BMO Field is the home of football in Toronto, an open-air stadium on the city's lakefront that was temporarily expanded to hold 45,736 to serve as a host venue for the 2026 World Cup under the tournament name Toronto Stadium. Demand for BMO Field tickets was at its highest in the opening days of the tournament, when the ground staged Canada's opening match, the emotional centre of the country's home World Cup, and it went on to host six matches in all through a round-of-32 knockout tie. Its downtown setting and easy transit made it one of the most straightforward matchdays of the tournament to plan. 1BoxOffice is a verified secondary marketplace established in 2006, with seat-level detail at checkout and a 150% money-back guarantee if a ticket fails to grant entry on matchday.
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This guide is written for the supporter making the trip, not the browser. It covers the streetcar and train that drop you beside the ground, how the expanded bowl was arranged, the clear-bag security rules, the bars of Liberty Village and downtown Toronto, the open-air weather to plan for, and the history of a stadium that has hosted championship finals in two sports. By the end you should know how a Toronto matchday works.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | BMO Field (Toronto Stadium for the World Cup) |
| Address | 170 Princes' Boulevard, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3, Canada |
| Capacity | 28,180 normally, expanded to 45,736 for the World Cup |
| Opened | 28 April 2007 |
| Architect | Brisbin Brooks Beynon, with Gensler for the expansion |
| Surface | Hybrid grass |
| Home Teams | Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts |
| Location | Exhibition Place, on the Toronto lakefront |
| Nearest Transit | Exhibition streetcar loop and GO station, beside the ground |
| World Cup 2026 | Host venue for six matches, including Canada's opener |
BMO Field is one of the more transit-friendly World Cup venues, sitting at Exhibition Place on Toronto's lakefront just west of the downtown core, with a streetcar loop and a commuter rail station beside it. That location means you can reach the ground easily by public transport or on foot rather than facing the vast car parks of the American venues, and the organisers steered supporters firmly towards transit for the tournament.
The Toronto transit streetcar network serves Exhibition Place directly, with the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst routes running to the Exhibition loop right by the stadium from downtown and Union Station. The streetcars are frequent, low-cost and simple to use with a Presto card or contactless payment, and they were the backbone of matchday travel. Union Station, the city's main transport hub, connects the wider region to the streetcar network for the final leg.
The Exhibition GO station on the Lakeshore West line sits beside the ground, giving a direct commuter-rail link from across the Greater Toronto Area straight to the stadium. For supporters travelling in from the suburbs or the wider region, the GO train was often the quickest and least crowded option, dropping you within a short walk of the turnstiles.
The ground is walkable from parts of downtown, at roughly half an hour on foot along the waterfront, and a short walk from the Liberty Village neighbourhood just to the north. Toronto Pearson International Airport connects to Union Station by the UP Express train in around twenty-five minutes, from where the streetcar completes the trip, making Toronto an easy fly-in matchday. The city-centre setting is a real advantage over the car-bound venues elsewhere in the tournament.
Driving is the least sensible option. Parking at Exhibition Place is limited and controlled on event days, downtown Toronto traffic is heavy, and the transit alternatives are so good that a car is unnecessary. If you do drive, use a downtown or Exhibition Place car park booked in advance and expect congestion on the way out, but for almost everyone the streetcar or GO train is quicker and cheaper.
Parking at BMO Field is limited, as the stadium sits within the busy Exhibition Place grounds on the lakefront, and the city strongly encourages transit for events. Some paid parking operates at Exhibition Place and across the nearby districts, but it fills quickly for a major event and costs more than the streetcar or GO train. For the World Cup the clear advice was to arrive by transit, on foot or by bike along the waterfront trail rather than to drive. If you must bring a car, book a car park in advance and plan for a slow exit through the downtown streets.
BMO Field is normally a compact 28,000-seat stadium, but for the World Cup it was expanded with temporary stands to hold 45,736, nearly doubling its size while keeping the intimate feel that makes it a good place to watch football. It is an open-air ground, with a roof over most of the permanent seating but the pitch and the temporary sections open to the sky. The bowl is described by level and by end rather than by named stands.
