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

[junctionist]

Just because you want to keep something does not mean you should. Yes the stadium is iconic but it is outliving it's usefulness in terms of being a viable baseball facility. It was designed at a time where you needed space for concerts, football and baseball in the same building. Astroturf ruled the day and as such it was never designed for real turf.

Yes you can keep it but the fact is that we need a new stadium for the Jays.

What will you do with it if nobody is using the facility? Slap a heritage designation on it and keep it empty forever because of the events that transpired there? Unlike Maple Leaf Gardens you cannot really do much with the facility other than events and the land is quite valuable.

Let's face the facts here. Players do not want to play here because of the Astroturf and the differences playing when the roof closed (the ball acts differently with a closed roof). If you want to attract top tier talent, you need a top tier stadium.

Actually, you probably could do something like Maple Leaf Gardens with the building. Create a smaller stadium just below the dome that's raised above the current field. The roof would remain functional above the new field. Fill the rest of the space with retail, offices, and tourist attractions. Replace the hotel with a condo or mixed use building. This proposal would preserve heritage and would likely result in an economically viable landmark. Toronto's new MLB stadium would go elsewhere.

 

[Richard White]

Actually, you probably could do something like Maple Leaf Gardens with the building. Create a smaller stadium just below the dome that's raised above the current field. The roof would remain functional above the new field. Fill the rest of the space with retail, offices, and tourist attractions. Replace the hotel with a condo or mixed use building. This proposal would preserve heritage and would likely result in an economically viable landmark.

Toronto's new MLB stadium would go elsewhere. They could build a traditional waterfront brick stadium in the Port Lands to help spur revitalization there.

I'm not sure how many people here have been in the bowels of the Rogers Centre but I have. I also used to work at and watched Hockey at the Gardens.

There is so much mechanical and bunker like spaces behind and under the stands. You can't really do much with the space given the shape. You also have the mechanical on the roof.

Maple Leaf Gardens worked because it was a large, cavernous square building without a mechanical roof. Circular stadiums with vast open pockets and a mechanical roof don't work as well.

 

[turini2]

I do hope they go for a Portlands stadium instead of Skydome 2.0 - imagine the view of the skyline and the Harbour!

Also the boost it would give to Portlands infrastructure and development...

 

[Richard White]

I do hope they go for a Portlands stadium instead of Skydome 2.0 - imagine the view of the skyline and the Harbour!

Also the boost it would give to Portlands infrastructure and development...

Doable but a transit link is needed.

 

[Bogtrotter]

There seems to be a few major sports teams actually going from grass to a newer artificial turf. This includes the new stadium for the Texas Rangers which also has a retractable roof and where MLB chose to host play-off games this past Fall.

Artificial turf making a comeback at NFL stadiums, MLB ballparks - Lawnstarter

Two NFL teams and two Major League Baseball teams will switch from natural turf to artificial turf by their 2020 seasons, ending a trend toward playing fields of grass.

www.lawnstarter.com

But this of course doesn't resolve other significant issues with our dome.

 

[junctionist]

I'm not sure how many people here have been in the bowels of the Rogers Centre but I have. I also used to work at and watched Hockey at the Gardens.

There is so much mechanical and bunker like spaces behind and under the stands. You can't really do much with the space given the shape. You also have the mechanical on the roof.

Maple Leaf Gardens worked because it was a large, cavernous square building without a mechanical roof. Circular stadiums with vast open pockets and a mechanical roof don't work as well.

Apple made a circular structure work for office space with their new headquarters. I don't think mechanical components on the roof would be a huge impediments. Most buildings have them.

 

[Richard White]

Apple made a circular structure work for office space with their new headquarters. I don't think mechanical components on the roof would be a huge impediments. Most buildings have them.

They made it work as a purpose built facility not a retrofitted one.

Mechanical components on the roof will be an issue. The roof rotates and there are the mechanical bits that make it do so. Keep in mind one of the renovations would require a new roof which isn't cheap.

 

[JohnnyRaylander]

Minneapolis’ weather is not much different than ours and they have a great open-air stadium.

It's great stadium but weather in April (and late March?!) has been pretty brutal for rain delays though I guess the Tigers have been fine with Comerica. I'd hope the new stadium can be a have a modern retractable roof with nice sightlines. It definitely seems doable with Miller Park being a great example.

