[Woodbridge_Heights]

This shot doesn't tell the true story of the contrast.

I think a lot of people need to adjust the contrast/brightness on their TV's and/or not use vivid mode on their smartphone cameras. I don't see the amount of garishness (?) on my tv compared to some of the photo's I've seen online.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

This is a meaningful point for debate....would the Jays draw 30k and 22k at games 2 & 3 if was open air, or with roof but not an enclosed (like seattle)? I'd say no. With 81 games at home, I'd hazard to guess most fans are less inclined to buy midweek tickets in those first 3 weeks of season when its wet and 6-12*C. Look around league so far, VERY empty midweek parks due to the cold. So for the Jays to build anything but a new, retractable, enclosed park....would probably be a move in the wrong direction from a business perspective. Just, ya know, build one with some glass and sunlight

I took a quick look at a couple of examples (the only comparable ones I think are Milwaukee and Seattle, the rest are in the south I think and I am too lazy to look into all 7 or however many there are).

For the stadium in Milwaukee it is pretty much based on temp 63 Fahrenheit/17.2 Celsius so yesterday it would have been open unless there was a breeze off Lake Michigan or other factors but it seems more to do with fan comfort than other factors. They go into more detail here - https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-ballpark-roof-opened-or-closed

For Seattle, the roof actually is more like an umbrella so temperature doesnt really come into it, it is all to do with rain - https://www.mlb.com/news/t-mobile-park-roof-and-rain-history

You know. Rogers Centre as the first (or one of the first) fully enclosed retractable roof stadiums didn't really have a predecessor to learn from in the way that the retractable roof stadiums that have come after Rogers Centre did. I remind people that the Rogers Centre was designed as a domed stadium that can open when the weather allows, rather than an open air stadium that can close the roof when the weather is inclement. The difference might not be obvious but it is dramatic.

I was at the stadium ~20 yrs ago when they were caught off guard by a rain storm. There is no provision for drainage in the bowl and the front row of the 200 and 500 levels became 2 inch deep rivers of rain water, beer, and food. Not fun to sit in as a fan.

When I worked there the frequent complaint I received was to actually close the dome! Evenings are still quite cool right through to mid May. So I find it humorous that people now are asking for the roof to be open considering that evening lows are in the single digits!

 

[C-mac]

I think a lot of people need to adjust the contrast/brightness on their TV's and/or not use vivid mode on their smartphone cameras. I don't see the amount of garishness (?) on my tv compared to some of the photo's I've seen online.

Yeah I'm going to try that, because when I see the highlights on youtube it's not bad at all so could be a tv thing.

 

[T.E.C.II]

When I worked there the frequent complaint I received was to actually close the dome!

I've heard such things sometimes happen, but it's wild to me that people would ask for the dome to be closed, oblivious to the fact there's several thousand other people in the building.

 

[boldpreza]

I am glad it's done and we got 75% of what needed to happen. I really look forward to going to games this year.

I would like to see in the next five years some warmth brought to the place. It's very blue and grey and some brown/wood accents such as repanelling the Hotel walls would really change the vibe inside.

Instead of grey brick, maybe some red brick? They wouldn't clash with the blue if done right.

An exterior refresh, either a cleaning or a recladding and new black windows would be a great update to it.

Plus five years from now would definitely justify some more improvements and help keep the place fresh into the next decade or two.

 

[JMSRead]

Some interesting stuff in this article. Sounds like a new stadium in 10 to 15 years is still very much on the table.

As sports teams grab billions in taxpayer funding for stadiums, Blue Jays president explains the strategy behind Rogers Centre renovations

Mark Shapiro praises club owners for support, never considered asking for taxpayer dollars which he says would have been ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unprecedented’

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[boldpreza]

They said that at the start of the renovations. This was always an interim plan. I agree with him though, public money was not on the table, but lets be clear. Its because they would have received a massive no if they asked and they already knew it.

 

[C-mac]

Some interesting stuff in this article. Sounds like a new stadium in 10 to 15 years is still very much on the table.

As sports teams grab billions in taxpayer funding for stadiums, Blue Jays president explains the strategy behind Rogers Centre renovations

Mark Shapiro praises club owners for support, never considered asking for taxpayer dollars which he says would have been ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unprecedented’

www.theglobeandmail.com

They've always said from the get that the reno's were just a temp solution and the plan is to still build a new stadium. I just think they realized because of some serious challenges in terms of location, it wasn't going to be for a while so they needed to do something with Skydome until they figure it out.

