TORONTO—Home sweet home, there's no place like it.
Amidst the thrills of the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, with the season down to its final two matches, Toronto FC are looking forward to getting back on the pitch at BMO Field after a 3-2 defeat to Montreal in the opening leg of the Eastern Conference Championship. The second leg takes place Wednesday (7pm ET; FS1 | TSN, RDS in Canada), with the winner advancing to the MLS Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders.
Before they can contest the Impact, however, there was the little matter of the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup, which took place on Sunday night at BMO, leaving some wringing their hands over the potential state of the pitch following a fierce game of gridiron football.
TFC head coach Greg Vanney, who had not yet seen the pitch first hand, allayed those fears.
“I got a very brief [update]: the [grounds crew] were pleasantly surprised with the way the field held up,” Vanney said on a Monday conference call. ”[The crew] thought it would be in a worse condition after the game than [it was]. They can make some progress over the next few days.”
Earlier, at Toronto's training, Vanney said, “I watched some of [the Grey Cup]. I was cringing at the chunks that were coming [up]. I trust our guys, they have a good sense of things and they're already on top of it.”
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has made significant investments in order to ensure the best possible playing surface for both TFC and the Toronto Argonauts, including a removable brand of paint called Supaturf and grow lights, inputs which have totaled more than $7 million dollars, according to a recent report by Laura Armstrong in the Toronto Star.
“They took a lot of precautions before the game was played to protect the surface,” Vanney said. “When they approached this Grey Cup, [they were] very much aware that we have an important game on Wednesday. There were two weeks between the last game [on October 30] and the Grey Cup, they were able to get a lot of growth, to something like 95% of full coverage – which is spectacular. They were able to grow it a little longer for the football game.”
“It'll be beautiful,” Vanney continued. “It's going to be an amazing night. We have the best [grounds crew]. I know the field is going to be an amazing quality.”
Added Vanney with a smile: “And the lines will be of the proper dimensions.”
TFC defender Drew Moor said the team isn't worried amidst the swirling concern. “It's funny, I saw the BMO grounds crew tweeted today and it got more retweets than any tweet I've ever sent, so it's obviously a pretty popular group. The field has been fantastic all season. They work so hard.”
That said, the weather leading up to the game looks to be wet, including a 40 percent chance of rain on game night: “The bigger factor is making sure the guys aren't slipping, that they have the proper footwear, that we're sure-footed over the course of the night.
“The crowd will be on our side [at least]; we'll take that.”
