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Toronto, Montreal open 2017 MLS season on road while Vancouver kicks off at home

Dec 21, 2016 | 7:45 AM

TORONTO — Expansion Minnesota United FC will kick off the 2017 Major League Soccer Season in front of the Timbers Army on March 3 in Portland.

Toronto FC and Montreal open on the road March 4 against Real Salt Lake and San Jose, respectively, while the Vancouver Whitecaps host the Philadelphia Union on March 5 at B.C. Place Stadium to wrap up the opening weekend.

The league announced the home openers for all 22 clubs on Wednesday. The rest of the schedule will be released in early January.

For Vancouver, the regular-season kickoff comes three days after the Whitecaps entertain the New York Red Bulls in the return leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final.

Atlanta United, the second expansion team, makes its league debut at home March 5 against the New York Red Bulls at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“We’ve all been counting down the days and we finally have a date to circle on our calendars,” club president Darren Eales said in a statement. 

Atlanta will move into its new Mercedes-Benz Stadium home later in the season.

Montreal opens at home March 11 against the champion Sounders at Olympic Stadium. Vancouver has a bye in Week 2.

Toronto continues on the road in Week 2, playing in Philadelphia on March 11. Home fans won’t see Toronto FC at BMO Field until March 31 — Week 5 — when Sporting Kansas City comes to BMO Field. There is no word yet whether Toronto will have an early bye to soften four weeks away from home but TFC is no stranger to opening on the road.

Due to stadium renovations, Toronto played the first eight games of both the 2015 and 2016 seasons away from home. Its home opener was May 10 in 2015 and May 7 in 2016.

For Toronto president Bill Manning, the 2017 season opener in Sandy, Utah, will mark a homecoming. He spent eight seasons as president of Real Salt Lake and Rio Tinto Stadium prior to joining Toronto in October 2015. 

Minnesota and Atlanta won’t have to wait long to see how the two fledgling clubs measure up. They will face off March 12 at TCF Bank Stadium, currently home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The new soccer team will play at the University of Minnesota before moving into its new US$150-million venue in nearby St. Paul during the 2018 season. 

“To host at home against the other expansion team is always going to be a good storyline,” Minnesota United sporting director Manny Lagos said in a statement. “There’s going to be a connection that we’re always going to have with them because of the timing of our expansion into MLS.”

In a battle of 2015 expansion teams, Orlando opens at home against New York City FC on March 5 in its new 25,500-capacity downtown stadium.

The two New York teams meet March 12 at Yankee Stadium.

Seattle will open the home half of its schedule March 19 against the Red Bulls at CenturyLink Field.

Each team will play 34 games, 17 at home and 17 away. They will face each of their 10 conference opponents twice during the season with one game at home and one game away — meeting some conference opponents three times. They will play non-conference opponents once.

 

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press