For the first time in 33 years, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays will undergo a massive $300 million renovation that will transform the city’s stadium into a world-class ballpark.
The baseball club’s top management announced the privately funded overhaul Thursday, which they say focuses on modernizing the fan experience and building elite facilities for players.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said at a presentation unveiling the changes.
“When the fans come into the building next year, sitting in those seats and the seats below, with the Canadian flag unfurled in the field behind us, it’s going to be a dramatically different look, a dramatically different view and a different ballpark,” Shapiro said.
The first phase of the renovation will begin in the 2022-2023 season, starting with the level 100 and level 200 fields.
These seating areas will see the installation of what the Jays call new “social spaces” with patios, drink rails, bars and observation decks.
The bullpens, where pitchers warm up, will be raised and surrounded by new seats so fans can get even closer to their favorite players.
Level 100 seats will also be moved forward to new outer walls, putting fans within arm’s reach of the field.
The 500 level will feature two new social decks, similar to the existing WestJet Flight Deck, where fans can grab a drink and socialize with other fans regardless of where seats are available.
Additionally, every single seat in level 500 will be replaced – something that hasn’t happened since the building opened.
The upgrades aren’t limited to the fan experience.
At field level, there are plans to build a family room for the player’s families, a 5,000-square-foot weight room, as well as locker rooms for the staff.
All of those projects will be completed in the offseason and will not affect the game of baseball, the club said.
The team explained that the building’s exterior, turf field modification and roof are not in the current scope of renovation plans.
The second set of renovations will begin in the 2023-24 offseason and will include upgrades to the 100-level infield, premium club and field-level social spaces, and clubhouse and player facilities.
Rogers Center opened in 1989 as the Sky Dome at a cost of about $570 million, or about $1 billion in today’s dollars, and was the first stadium ever built with a fully retractable motorized roof.
Two years ago, a report in the Globe and Mail suggested that Jace and developer Brookfield Asset Management Inc. are working on plans for a new stadium downtown. The Blue Jays later confirmed they were “exploring their options” regarding the future of the Rogers Center, but halted work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As previously reported by TSN, the club believes the renovations, which will be managed by architectural firm Populous, will extend the life of the stadium by an additional 10 to 15 years.
Ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Rogers Center brought in a massive 8,000-square-foot video board ahead of the 2022 season, allowing for an enhanced viewing experience for both fans in the stadium and those watching from home.
With files from Chris Fox
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