Mayor Proposes Changing Stadium Name To Honor Rob Ford

Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford drew worldwide attention to the Canadian city when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine four years ago. Now the current mayor is backing a proposal to rename a stadium in honor of the late politician.

via Wikimedia Commons – Rob Ford

Mayor John Tory pitched his council colleagues about renaming the city’s Centennial Park Stadium to Rob Ford Memorial Stadium, citing the former mayor’s love for football and “unique approach to public service,” according to the Toronto Star.

The proposal sparked outrage and debate among Toronto citizens. Some say the stadium shouldn’t honor a man who once smoked crack and lied about it, while members of the “Ford Nation” are happy to see the memory of their populist hero celebrated.

Doug Ford, Rob’s brother, told the paper that his family is happy that Tory is backing the name change. Tory beat Doug Ford in the 2014 mayoral election.

“We’re grateful as a family that they are going to move forward with this,” Doug Ford told the paper.

Tory is expected to authorize consultations with the families of two other former councilors who recently died, Ron Moeser and Pam McConnell, next week.