The permanent lower bowl rings the pitch and offers the closest, most immersive view, with the sideline sections giving the most balanced perspective and the ends the best for atmosphere at a football match. These permanent seats also benefit from the roof over much of the ground, and they were among the most sought-after for the World Cup fixtures.
The permanent upper seating, added in the earlier expansions, rises above the lower bowl on the main sides and is largely covered by the roof, giving a good elevated view with some shelter from the weather. These are a strong choice for a balance of vantage point and cover, and they carry the mid-range and premium prices.
The temporary stands built for the tournament added thousands of seats behind the ends and in the upper reaches, expanding the capacity for the biggest occasion in the ground's history. These sections gave the wide, elevated views that suit reading the shape of a match, and were often the more accessible tickets, though being newly built and open to the sky they had less cover than the permanent roofed areas.
For the World Cup, supporter and neutral sections were allocated by the tournament organisers for each fixture rather than fixed as home and away ends, and Canada's opener filled the ground with red and the loudest support of the Toronto calendar. Family and quieter areas were offered away from the noisiest sections. BMO Field provides accessible seating with companion spaces, along with accessible entrances and step-free routes helped by the flat lakefront site and the adjacent transit. Because allocations and accessible seating were arranged per event, supporters should always confirm the specific detail through the ticketing channel for the match rather than assuming a fixed layout.
The table below matches a section to what you want from the day.
| Priority | Recommended Sections |
|---|---|
| Atmosphere | Lower bowl behind the ends |
| Tactical overview | Permanent upper sides, central rows |
| Close to pitch | Front rows of the lower bowl |
| Shelter from the weather | Roofed permanent seating on the main sides |
| Budget-friendly | Temporary upper stands |
| Families | Designated quieter sections (confirm details at purchase) |
| Accessibility | Accessible seating with companion spaces (request at purchase) |
Unlike the domed venues in the tournament, BMO Field is open-air, with a roof over most of the permanent seating but no cover over the pitch or the temporary stands. Toronto in June and July is warm and often humid, with plenty of sunshine but a real chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms rolling in off Lake Ontario. That means the weather was a genuine factor here, unlike at the climate-controlled stadiums, so a seat under the permanent roof offered welcome shelter in a downpour, while the temporary sections and the lower rows were exposed. For a summer fixture, sun protection, water and a light waterproof all earned their place, and the lakefront setting could bring a cooling breeze on a hot day.
Major stadiums in North America run a clear-bag policy that catches out many first-time visitors, and BMO Field is no exception. In general only clear plastic bags within a set size, along with a small clutch bag, are permitted, and ordinary rucksacks, handbags and non-transparent bags are refused at the gates. There is no bag store, so anything that fails the policy has to be left elsewhere. All bags are searched and metal detectors are used on entry. Prohibited items include outside food and drink, bottles, cans and any object judged dangerous. Because the exact clear-bag dimensions and rules are set for each event, check the guidance attached to your ticket before matchday and arrive early to clear security.
One of the joys of BMO Field is that it sits beside one of the most diverse and food-loving cities in the world, so the eating and drinking is the eating and drinking of downtown Toronto rather than a remote concourse.
Liberty Village, the converted-warehouse neighbourhood immediately north of the stadium, is packed with bars, breweries and restaurants and was the natural pre-match gathering point, within an easy walk of the turnstiles. Further into the city, the King West strip, the Distillery District and the waterfront all offer plenty more, and the streetcar links them to the ground. Toronto has a strong craft-beer scene, and the bars around the stadium made the most of it during the tournament.
Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities on earth, and its food reflects that, with outstanding cuisine from every corner of the world within reach of the ground. That diversity gave the World Cup a special flavour here, as almost every visiting nation could find a community and a restaurant to call its own in the city. Most supporters ate in Toronto before or after the match rather than relying on the stadium concourses.
Inside, BMO Field offers a broad range of concessions including local and international options, and the concourses run on card and mobile payment. Prices are typical of a major North American venue. With so much choice on the doorstep in Liberty Village and downtown, many supporters combined a meal in the city with a lighter bite inside the ground.
