A Letter from BMO Field - Annotated

Liquor Arrest on Queen West near Simcoe Street (circa 1917)
Photo Credit: Crime and Punishment in Canada

Dear RICHARD,
-Dear [Mail Merge Field filled with an enormously large Excel file of Toronto FC season ticket holders]

Earlier this week, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) served BMO Field with a one-game suspension for a violation that occurred in May 2008.

-Some background: Ontario and Toronto in particular have some very deep-seated Victorian-era moral issues with alcohol. At one time in Toronto, liquor stores were staffed with old men who looked like police officers. You had to go to a kiosk in the middle of a barren white room to find a list of the booze you wanted to buy, which would have a corresponding code number, and your job was to write these codes on a piece of paper and slip it to the guy behind glass who dressed like a cop.

Our bar rules were even weirder; passerbys were not allowed to see other people drinking lest they get overcome with the urge to get shitfaced and abandon their job and loved ones, so pubs had to have curtains over the window. You could only order one drink at a time, and you weren't allowed to dance. You had to sit at the same table with your drink for the duration of your stay in the bar. These rules persisted until the 1960s (!).

While Ontario has since liberalized its liquor laws, the burden of responsible alcohol consumption is still on bars and private sellers. Hence the AGCO's ruling against BMO Field below.

As a result there will be a suspension in alcohol service at BMO Field on Saturday, July 18 during the Toronto FC versus Houston Dynamo match. During the match, alcohol cannot be sold, served or consumed anywhere in BMO Field.

-While we don't know exactly what happened last May, it was likely a 'pass-off'—a 20 year-old buying their 18 year-old friend a beer (the legal age in Ontario is 19)—intercepted by a AGCO inspector at a Portuguese club friendly (not a TFC game). Despite the inherent difficulties in policing the actions of 20 000 spectators, BMO was adjudged responsible.

We kindly advise both you and your guests to arrive early to the game on July 18 to ensure you are able to get to your seat prior to kickoff as there will be extra security checkpoints in place. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and game time is at 1:00 p.m.

Please note that there will be bag checks and pat-downs at all gates for this game. There could be a longer than usual wait time at the gates.

-Regarding checkpoints, I think the problem won't be as much fans sneaking in liquor as it will be fans loading up at home or at the pub prior to kick off, ye olde English method. Long waits and pat downs aren't really fun, so expect small scale skirmishes, crying children and a smaller than normal gate. Not a good situation.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause you and your guests and we appreciate your understanding in this matter.

-Well, quite frankly I don't understand. I've never seen an LCBO shuttered for unwittingly selling alcohol to minors (trust me, this has happened). And apparently 20 000 fans can be cut off due to some pissant 18 year-old (was he fined, and the passer-offer? Banned for life from BMO?), but it's the individual responsibility of the problem gambler to avoid Ontario-approved casinos?

While I tend not to drink at TFC games (beer in the sun = bad) I'm a big fan of personal responsibility. I think small businesses should be allowed to sell beer and spirits, I think bar owners should share responsibility for certain alcohol violations. No, I don't think the sky will fall, children will suddenly problem drink, and we will devolve into a Moscow-like booze cauldron. BMO Field wouldn't serve alcohol if TFC fans didn't want it. It's time we had a long look at the AGCO's current mandate, which regards customers as simple dupes and private booze sellers as evil irresponsible jerks who will pour booze down the Rule of Law's throat when given the chance. I think we're all grown ups here, don't you?

Sincerely, Bob Hunter,
Executive vice-president, Venues and Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

-They're so rich none of this really matters.