Natural Grass in the Rogers Centre/Possibility of a New Baseball Stadium in Toronto

[Translude15]

Rogers/Blue Jays sign contract with University of Guelph to undergo preliminary processes of installing natural grass in the Rogers Centre. Jays upper management say they are still committed to implementing grass for the 2018 season.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/0...-powerhouse-unconcerned-about-losing-his-job/

 

[Translude15]

Recent comments by Paul Beeston suggest Rogers is looking to retrofit the Dome.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/beeston-major-retrofit-rogers-centre-possible/

 

[animatronic]

Wouldn't it be better in the long run to just demolish the Skydome and replace it with a smaller purpose built faculty? They could use the extra space for a maple leaf square style mixed use development that would have a superior revenue stream.

They could build a 20,000 seat temp stadium at YorkU or Downsview for 2-3 years while it's happening.

Retrofitting for NFL could make sense, but baseball is just throwing good money after bad, especially since the natural grass will kill off any value for the space as a concert or convention venue.

 

[Hairball]

Right now it's a mediocre concert venue and a mediocre baseball venue, at least some upgrades will help to enhance the baseball side of it, it's already been getting better over the last few years. As crappy as the Jays are doing, they already get well over 20,000 a game on average and a temporary stadium would be quite a revenue hit, though it'd definitely be interesting if they did such a plan. You really can't beat the current location.

 

[junctionist]

I love the Skydome as an icon of the city. But if it's not particularly great for any sort of event--neither baseball nor football fans seem to like it that much--we can't waste resources keeping it around. However, we have to ensure that our next venues are both highly useful and iconic so they last.

Building expensive stadiums every generation is a waste of money. It always seems to entail large public expenditures. Some American cities do that and lack a lot of what we take for granted like transit and a large downtown population of middle class people.

 

[TOareaFan]

^what resources are we wasting keeping it around? It is not, anymore (nor has it been for a long time) a public asset....why would we be concerned with Rogers wasting resources (if in fact they are) by keeping it around?

 

[junctionist]

If we deem it an iconic building that shouldn't be demolished, we'd expect the private sector to keep using it and investing in it. If that doesn't make sense, we shouldn't be compelling anyone to waste their resources.

 

[animatronic]

I love the Skydome as an icon of the city. But if it's not particularly great for any sort of event--neither baseball nor football fans seem to like it that much--we can't waste resources keeping it around. However, we have to ensure that our next venues are both highly useful and iconic so they last.

Building expensive stadiums every generation is a waste of money. It always seems to entail large public expenditures. Some American cities do that and lack a lot of what we take for granted like transit and a large downtown population of middle class people.

An NFL reno would make sense, because you could lower the field which adds seats, fixes the lower bowl angle and straightens out the seat rows. Artificial turf would be acceptable so you could keep using it as a concert or convention venue. And the dome would be needed for winter play. As a CFL or a baseball venue you can't really solve those problems.

 

[Translude15]

If Rogers really is considering a retrofit, I would imagine it would be for the purpose of making the Dome a baseball-only facility, which it very well should be. $400 million isn't an insignificant amount of money either so replacing the current seating bowl for a more baseball-centric configuration doesn't seem out of the question.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Renovating the Rogers Skydome - or building a new baseball stadium for the Blue Jays?

I love the Skydome as an icon of the city. But if it's not particularly great for any sort of event--neither baseball nor football fans seem to like it that much--we can't waste resources keeping it around. However, we have to ensure that our next venues are both highly useful and iconic so they last.

Building expensive stadiums every generation is a waste of money. It always seems to entail large public expenditures. Some American cities do that and lack a lot of what we take for granted like transit and a large downtown population of middle class people.

Junctionist and Everyone:

Anyone who follows MLB Baseball has noted that since the early 1990s that the trend has been to construct a ballpark that
is primarily baseball oriented instead of multi sport venues that many cities had - the last shared MLB/NFL stadium is in the
City of Oakland/Alameda County,CA - home of the Athletics and NFL Raiders...

It amazes me that the Skydome has fallen out of favor to many Blue Jays fans since those boom years of 1989 to 1994 in
which the Jays were attracting 50,000 fans per game along with winning the 1992 and 1993 World Series titles...

It sometimes amazes me how a stadium can fall out of favor with fans - the epitome of this is what the Atlanta Braves are
planning to do in building a new stadium in suburban Cobb County,GA - SunTrust Park - to replace Turner Field which was
built for the 1996 Olympic Games and has been home of the Braves since the 1997 season when the current lease expires
after the 2016 season. Turner Field replaced Atlanta Stadium - which opened in 1966 when the Braves moved to Atlanta from
Milwaukee. What the Braves are choosing to do is to replace a stadium located adjacent to Downtown Atlanta with one that
is located in a suburban area - in a region that has one of the worst auto traffic congestion problems in the US...

