Report: Toronto to host 2016 Grey Cup at TBD venue, Ottawa to get 2017 Grey Cup

According to Sportsnet's Arash Madani, the locations of the 2016 and 2017 Grey Cups have been set. The 2016 Grey Cup has long been rumoured to be held in Toronto as part of the new ownership group's deal to buy the team and move them to BMO Field, and Madani says that's going to happen, but there's still a discussion about if the championship game itself will be outdoors at BMO Field or indoors at the larger Rogers Centre. What's even more notable in Madani's report is the information that the 2017 Grey Cup is set to be held in Ottawa; there's been some speculation on that front before, but nothing terribly conclusive. Both of these sound like decent Grey Cup sites, but there may be some complaints about having two in a row in Ontario and some other complaints from places that haven't hosted in a long while. Here are the details from Madani's piece:

Providing Toronto with another Grey Cup (they hosted in 2007 and 2012) may seem odd at first, especially considering how long it's been since other teams have hosted. Hamilton last hosted the Grey Cup in 1996 (the famed Snow Bowl), while Montreal last hosted in 2008, Calgary last held the game in 2009 and Edmonton last had it in 2010. However, a quick Grey Cup was likely a condition of the Argos' sale to Bell and Larry Tanenbaum, and the stability that ownership and new stadium should provide the franchise is important to the league's overall health, so giving Toronto another Grey Cup isn't that big of a price to pay. It's interesting to hear discussions about whether to have it at BMO Field or Rogers Centre, though; Rogers Centre can hold more people and avoids weather issues, but BMO Field seems to set up as a better football venue, and a big part of those renovations was supposed to be about large events such as the Grey Cup.

Putting the 2017 Grey Cup in Ottawa makes a lot of sense from a historical perspective, as it's the 150th anniversary of both the founding of the city and of Canadian Confederation. The chance to host a Grey Cup relatively quickly is believed to have been part of the Redblacks' expansion agreement, too, and this is a very logical one for them to take. The team will be in its fourth season in 2017, so they should have a decent chance of building towards a Grey Cup appearance by then, and hosting a Grey Cup that year may help to maintain fan excitement in the city and set the Redblacks up for long-term success. About the only criticism here is having two Grey Cups in a row in Ontario, but at least it's different parts of Ontario.

The real intrigue may come with what happens in 2018. The Tiger-Cats would obviously love to host a Grey Cup at their new stadium, and they'll have a strong argument given how long Hamilton's gone without one. That would make three Grey Cups in a row in Ontario, though, which could alienate fans from the rest of the country. Still, there aren't a lot of great other options. Montreal is an awesome host city, but Molson Stadium's too small for the Grey Cup, and the Olympic Stadium isn't in great shape. Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium could easily host another Grey Cup, and probably will at some point, but there hasn't been any talk of Eskimos' ownership bidding for one lately. It also seems likely that any Grey Cup in Calgary will be put off until after their new stadium is built (if that happens). So, at this point, Hamilton might be the leader for 2018 despite the Ontario connection. We'll see how this plays out, and it's not confirmed yet that 2016 and 2017 will be in Toronto and Ottawa, but if they are, the 2018 discussion may be very interesting.