FIFA World Cup 2026: This is what Toronto's soccer field will look like
The 2026 FIFA World Cup may be four years away but the ball is already rolling to get Toronto set up to host parts of the massive sporting event.
The international football association announced Friday that Toronto would be one of two Canadian cities to host a handful of games during the tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time and see matches played in the U.S. and Mexico as well.
But there’s lots of work to be done between now and the summer tournament, including a massive expansion at Toronto’s BMO Field.
Currently, the pitch, which is home to Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts, has a capacity to host 27,980 fans -- far below FIFA’s 45,000 seat minimum.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
In order to host the quadrennial competition, BMO Field will add at least 17,756 seats to its existing capacity and renderings of the massive expansion can now be seen on the venue’s website.
The renderings appear to indicate that the lion’s share of the new seats will be added to the north and south sides of the field and surpass the FIFA minimum by 736.
A rendering of an expansion set to be added to BMO Field is seen in this image. (www.bmofield.com)
This isn’t the first time the field has undergone an upgrade since it first opened in 2007.
Back in 2014, some 8,400 seats and canopies to cover the grandstands were added at a cost of $120 million.
Since then, the Toronto Argonauts have moved in to share the space with the Toronto FC and the site played host to the Grey Cup final in 2016.
A rendering of an expansion set to be added to BMO Field is seen in this image. (www.bmofield.com)
It’s estimated that hosting the international tournament will cost the city $290 million. That money will also be used to cover the construction of training facilities for visiting teams and other hosting-related events.
Both provincial and federal governments are expected to cover two-thirds of the bill and the city estimates the event will generate $307 million.
The expansion at BMO Field is expected to begin in 2024.
A rendering of an expansion set to be added to BMO Field is seen in this image. (www.bmofield.com)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.