Earlier today Tom Anselmi, Chief Operating Officer at MLSE, took to the radio to provide fans with some early details about the home leg of Toronto FC's semifinal matchup with Mexican club Santos Laguna. The game will be taking place on March 28th as Toronto will be hosting the first leg.
The news we got today was that the Rogers Centre was not a very good option on such short notice so the game would be played at BMO Field. That decision makes sense as Toronto FC will open their home MLS schedule on the 24th against the San Jose Earthquakes. That means that the field and stadium will have to be ready for game anyhow so there are no logistical headaches at all for the club to deal with.
Anselmi did suggest that if Toronto does make it through to the finals the club would consider using the much larger dome for the occasion. He also suggested that the team could be playing at the Dome again in the future even if they do not make the final. It seems that they like the idea of using it for more big games which would be fine as long as they are in the spring/summer and the club can bring in grass. Never want to see them play on that turf again.
Going back to BMO though means that tickets will be much more limited as it obviously does not hold the 48,000 that the Dome does. Instead, most of the tickets will likely end up being sold to season seat holders in a presale, starting tomorrow March 16th. That's presumably for SSH's to purchase their own seats, whether there'll be any kind of advance sales for extra tickets before the general public wasn't revealed in the email sent out today. If you are not a SSH though you are not totally out of luck. Anselmi indicated that tickets would go on sale on the 22nd which we are assuming will be the start of the public sale. If you are interested in getting tickets for the game you might want to be on standby that entire day and be prepared for some sticker shock. With the MLSE loving the concept of "supply and demand" you can expect this game to certainly cost more than the game at the Dome did and possibly cost more than any league game.
(EDIT, March 16) Tickets are now on sale for season seat holders to purchase in an exclusive pre-sale that will run until Tuesday March 20th at 5:00 PM. For these seats the price seems pretty much the same as you would expect to pay for a regular MLS game with just a little bit of added cost due to the occasion. The tickets start at $24 for supporters sections and go all the way up to $92 for the fancy Club seats. In the end most of BMO will be available for $55 or less which seems to be about right for a game like this.
After the end of the period for SSH holders to buy tickets through their account manager they will be given the chance to purchase addition tickets on the 21st at 1:00 PM through Ticketmaster. Now this period of time will not be exclusive to SSH as it appears pre-sales will also take place on the 21st for anyone that is on the waiting list, follows the team on twitter, or likes them on facebook. That means that if you want tickets to this game that is your day to find a way to get them.
By the time that the general sale opens on the 22nd there is a decent chance that there will not be a whole lot left. Tickets will go on sale at 11:00 AM and will now range from $27 up to a high of $97 with most of the seats coming in at under $61. So the prices are raised a little bit for the general sale but that only seems fair as SSH do deserve some reward for their extended commitment to the club.
For the full seating charts and all the details head over to the club's website.