win at its new home with an 0-1-3 record at Nu Stadium.
Messi continues to impress, however. The 38-year-old Argentina captain is tied for fourth in MLS scoring with eight goals, as well as two assists.
“I think about the old Michael Jordan expression – ‘You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him,’” said Fraser. “The same could be said [for Messi].
“It’s been many, many years now that I’ve felt like he’s the best player in the world.”
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Guillermo Hoyos, named Miami’s interim coach after Javier Mascherano’s surprise resignation last month, knows full well the quality at his disposal.
“When Inter Miami CF takes the field with Leo [Messi], Rodri [Rodrigo De Paul] and Luis [Suarez] and all of its stars, it’s truly impactful for the fans and for the kids,” the 62-year-old Argentine, who previously served as Miami’s sporting director, said in Spanish.
Miami’s starting goalkeeper is Canadian Dayne St. Clair.
An injury-depleted Toronto side, meanwhile, lost 3-1 to Canadian Premier League champion Atletico Ottawa in Canadian Championship play Tuesday.
Fraser is hoping his team answers the bell Saturday.
“This team has been unbelievably resilient all year long,” he said after the Ottawa defeat. “So that’s what I said to them – ‘I hope you’re embarrassed enough that Saturday you make a statement.’”
Toronto’s injury list remains extremely long, however.
TFC will likely be without defenders Nicksoen Gomis (Achilles), Benjamin Kuscevic (groin), Richie Laryea (thigh), Matheus Pereira (groin) and Henry Wingo (thigh), midfielders Jose Cifuentes (knee) and Djordje Mihailovic (pelvis) and forwards Theo Corbeanu (knee), Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (groin) and Josh Sargent (thigh).
“We have some guys that are getting closer and closer, for sure, but I don’t think we get anyone back [Saturday],” said Fraser.
Saturday’s game marks the last of nine straight for Toronto in league play at BMO Field. TFC, eighth in the East at 3-3-5, won just two of the preceding eight (2-1-5) and has not recorded a home victory since a 3-2 decision over Colorado on April 4.
AFC Toronto plays host to the Montreal Roses in Northern Super League play Sunday, with FIFA taking possession of the stadium on Wednesday. Once that happens, a full perimeter will be built around the venue.