 

[Amare]

And the longer they keep waiting to build a new stadium, the fewer and fewer options they'll have to build in other areas of the city as the city continues to develop. We're not really the kind of city that has the foresight to protect for future builds, so Downsview and the Portlands will be off the table soon enough.

Not that i'm complaining because they'll never beat the location of the current stadium.

 

[JunctionTAngle]

And the longer they keep waiting to build a new stadium, the fewer and fewer options they'll have to build in other areas of the city as the city continues to develop. We're not really the kind of city that has the foresight to protect for future builds, so Downsview and the Portlands will be off the table soon enough.

Not that i'm complaining because they'll never beat the location of the current stadium.

On the note of potential alternative sites to build a new stadium...

Ontario Science Centre Relocation | Ontario Science Centre

Ontario Science Centre Relocation to Ontario Place.

www.ontariosciencecentre.ca

TRCA Responds to Ontario Science Centre Announcement

TRCA owns portions of the Ontario Science Centre lands. We have reached out to the Province for clarification on their proposed plans for the Centre.

trca.ca

With the current Science Centre site slated to close in 2028, I wonder if this site could be an option for the Blue Jays to explore in late 2020s/early 2030s.

There's roughly 80-90 acres of land which would make for plenty of land to develop a sport entertainment district. Also there will be two mass transit options with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Yes it will open eventually ) and Ontario Line subway stops.

I'm no expert of course, so take this suggestion with a grain of salt. I'm sure a lot would need to happen for this to become a remotely viable option, but I do think it something that could be an option that Blue Jays and Rogers might end up exploring down the line based off the suggested 10-15 year timeline.

 

[Amare]

On the note of potential alternative sites to build a new stadium...

Ontario Science Centre Relocation | Ontario Science Centre

Ontario Science Centre Relocation to Ontario Place.

www.ontariosciencecentre.ca

TRCA Responds to Ontario Science Centre Announcement

TRCA owns portions of the Ontario Science Centre lands. We have reached out to the Province for clarification on their proposed plans for the Centre.

trca.ca

View attachment 556755
With the current Science Centre site slated to close in 2028, I wonder if this site could be an option for the Blue Jays to explore in late 2020s/early 2030s.

There's roughly 80-90 acres of land which would make for plenty of land to develop a sport entertainment district. Also there will be two mass transit options with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Yes it will open eventually ) and Ontario Line subway stops.

I'm no expert of course, so take this suggestion with a grain of salt. I'm sure a lot would need to happen for this to become a remotely viable option, but I do think it something that could be an option that Blue Jays and Rogers might end up exploring down the line based off the suggested 10-15 year timeline.

It's a non-starter and i'm glad you linked that image because: All that land highlighted in green is TRCA land and it's basically flood plain area. So in other words, nothing really can be developed on that land. The only land that could be developed on that site would be the portion that's owned by the city, which as you can imagine is not optimally suited for a baseball stadium. Theoretically you could probably fit a hockey/basketball arena on that plot as that would be easier to orient, but that wouldnt happen in any of our lifetimes for various reasons.

 

[sixrings]

And the longer they keep waiting to build a new stadium, the fewer and fewer options they'll have to build in other areas of the city as the city continues to develop. We're not really the kind of city that has the foresight to protect for future builds, so Downsview and the Portlands will be off the table soon enough.

Not that i'm complaining because they'll never beat the location of the current stadium.

Why would you think it’s the city’s responsibility to keep land available in case the blue jays decide they want to move. It’s the blue jays problem shouldnt they be the ones that are thinking about it. Also what if we saved land at downsview and they were like no thanks we want to be by the lake to have a better view and atmosphere. It’s on the jays to do their due diligence.

 

[Amare]

Why would you think it’s the city’s responsibility to keep land available in case the blue jays decide they want to move. It’s the blue jays problem shouldnt they be the ones that are thinking about it.