Tickets for major events at BMO Field are digital and held in a phone wallet or the event app, so load your ticket, charge your phone and turn the screen brightness up before you reach the gates, since a saved screenshot can fail to scan when a barcode refreshes. Entry involves a security screening with metal detectors and a bag check, so the clear-bag policy really matters here. Gates typically open a couple of hours before kick-off for a major fixture, and given the crowds arriving together by streetcar and train, the entrances get busy in the last hour, so aim to arrive early rather than close to kick-off.
Leaving BMO Field is easier than at most World Cup venues, thanks to the transit beside the ground and the downtown setting.
The Exhibition streetcar loop and the GO station handle the bulk of departures, with extra services laid on to clear the crowd, and many supporters simply walk back into Liberty Village or along the waterfront towards downtown. The streetcar loop and station are busy straight after a sell-out, so either move quickly with the first wave or let the initial crush clear before heading over.
For the few who drove, the Exhibition Place car parks empty slowly after a big event, and ride-hailing surges heavily at the final whistle in the busy area by the lake. Both are slower than the streetcar or the GO train, which is another reason transit and walking were the clear choice in Toronto.
With Liberty Village and the King West bars a short walk away, the easiest way to beat any post-match rush is to step into a bar or restaurant near the ground and let the crowd thin before travelling on. In a lively, walkable part of the city, waiting out the crowds is a pleasure rather than a chore.
BMO Field opened on 28 April 2007 as Canada's first purpose-built stadium for football, constructed at Exhibition Place on the Toronto lakefront to be the home of Toronto FC as the club entered the MLS. Built at an initial cost of around 63 million Canadian dollars, it gave the city a dedicated ground for the game and quickly became one of the most atmospheric venues in North American football, known for its passionate supporters' sections.
The stadium has grown in stages. Expansions between 2014 and 2016 lifted capacity and added a roof over most of the permanent seating, and brought in the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League as co-tenants, giving it a dual sporting identity. That period was a golden era for Toronto FC, who reached three MLS Cup finals at the ground, losing on penalties to Seattle in 2016 before beating the same opponents 2-0 in 2017 to lift the trophy, while the ground also staged the Grey Cup, Canadian football's championship game.
For the 2026 World Cup, the stadium was expanded again with temporary stands to 45,736 and renamed Toronto Stadium for the tournament, hosting six matches including Canada's opening game. Staging the host nation's first match, in front of a red-clad home crowd in one of the world's most diverse cities, gave the ground the biggest occasion in its history and a permanent place in Canadian football memory.
BMO Field already held a proud place in North American football before 2026, above all through Toronto FC's MLS Cup triumph in 2017, when they beat Seattle 2-0 at the ground to complete a golden era after losing the 2016 final on penalties to the same side. For the 2026 World Cup, the defining occasion was Canada's opening match on 12 June, the first game of the nation's home tournament, which filled the expanded ground with red and produced the loudest and most emotional night in its history. The venue's six-match slate ran through to a round-of-32 knockout tie on 2 July, giving Toronto a share of the tournament's biggest moments.
The temporary World Cup stands were always intended to be removed after the tournament, returning BMO Field to its permanent configuration of around 28,000 as the home of Toronto FC and the Argonauts. There is no confirmed plan for a permanent expansion to the tournament capacity, and reports of any future work should be treated as proposals rather than settled plans until the operators and the city confirm the details. For now the ground continues as one of the premier football venues in Canada, its World Cup role having cemented its place in the city's sporting life.
BMO Field provides accessible seating with companion spaces, along with accessible entrances, step-free routes and services in line with Canadian accessibility standards, helped by the flat lakefront site and the transit beside the ground. The adjacent streetcar loop and GO station offer accessible options for reaching the stadium without a car, which is a real advantage over the car-bound venues elsewhere. Because accessible seating was allocated per event during the World Cup, and arrangements can vary by fixture, supporters with access requirements should always book through the ticketing channel for the specific match and confirm the detail in advance. The downtown, transit-served setting makes BMO Field one of the more straightforward major stadiums to reach for supporters with access needs.
