No Argos to BMO Field deal done yet - David Braley

The Toronto Argonauts' dance with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment about moving to BMO Field appeared to reach some resolution Monday thanks to a Twitter report from Sportsnet's Damien Cox that MLSE was "set to do a lease deal" for the Argos starting in 2016. Here's what Cox had to say:

That wasn't very strongly worded, but it did spark plenty of Twitter discussion and a few websites passing along Cox's words as confirmation a deal was done. However, I reached out to the Argonauts for comment, and received this statement from director of communications Eric Holmes:

"We’ve reached Mr. Braley and we have no specific comment to make regarding this matter. Mr. Braley has assured us that talks are progressing with regard to stadium negotiations but there's nothing more substantive to report than has already been reported."

Sean Fitz-Gerald of The National Post also reports that "there is no deal yet," further confirmation this isn't happening right now. Of course, Cox could still be correct if a deal's reached sometime soon; all he reported was "sounds like." He's not responsible for others' interpretations of that. Still, this is just the latest jumping-of-the-gun in the Argos, BMO and MLSE saga.

Consider Dave Naylor's TSN report back in January 2014 that the Argos "could be sold within a matter of weeks, either to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment or its chairman, Larry Tanenbaum," which obviously hasn't happened. Again, Naylor's not technically wrong there, as "could be" also leaves the door open to "could not be," and it did sound like that deal was close before it got derailed, but it shows that nothing's resolved in this dance until contracts are signed on the dotted line. Also consider everything MLSE president and CEO (for the time being; he's stepping down this summer) Tim Leiweke has said on the Argos and BMO Field, from wanting to host a Grey Cup there to saying "we will honour that commitment" (of having the Argos in BMO), which so far has led to nothing tangible.

It still does look like the Argos are likely to wind up at BMO Field at some point. There's a firm deadline for them, as they have to leave the Rogers Centre by the end of the 2017 season at the latest (and they'd rather do that as soon as possible), and there are no other compelling options. There's significant resistance to the idea of Toronto FC sharing BMO Field with a CFL team, especially from soccer fans concerned about the pitch, but there's also substantial political support for the Argos from city council and the Exhibition Place board. New CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge has stated that an Argos' stadium solution is a priority for the league, and BMO Field looks like the only workable one. Still, there are hurdles involved, including the money (there's reportedly a $10 million gap thanks to the federal government electing not to contribute to the plan), Braley potentially selling the team and how that works into a lease agreement, what sort of playing surface will be used at the new facility and what sort of scheduling priority the Argonauts will have there. There's reason to believe a deal will eventually be made, but it may take a while, and there is still a chance this all falls through. Reports of it being done appear premature, at least for now.