There's a reason we have what's called a planning department. It's there to assess the current and future needs of the city and how to accommodate those needs through the availability of land throughout the city by taking into account a plethora of factors. If the city didnt "keep land available", we wouldnt have many buildings/pieces of infrastructure that we currently have today. We've been very fortunate that we had people in the past that had the foresight to plan ahead and protect for many things we are using today. I wont go into details to keep this thread on topic, but a quick Google search will help you out there.

Stadiums and arenas dont last forever; you can renovate and refurbish a bunch of times over but there comes a point in time where they need to be outright replaced or rebuilt to keep up with the day's standard. That's simply the nature of the sports business unfortunately.

One could always choose not to do that, and in that case you would end up having teams playing in outdated facilities. For example, think of the Leafs playing in Coca-Cola Coliseum or Maple Leaf Gardens; of course it's doable but it wouldnt be the most pleasant experience by today's standards and wouldnt be able to accommodate various facilities that are in use today. The Blue Jays realize this which is why they did massive renovation, and it's why they are looking at a new stadium outright (which may very well be a rebuild).

So in other words what i'm saying is that it's simply common sense for the city to keep in mind that stadiums and arenas need to be replaced. I could give you dozens of cases of cities around the world who have proactively thought about it and have kept land aside in one way or another (ie: keeping a plot of land as park space and building a stadium/arena on it in the future).

Also what if we saved land at downsview and they were like no thanks we want to be by the lake to have a better view and atmosphere.

You know there are ways to keep land aside and have it used it for other purposes, even if it isnt utilized for the principal intended use right? That's what proper planning is all about.

It’s on the jays to do their due diligence.

Yes it is, which is what they are doing right now and as you can see they're having troubles finding a suitable location.

Which on a side note, is the exact same situation the Leafs/Raptors will find themselves in a couple of decades as well (i'm not suggesting Scotiabank Arena needs to be replaced today, but at some point it will but MLSE chose short-term profits over easy future flexibility by building Maple Leaf Square).

 

[sixrings]

There's a reason we have what's called a planning department. It's there to assess the current and future needs of the city and how to accommodate those needs through the availability of land throughout the city by taking into account a plethora of factors. If the city didnt "keep land available", we wouldnt have many buildings/pieces of infrastructure that we currently have today. We've been very fortunate that we had people in the past that had the foresight to plan ahead and protect for many things we are using today. I wont go into details to keep this thread on topic, but a quick Google search will help you out there.

Stadiums and arenas dont last forever; you can renovate and refurbish a bunch of times over but there comes a point in time where they need to be outright replaced or rebuilt to keep up with the day's standard. That's simply the nature of the sports business unfortunately.

One could always choose not to do that, and in that case you would end up having teams playing in outdated facilities. For example, think of the Leafs playing in Coca-Cola Coliseum or Maple Leaf Gardens; of course it's doable but it wouldnt be the most pleasant experience by today's standards and wouldnt be able to accommodate various facilities that are in use today. The Blue Jays realize this which is why they did massive renovation, and it's why they are looking at a new stadium outright (which may very well be a rebuild).

So in other words what i'm saying is that it's simply common sense for the city to keep in mind that stadiums and arenas need to be replaced. I could give you dozens of cases of cities around the world who have proactively thought about it and have kept land aside in one way or another (ie: keeping a plot of land as park space and building a stadium/arena on it in the future).


You know there are ways to keep land aside and have it used it for other purposes, even if it isnt utilized for the principal intended use right? That's what proper planning is all about.


Yes it is, which is what they are doing right now and as you can see they're having troubles finding a suitable location.

Which on a side note, is the exact same situation the Leafs/Raptors will find themselves in a couple of decades as well (i'm not suggesting Scotiabank Arena needs to be replaced today, but at some point it will but MLSE chose short-term profits over easy future flexibility by building Maple Leaf Square).

A baseball stadium isn’t exactly a small place. And if you want it beside transit that’s a lot of premium property gone from either condos or businesses for the possibility of a ball park.

I’m happy to have planning departments but some things are harder to plan for than others. The fact is that the blue jays could at least acquire the land. Use it as a smart centre or something else until they want to build a stadium. Besides this could all be for nothing. There’s a good chance they never expect to move.

 

[boldpreza]

Thank you for sharing the pic of the OSC above. I know that's a topic for a different thread but it just goes to show how foolish these politicians saying tear it down and replace with housing are.