The matches BMO Field staged were among the most sought-after of the World Cup 2026 summer in Canada, led by the host nation's opening game and by its round-of-32 knockout tie. You can follow the wider tournament through the World Cup 2026 tickets hub and the Canada tickets page, while the knockout rounds run through the round of 32 tickets, round of 16 tickets, quarter-final tickets, semi-final tickets and World Cup final tickets pages. Host-nation matches always command the strongest local demand, and knockout ties the highest prices, while group fixtures between smaller nations were the more accessible. Secondary-market prices move with demand, so treat any figure as indicative rather than fixed and buy early for the marquee rounds.
1BoxOffice is a verified secondary marketplace that has operated since 2006, showing seat-level detail before you pay and backing every order with a 150% money-back guarantee if a ticket fails to grant entry on matchday. The eight steps below cover the process from finding a fixture to tracking your order.
Step1
Find the fixture
Go to the BMO Field listing on 1BoxOffice and select the match you want. Each fixture shows the available levels, sections and current pricing before you commit to a seat.
Step2
Check the seat detail
Use the level and price filters to compare sections. Seat location is shown against the venue layout, so you can weigh a roofed permanent seat against a wider view from the temporary upper stands before deciding.
Step3
Confirm the section
Make sure the section matches who you are travelling with. Supporter, neutral and family areas can be listed separately, and for a tournament match the section allocations are set by the organisers for each fixture.
Step4
Review before checkout
Check the delivery method and the kick-off time against your travel plans. Tournament kick-off times and even the teams in a knockout tie can be confirmed late, so verify the date and details before you book flights or a hotel.
Step5
Create your account
First-time buyers should create an account to complete checkout and receive the ticket. Returning customers simply log in. An account keeps your order and delivery details in one place.
Step6
Complete payment
All major credit and debit cards are accepted. The 150% money-back guarantee applies automatically to every order if the ticket fails to grant entry on matchday.
Step7
Receive your ticket
Tickets for major events at BMO Field are issued digitally. Keep the live ticket in your wallet or the event app ready to scan, and avoid relying on a saved screenshot that may fail at the gate.
Step8
Track your order
Follow delivery status and manage your booking through track order. Digital tickets arrive ahead of the match so you can travel with everything ready.
Toronto is one of the most diverse and welcoming cities in the world, and a World Cup trip here rewarded visitors far beyond the football. Fly into Toronto Pearson International Airport, which connects to Union Station downtown by the UP Express train in around twenty-five minutes, from where the streetcar reaches the ground. Base yourself downtown, in the King West area or near Liberty Village to walk to the stadium, and use the streetcars and GO trains rather than a car. Payment is by card or phone almost everywhere, tipping is expected in bars and restaurants, and the summer weather is warm but can bring storms, so a light waterproof is worth packing. Remember that entry to Canada may need travel authorisation depending on your nationality, so check the current requirements before you travel.
With the tournament spread across three countries, many supporters built a longer trip around the football. If you are lining up other matches, the football tickets hub, the wider football tournaments calendar and the venues tickets directory show what else is on across the host cities. In Toronto itself, the CN Tower, the waterfront and the Toronto Islands, the St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District all make a rewarding matchday break beyond the stadium, and Niagara Falls is a short trip away.
BMO Field normally holds 28,180, but for the World Cup it was expanded with temporary stands to 45,736, adding around 17,756 seats. It is an open-air ground with a roof over most of the permanent seating. The temporary stands were built to give the host-nation matches the biggest possible crowd.
The easiest way is by transit. The 509 and 511 streetcars run to the Exhibition loop right by the ground from downtown and Union Station, and the Exhibition GO station on the Lakeshore West line sits beside the stadium. The ground is also walkable from Liberty Village and parts of downtown along the waterfront.
Yes. Toronto Pearson International Airport connects to Union Station downtown by the UP Express train in around twenty-five minutes, from where the streetcar completes the trip to the ground. This direct rail link from the airport to the city centre made Toronto an unusually smooth fly-in matchday.
Parking is limited at Exhibition Place and controlled on event days, and the city strongly encourages transit. Some paid car parks operate nearby, but they fill fast for major events and cost more than the streetcar or GO train. For the World Cup the clear advice was to arrive by transit, on foot or by bike.
