Toronto FC learned Tuesday that it will play its BMO Field home opener on Saturday, March 24.
The opposition has not been announced and of course, long before the Reds take to the pitch by Lake Shore Boulevard, there is a matter of the Champions League quarterfinal series against Los Angeles Galaxy on March 7 – at home – and 14 (in California). More on this later; first some other key dates and inevitable speculation.
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MLS has kept nearly all Week 1 matches in the west coast with an early March 10 First Kick date. Revisiting the 2010 opener between Vancouver and Toronto seems possible, which would force the Reds to spend nearly a full week west with the Champions League return engagement in Carson four days later.
On March 17, Montreal Impact will play its first MLS home game at the Olympic Stadium as renovations to Saputo Stadium continue into the spring. This could also be Montreal’s first MLS match overall as 18 teams are set to play Week 1 games. Montreal could be the odd one out in 19-team MLS, giving them a chance to prepare for the opener. Ideally, Toronto would again be in demand for the newcomers, particularly with TSN having national broadcast rights.
There is a possibility that following the March 7 match in Toronto, the Reds would then be in Vancouver, Los Angeles (for CCL) and Montreal before returning home again. Four games, four cities and two competitions in just 10 days would be quite the whirlwind start for Aron Winter’s men, with every game being as important as it gets while facing two well rested Canadian rivals who have nothing to lose. This would be the most difficult start to 2012 for Toronto if speculation proves correct.
Back to Champions League, officials at BMO Field continue to be tight-lipped about the location of the March 7 CCL quarterfinal, though a decision seems closer than ever as November comes to a close and preparations must begin soon.
A new pitch – grass or plastic – may be required if the game is at Rogers Centre, but if it’s at BMO Field the facility will need to be winterized. That’s on top of the ticket drive required to fill either venue from scratch.
It’s not going to be a dull off season.
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