Keith Pelley explains why Toronto Argonauts are playing three extra away games in 2026

Photo courtesy: Ben Green/Buffalo Bills

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) president and CEO Keith Pelley explained the process behind the Toronto Argonauts playing three “home” games in rival CFL markets when the World Cup takes over BMO Field in 2026.

“We did a lot, we spent a lot of time doing research. We looked at every possible option: we looked at Guelph, we looked at Queen’s, we looked at U of T. The best way that we thought to do it next year was to put it in Hamilton and Winnipeg and in Saskatchewan,” Pelley told 3DownNation.

“The reason being is we didn’t want to host a game with 5,000 or 7,000 fans, that was predominantly why we made the decision. We know that we could have probably easily have gotten 7,000 or 10,000 at a game, but we didn’t want to do that and we didn’t think that was great for the brand.”

In 2013, the Tiger-Cats played home games at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph while Hamilton Stadium was constructed. The team expanded the venue to a capacity around 13,000 and consistently drew capacity crowds. The Argonauts have held training camp in Guelph every year since 2021 and many previous times during the 1980s, 1990s, and in 2016.

Pelley was asked if the Argonauts looked into expanding Alumni Stadium as a temporary home in 2026 and whether London and Windsor were also considered.

“Yeah, of course. We did all that research, we did all that analysis and we looked at it very, very closely. We thought that the best thing for the Argos brand long term was to do exactly what we’re doing. The Canadian Football League and the CFL were a thousand percent behind it, so I think we made the right decision,” Pelley said. 

The Boatmen will play one extra game at Mosaic Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, at Princess Auto Stadium against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and at Hamilton Stadium against the Tiger-Cats in 2026. That arrangement has essentially put Toronto on the road for 12 games, giving the Double Blue six home games after the World Cup finishes at BMO Field.

“We are taking the extra marketing money that we have for the games that have moved on and we’ll put those into the six games to try to make those as big as we possibly can next year and that’s going to be our focus. Then we will come back the following year hopefully even bigger and stronger,” Pelley said.

In the past, the CFL has purchased games from the Argonauts for Touchdown Atlantic to fully take over operations. The Riders, Bombers, and Ticats are selling one extra “home” game in their season ticket packages for the 2026 CFL season, though Pelley declined to share whether the other three teams have purchased the respective matchups from MLSE.

“Yeah, it’s sold in their season ticket package, but the details between the Argos and the respective teams are private, obviously,” Pelley said.