MLS Stadium Tour: BMO Field

Sounders FC hits the road for the first time as they head North of the Border to face Toronto FC on Saturday at 1p PT [Buy Tickets].

The Seattle Fans have made Qwest Field an amazing advantage with an average attendance of 30,535 (30,535.5 to be precise) in the squad’s two wins. The festive atmosphere in Toronto that has taken MLS by storm for two years, could be similar.

Before the Sounders hit the road through the season, we’re going to look at the venue where they’re playing so Sounders Fans can become more familiar with the battlefield that Sounders FC is entering.

Toronto FC’s home, BMO Field, has a capacity of 20,148 and is also the home field for the Canadian National Team.

“Bee-Mo” also has a FieldTurf playing surface (which is FIFA 2-Star Recommended) similar to the XBox Pitch at Qwest Field, so the squad should be familiar with how the ball plays.

Toronto FC inaugurated the field on April 28, 2007 and has averaged an attendance of over 20,100 for their first two seasons. Over those seasons, TFC has racked up a record of 11Wins, 13 Losses, and 12 Draws in all League and Firendly matches.

We haven’t done our complete research comparisons among home field venues to determine if this is a sub-par or excellent advantage- or somewhere in between.

This weekend’s game will be the 2009 Home Opener for TFC and another sell-out crowd is expected as Toronto brings in their 1-0-1 record.

There are multiple Supporter Groups in Toronto. The four main ones are U Sector, the North End Elite, the Red Patch Boys, and the Tribal Rhythm Nation.

The Red Patch Boys and U-Sector are seated in the corner sections of 111-113. Trible Rhythm Nation is at the other end of the South End. The North End Elite try to replicate the atmosphere behind the opposite goal and are primarily seated in section 127.

The supporters of the Reds are the reigning kings of crowd atmosphere.

MLS Player of the Week, Kasey Keller said

We can go there and play spoilers. We can just go and do what we need to do to get a result.  I have no problem going into Toronto and not necessarily playing as well as we want to, but getting a result.  It’s up to Toronto to make the game attractive for their fans.  For us, it’s to just get points.

A number of current Sounders have experienced the festive atmosphere at BMO. Tyrone Marshall has played 18 times at BMO field, all as a member of the Reds. He mentioned that BMO would “be a similar atmosphere to Seattle, though Qwest Field has been louder to this point.” He added:

They’re going to want to prove that they are a better crowd than ours but we have to prove them wrong by scoring a couple of goals and taking the fans out of the game.  At the end of the day, if we win the game, their fans can cheer as much as they want.

Four others have played in Toronto previously: James Riley (2), Nate Jaqua, Nathan Sturgis and Tyson Wahl, each played in Toronto once.

BMO Field: Quick Figures

• Opened April 28, 2007
• TFC Record: 11-13-12
• Capacity: 20,148
• Pitch: 223′ x 345′
• 2008 Attendance: 20,108
• Map Location

Looking for more Toronto FC information? Check out Ben’s excellent TFC Connected site.