World Cup’s smallest venue in Toronto ready for its grand finale
TORONTO: Portugal and Croatia’s World Cup last-32 clash on Thursday could be Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric’s final game on soccer’s biggest stage, and the massive moment will unfold at the tournament’s smallest venue. If there was any skepticism about how the 43,036-seat Toronto Stadium would hold up against its much bigger counterparts in the US and Mexico, that was squashed by electric atmospheres, sellout crowds and special moments in the five group matches it hosted. Toronto Stadium is not the grandest venue, but what it lacks in size it makes up for by bringing fans closer to the action and players, with few bad seats in the house. Before hosting World Cup matches, the home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC underwent a C$158 million ($111.4 million) facelift to bring its capacity up to tournament standards, and those temporary changes are paying off. Soccer fan James Cuthbert said the venue did not feel like a World Cup stadium in March when Canada played Iceland in a friendly as it was still being renovated. But when he returned for Senegal and Iraq’s group match last Friday, he was impressed. “It feels different, it feels more like a world-class stadium,” said Cuthbert, who also attended the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Cuthbert and his wife were sitting in the back row of a 200-level section at Toronto Stadium but were very happy with the view. “We’re (in) the very highest seats but it feels amazing,” he said.