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunTrust_Park

One aspect that I do not like about constructing these new venues is that in many cases taxpayers are left footing the bill
but if there can be a way to fund them in a manner that helps general taxpayers such as "sin taxes" on alcohol and cigarettes
which Cleveland and Cuyahoga County,OH enacted to fund arena construction - or a state lottery in Maryland in which all of the
proceeds funded Baltimore and suburban Washington sports arenas...

I am all for the renovation of the Rogers Skydome and to me its prime location and retractable roof make it still very desirable
provided that issues like the turf type can be somehow worked out and being a shared stadium with the CFL Argonauts that
both of these teams can work together to improve the working relationship that they already have...

One thing that I hope does not happen is that a good relationship between teams does not go the way the NY Mets and NY Jets
had when both shared Shea Stadium from 1964 to 1983 - The Mets wanted - and got - Shea Stadium converted into a baseball only
facility and the root of the problems between the two teams was field conditions and game scheduling - the Mets had control of
those aspects and the Jets had to go along with whatever the Mets decided to do in their "Landlord-Tenant" relationship...

As many know the NY Jets joined the NY Giants at the New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984 and it still does not fail to
again amaze me that two NFL teams can share the same facility - Giants Stadium and recently MetLife Stadium - in some sort of
harmonious existence between them...

In closing I would like the Blue Jays to stay put at the Rogers Skydome following improvements and updates and in this case of
Toronto I am thinking "Location,Location,Location" because of its convenience to mass transit and road access from the Gardiner
Expressway - and its proximity to Downtown Toronto...

Long Island Mike

 

[TOareaFan]

I am all for the renovation of the Rogers Skydome and to me its prime location and retractable roof make it still very desirable
provided that issues like the turf type can be somehow worked out and being a shared stadium with the CFL Argonauts that
both of these teams can work together to improve the working relationship that they already have...

the fate is sealed on that one. Argos have been told to find a new home by 2017. It is no longer going to be a shared stadium.

 

[animatronic]

the fate is sealed on that one. Argos have been told to find a new home by 2017. It is no longer going to be a shared stadium.

The current plan is to completely renovate the interior. By segmenting the space horizontally they will end up with a Loblaws at the 100 level and a Goodlife Gym occupying the 200-300 levels. The Jays will relocate to a natural grass field on the 400 and 500 levels, preserving the historic steel rafters. Should make for a nice, intimate 15,000 seat ballpark.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Argonauts to leave the Rogers Skydome: A new CFL football stadium in Toronto?

the fate is sealed on that one. Argos have been told to find a new home by 2017. It is no longer going to be a shared stadium.

TO Fan:

I was not aware that the Argonauts would have to relocate when the Rogers Skydome is rehabilitated
and will become a baseball only facility - any idea where they may relocate to or will a new stadium be
constructed similar to Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field?

In any case playing football on artificial turf - like in the Rogers Skydome - has very much fallen out of
favor and having a natural grass field - for any outdoor sport - is far better in the long run to play on...

LI MIKE

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

TO Fan:

I was not aware that the Argonauts would have to relocate when the Rogers Skydome is rehabilitated
and will become a baseball only facility - any idea where they may relocate to or will a new stadium be
constructed similar to Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field?

In any case playing football on artificial turf - like in the Rogers Skydome - has very much fallen out of
favor and having a natural grass field - for any outdoor sport - is far better in the long run to play on...

LI MIKE

Argos will share BMO field w/ the MLS soccer team.

Anima: Biggest GoodLife ever!

 

[TOareaFan]

TO Fan:

I was not aware that the Argonauts would have to relocate when the Rogers Skydome is rehabilitated
and will become a baseball only facility - any idea where they may relocate to or will a new stadium be
constructed similar to Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field?

In any case playing football on artificial turf - like in the Rogers Skydome - has very much fallen out of
favor and having a natural grass field - for any outdoor sport - is far better in the long run to play on...

LI MIKE

Argos will share BMO field w/ the MLS soccer team.

The logical place would be BMO Field which is going through a $100 million 2 phase renovation (first phase to be complete by May 10)....2nd phase is cover for seating on three sides which is set to happen next MLS off season. The original plan was for a $120 million 3 phase renovation (phase 3 could take place at the same time as phase 2) . The plan was amended however. The $120 million was broken down as $90millon from MLSE...$10 million from the city......$20 million from some sort of Province/Feds combination. The last $20 million was never committed so the 2 phase plan was started. The key thing missing from the 3 phase plan is the reconfiguring of the south and north ends to allow for retractable seating to allow the CFL field to fit into BMO Field...then the stadium would seat 30k for soccer and +/- 25k for CFL football.

So, all that is missing for the Argos to move into BMO Field is:

1. An Argo owner willing to sign a lease on commercially accceptable terms for the stadium
2. Someone to come up with $20 million to revive the 3rd phase.

A local reporter (Damien Cox) tweeted out about 2 weeks ago that a lease was "done" and Argos would move in in 2016.....that caused a few days of social media furor but since then, crickets. No word that a lease has been agreed and, more importantly, no indication of where the $20million is coming from to revamp the stadium further so that CFL could even be played there.