Toronto Stadium underwent a $100M renovation project leading up to the World Cup, and early reviews of the renovation “have been favorable,” according to Owen Cameros of the AP. Toronto Stadium, better known as BMO Field, added 17,000 temporary seats to bring the capacity to the FIFA minimum of 45,000. On May 9, Toronto FC opened the temporary stands to fans for a match against F Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. The match “drew a venue-record crowd” of more than 44,000. The match also “served as a test run” for the World Cup. Toronto Stadium will host six matches beginning Friday (AP, 6/11).
DEBUT READY: In Boston, Michael Silverman wrote Boston Stadium “is match-ready” and after working their way “through a warren of fencing, barrier-lined queue zones, gates, and metal detectors, fans will still recognize the stadium.” A new advanced drainage system, plus water-vacuum machines, are “expected to minimize wait times in case a sudden lengthy downpour makes the field unplayable.” The Stadium Fan Experience zone “takes up a parking lot outside the south side of the stadium,” and it is “festooned with food trucks, a large screen videoboard, and a mobile sensory room for anyone who’s getting over-stimulated, among other FIFA-sponsored activities.” The fan zone “will open when the gates do, three hours before kickoff, shut down a half-hour before the game, then re-open for approximately two hours after the final whistle” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/11). MASSLIVE’s Matt Vautour notes at the far end of the stadium, there is one feature that “exists at Gillette Stadium and only Gillette Stadium”: six Super Bowl banners. They are “still hanging with nothing covering them up.” FIFA 26 Venue Operations Dir Kevin Clark noted that is “by design.” Clark: “Every venue has unique elements that FIFA wants to highlight” (MASSLIVE, 6/12).