BMO Field is an open-air stadium with a roof over most of the permanent seating, added in the 2014 to 2016 expansions, but no cover over the pitch or the temporary World Cup stands. Toronto summers are warm but can bring storms, so a seat under the permanent roof offered shelter while the temporary and lower sections were exposed.
North American stadiums use a clear-bag policy, so only clear plastic bags within a set size and a small clutch are generally allowed, and ordinary rucksacks and handbags are refused. There is no bag store and all bags are searched with metal detectors. Check the clear-bag rules attached to your ticket before you travel.
Yes. BMO Field staged Canada's opening match of the tournament on 12 June, the first game of the nation's home World Cup, which filled the expanded ground with red and produced the loudest and most emotional night in its history. It was the emotional centre of Toronto's tournament calendar.
The lower bowl behind the ends is the most immersive for a football match and feels the atmosphere most directly. The permanent upper sides give a good covered view. For a tournament, the most vocal supporter groups were allocated different sections depending on the nations playing, with Canada's game the loudest of all.
Yes. BMO Field offers accessible seating with companion spaces, accessible entrances and step-free routes in line with Canadian accessibility standards, helped by the flat lakefront site and the adjacent transit. Because arrangements vary by event, book accessible seating through the ticketing channel for the specific match. The transit-served downtown setting makes it one of the easier major stadiums to reach.
Gates typically open a couple of hours before kick-off for a major fixture. With crowds arriving together by streetcar and train and a security screening including metal detectors, the entrances get busy in the last hour, so arriving early rather than close to kick-off makes for a smoother entry. The precise times are confirmed with your ticket.
Inside, the stadium offers a broad range of concessions with card and mobile payment. The bigger draw is the city on the doorstep, with Liberty Village right beside the ground packed with bars, breweries and restaurants, and Toronto's global food scene, one of the most diverse in the world, a short streetcar ride away.
Yes, quieter and family-friendly seating was offered away from the most vocal supporter sections. Age and admission rules for children at a major event are set by the organisers for each fixture, so confirm the specific requirement and any child pricing at the point of purchase rather than assuming a fixed rule.
BMO Field runs tours and hosts the Canadian Football Hall of Fame nearby at Exhibition Place, which visitors can take in on non-event days. Tours do not operate on matchdays and should be checked in advance. Confirm the current days, hours and prices with the venue before you visit.
World Cup prices varied widely by round and by the nations playing. Group fixtures between smaller nations were the more accessible, while Canada's opener and the round-of-32 tie commanded the highest local demand at this venue. Secondary-market prices move with demand, so treat any figure as indicative rather than a promise.
The downtown core, the King West area and Liberty Village all let you walk to the ground or reach it in minutes by streetcar, and put you among the best bars and restaurants. The waterfront and the Entertainment District are also central and well connected. Any of these keeps you close to the match, the food scene and the airport rail link.
Tickets for major events are digital and held in a phone wallet or the event app, scanned at the gate. Charge your phone, turn up the screen brightness and load the ticket before you arrive. A saved screenshot can fail to scan when a barcode refreshes, so rely on the live ticket in your wallet.
It is known as the home of Toronto FC and its passionate support, as the venue for MLS Cup finals and the Grey Cup, and for its downtown lakefront location. For the World Cup it was expanded and renamed Toronto Stadium, hosting six matches including Canada's emotional opening game.
The stadium is on the lakefront at Exhibition Place, with Liberty Village and its bars a short walk north. Downtown, the CN Tower, the waterfront and the Toronto Islands, the St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District are all close, and Niagara Falls is a short trip from the city for a longer visit.
BMO Field opened on 28 April 2007 as the home of Toronto FC in the MLS, and it was expanded between 2014 and 2016, when the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League joined as co-tenants. For the World Cup it hosted football under the name Toronto Stadium.
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Sources: BMO Field and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the Toronto World Cup 2026 host committee, the Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit, and stadium reference records. Information was gathered in July 2026 and may change; check sources for the latest details. 1BoxOffice is not affiliated with BMO Field, Toronto FC or the World Cup organisers. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.