BMO Field a work in progress as the curtain falls on Toronto FC’s MLS season

TORONTO — The curtain falls on the Toronto FC season Saturday. And when fans return next year, BMO Field will have a different look.

The expanded north end will feature 32 new suites as part of the stadium improvements for the FIFA World Cup. And while the additional 17,000 temporary seats in the north and south ends will be in place when the 2026 MLS season kicks off, they will only be used prior to the World Cup “for select games.”

Think a visit by Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

The extra seats will be removed after the World Cup. A rooftop terrace will be installed above the suites in the north end post-World Cup, with the party-like patio expected to host 1,000 to 1,200 general admission ticket-holders come the 2027 season.

The new suites are already on sale for the 2026 MLS season.

Like the product on the pitch, TFC attendance has been up and down this season with both the team and crowd improving in recent weeks.

Chris Shewfelt, MLSE’s vice-president of business operations for Toronto FC and the CFL Argos, acknowledges the TFC season “went in a few different phases,” with factors ranging from performance and player turnover to weather and competition from other local franchises.

Toronto’s home opener this season was March 15, four games into the season. The 2-1 loss to Chicago drew a crowd of 22,738.

“This past year hasn’t been much different than previous years in that when the sun is shining, fans are coming out to BMO Field, to enjoy TFC. And we certainly saw that this year and we’ve seen it in years before,” said Tom McDonald, MLSE’s senior vice-president of ticket sales and services.

There was a push this season to get more afternoon than evening games on the weekend. That will continue, said Shewfelt.

“For us yes, we like afternoon games. Especially early in the season. That’s key,” he added. “Having late-night games in March and April is very difficult and unpredictable.”

Toronto currently ranks 15th in the league in attendance, averaging 21,374 per home game.

Atlanta United is No. 1, averaging 43,985 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Seattle Sounders (30,993) and Charlotte FC (30,631) were the only other teams over 30,000.

The Vancouver Whitecaps rank 14th (21,498) and CF Montreal 28th (16,162).

Toronto attendance has ranged from a season-low 14,018 for a mid-week 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati on March 15 (on a night when both the Maple Leafs and Blue Jays were playing nearby) to a season-high 28,855 — the first sellout of the season — for a 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at the last home game on Sept. 27.

The home game before that, on Aug. 30, drew 27,076 for a 1-1 draw with rival Montreal.

The 20,000-odd season ticket-holders have already received their renewal notices with varying price increases.

“The weighted average (price) increase is three per cent across the board,” said McDonald, who notes that prices did not increase two of the last five years.

But there has been some confusion over the price increase.

Season-ticket holders are charged for 20 games, 17 league outings plus three others — usually the Canadian Championship or Leagues Cup. With Toronto playing just one Canadian championship game, there were just 18 matches played — with season-ticket holders getting the cost of the extra two games deducted from their 2026 membership fees or any remaining 2025 payment.

McDonald says some fans compared what they paid in 2025 with the 2026 prices, without taking that game discrepancy into account.

MLSE won’t have a sense on the renewal rate until the end of the month when ticket-holders on auto-renewal get charged.

“We are pacing like we did last year on cancellations, which it to say we’ve only had 100 cancellations in the first few weeks,” said McDonald.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.