Toronto Rogers Centre Renovations | ?m | ?s | Toronto Blue Jays | Populous

Wow! I never thought they would actually go through with this in my life time. Figured ownership would just follow Oakland's lead and tell us to live with it. This is big news! Even if you're not a Blue Jays/ baseball fan. This going to entirely change the downtown core.

I suppose the Blue Jays will be staying in Buffalo for a little while longer.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
I think we should avoid the Quayside/Portlands. I am of two minds about this - SkyDome is iconic (I don't use that word lightly), but it also sucked horribly as a piece of the urban fabric, outmoded and bit of a waste of space for an area that can be used more intensively. I want to see the exact details of what they are proposing first though...

The other question is - how will it tie in with Oxford's Union Park on the other side of the tracks? There are some synergies to be had here.

AoD
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To go along with your points here. If they did decide to tear it down, one of the best things to do would be to turn it into a park. basically the city is screaming for parkland and this is the best location you could get without constructing it, like you would over the tracks, which I also would like to see happen. Some buildout with buildings could offset this cost, but if we had to lose it parkland would be the biggest benefit.
 
tstormers said:
To go along with your points here. If they did decided to tear it down, one of the best things to do would be to turn it into a park. basically the city is screaming for parkland and this is the best location you could get without constructing it, like you would over the tracks, which I also would like to see happen. Some buildout with buildings could offset this cost, but if we had to lose it parkland would be the biggest benefit.
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I think parkland for this section of the raildeck is a given - it's already in the Union Park proposal anyways (though in a wishy-washy way). The greater potential of this move is the possibility of unlocking the landscape around the stadium - particularly how it interfaces with the CN Tower lands.

AoD
 
tstormers said:
If they did decide to tear it down, one of the best things to do would be to turn it into a park.
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It’s (the Skydome land) not going to turn into a park. FTA, the impetus to do this is to monetize the space, which is why residential and retail is being proposed there.

Personally, I’d rather see something done to create a portion of the rail deck park.
 
DSC said:
It would clearly be better for Rogers to build elsewhere so they are never 'homeless" but any new site would need to have very good transit links so PortLands might not be the best place.
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I measured the distance from proposed GO/ON line station to some areas in the Portlands and they are no further from the station than Rogers Centre is from Union Station (Approx 750 M) so it's not like the site would be lacking in transit connections.
 
Probably the most significant city-building development this city would see in the 21st century if this goes through. Agree with the general consensus that the only replacement for the SkyDome could be another ballpark or a public park. Having said that, really hope the Quayside/Portlands idea is more of a distant plan B.. won't ever get the connectivity, density, synergies you can next to Union Station. Cities are moving their parks next to transit hubs and it would be a shame if the Jays moved and the transit connectivity didn't sufficiently move with it.

If Rogers and Brookfield can get the balance between monetization + city building right, this takes out one of the biggest and only gaps Toronto has remaining.
 
Next question is, do they go for an old school ball park or another retractable roof stadium? With our climate i would hope they go with the retractable roof. It's kind of nice buying tickets and not having to worry about a rain delay or rainout.

An indoor/outdoor stadium with windows opening up to the views of the city even when the roof is closed, would be fantastic.
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www.aplussportsandmore-fanshop-baseballfield.com

Retractable-Roof-Ballparks, a better way to watch Baseball.

Retractable-Roof-Ballparks,.. After the transformation of the old wooden baseball stadiums to much more permanent structures, the baseball stadiums took on a life of their own.
www.aplussportsandmore-fanshop-baseballfield.com
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]https://azbigmedia.com/lifestyle/experience-arizona/fans-chase-field-2017-season
 
Automation Gallery said:
Why does everyone mention the Portlands
...my guess is a future ball park gets built at the Ex/Ontario Place
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Probably because of this quote in the article:
While the priority for Rogers is a new ballpark near the existing stadium – the approach taken by teams such as the New York Yankees – the sources said the company is also looking at waterfront sites such as the 12-acre Quayside property where Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs abandoned plans to build a smart-city project.
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Automation Gallery said:
Why does everyone mention the Portlands
...my guess is a future ball park gets built at the Ex/Ontario Place
Click to expand...

Portlands/Quayside was mentioned in the Globe article as another option, but I'm sure it's all very preliminary at this point. It's not just about transit connectivity though, it's also about having enough hotels, restaurants, the option for walk-in traffic for games from nearby residents, and perhaps biggest of all - the opportunity cost of not being able to do something meaningful with those pieces of land that you couldn't do downtown.
 
Richard White said:
They tried that. I refer you to the mistake by the lake.

The wind and weather coming in off the lake made a sports stadium impractical, it was the whole reason that Skydome was built.
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Hmm, i may be wrong but always heard it had nothing to do with the sports complex down there but with the Exhibition Stadium lay out.
The BMO does not seem to have any problems
 
Being able to bury Bremner under a new stadium might reopen the possibility of running a streetcar into Union from that direction.

Automation Gallery said:
Why does everyone mention the Portlands
...my guess is a future ball park gets built at the Ex/Ontario Place
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I thought about Ontario Place but that makes for a very high pressure transportation situation if BMO has an event (or the Ex is on)
 
Automation Gallery said:
Hmm, i may be wrong but always heard it had nothing to do with the sports complex down there but with the Exhibition Stadium lay out.
The BMO does not seem to have any problems
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The first jays game was snowed out, the rain and wind was heavy off the lake and Dave Winfield managed to take out a seagull (later requiring a police escort).

The consensus was that a roofed stadium was warranted.
 
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