Also, I swear the number of people lamenting replacement of the Skydome is very surprising to me. The shape and outside are iconic but have the people complaining ever seen a Jays game or a concert there? Have they ever walked up the drab concrete ramp to the 500s or through the terrible concourse areas? A fun baseball game in the sun and a little nostalgia can help overcome a lot of it's shortcomings but it is objectively bad at doing what it was built for. I haven't been to a ton of other stadium but seeing games at Comerica or PNC absolutely put into light how terrible the Dome is.

 

[themarc]

I agree this is a real-estate play first and foremost. We must remember that Rogers does not own the land - just the building - so this is a play for them to be able to develop condos on the balance of the connected land they do not own.

So my guess is nothing will happen to the Rogers Centre (other than a long drawn out renovation) and in exchange Rogers will be allowed to throw up condos on the parking lot to the south, the adjoining square to the west and will probably slap a condo tower onto the land to the south that will hang above the roof.

Nothing else makes sense.

 

[EddyMCD]

I know this likely isn't feasible, but my ideal scenario would be to build a smaller stadium in Roundhouse Park (re-route Bremner north if needed). Then demolish the Skydome and build a new park in it's place to replace Roundhouse.

The plans to build a new stadium partially to the south (over the existing parking lot) don't make much sense as it would require the team to re-locate for probably 2-3 seasons.

I really hate the Portlands idea, there will never be good enough transit serving that space, and the team's attendance will ultimately suffer (once the new building aura wears off). If they have to go somewhere else, I would much prefer Exhibition Place somewhere. At least in the future it will have a stop on the Ontario Line, it's serviced by GO, and is still within walking distance of many people. I'm sure there are people smart enough to design a stadium that could mitigate the wind factors.

 

[afransen]

I'm not sure how many people here have been in the bowels of the Rogers Centre but I have. I also used to work at and watched Hockey at the Gardens.

There is so much mechanical and bunker like spaces behind and under the stands. You can't really do much with the space given the shape. You also have the mechanical on the roof.

Maple Leaf Gardens worked because it was a large, cavernous square building without a mechanical roof. Circular stadiums with vast open pockets and a mechanical roof don't work as well.

The stands of MLG were structural, so removing them actually was non-trivial.

 

[animatronic]

I know this likely isn't feasible, but my ideal scenario would be to build a smaller stadium in Roundhouse Park (re-route Bremner north if needed). Then demolish the Skydome and build a new park in it's place to replace Roundhouse.

The plans to build a new stadium partially to the south (over the existing parking lot) don't make much sense as it would require the team to re-locate for probably 2-3 seasons.

I really hate the Portlands idea, there will never be good enough transit serving that space, and the team's attendance will ultimately suffer (once the new building aura wears off). If they have to go somewhere else, I would much prefer Exhibition Place somewhere. At least in the future it will have a stop on the Ontario Line, it's serviced by GO, and is still within walking distance of many people. I'm sure there are people smart enough to design a stadium that could mitigate the wind factors.

There's room at Echo Beach / Ontario Place waterpark (plus lots of available parking), but it would probably need to have a roof to protect from the lake winds.

The other option is at Downsview Park beside the GO/TTC Stations. That would kill off the business crowd but really appeal to the 905ers.

The reality is you're not going to get a better location than the current spot, even if they need to relocate for a season or spend a year playing at reduced capacity.

 

[Richard White]

I know this likely isn't feasible, but my ideal scenario would be to build a smaller stadium in Roundhouse Park (re-route Bremner north if needed). Then demolish the Skydome and build a new park in it's place to replace Roundhouse.

The plans to build a new stadium partially to the south (over the existing parking lot) don't make much sense as it would require the team to re-locate for probably 2-3 seasons.

I really hate the Portlands idea, there will never be good enough transit serving that space, and the team's attendance will ultimately suffer (once the new building aura wears off). If they have to go somewhere else, I would much prefer Exhibition Place somewhere. At least in the future it will have a stop on the Ontario Line, it's serviced by GO, and is still within walking distance of many people. I'm sure there are people smart enough to design a stadium that could mitigate the wind factors.

Definitely not an option. The John Street Roundhouse has various levels of heritage protections on it to the point where you cannot simply demolish it.

 

[Richard White]

Could the roundhouse be re-located?

@smallspy Care to enlighten this gentleman?

Essentially no you cannot relocate it, it is a national historic site and it has been there since the 1920s. It has facilities there such as the turntable that cannot be relocated.

 

[EddyMCD]

Well then I suppose they'll have to move for something like 3 seasons. Because that should be the only option on the table. If the Jays were to build a new park elsewhere, there's no chance the Feds would keep the Dome there. That land is so insanely valuable, they won't be able to resist.