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

[Richard White]

Just because you want to keep something does not mean you should. Yes the stadium is iconic but it is outliving its 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.

 

[Hairball]

I'll definitely miss the Dome considering there were so many great memories that happened there, it does feel sad that it'll be gone in the near future.

However, a new stadium is definitely needed for the Blue Jays, it seems like many of you guys here aren't baseball fans, but if you've been to other MLB stadiums, it's beyond obvious that major upgrades or a new stadium is needed for the Jays to compete.

 

[Johnny Au]

The Rogers Centre is among the top ten oldest active ballparks in MLB and it's clearly showing its age and I am nostalgic about the dome. I don't mind it being replaced though.

A new stadium could resemble Miller Park in Milwaukee or Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Both have much better retractable roofs.

 

[afransen]

I'm assuming they are going to want hundreds of millions of dollars of public money for the new stadium, and I can't for the life of me see why we should give them any.

 

[Richard White]

I'm assuming they are going to want hundreds of millions of dollars of public money for the new stadium, and I can't for the life of me see why we should give them any.

If I recall.. the Skydome was partially built with government funds as well. Metro and the province chipped in funds while Canada Lands Corp (a Crown Corporation) provided the land.

 

[Hairball]

I'm assuming they are going to want hundreds of millions of dollars of public money for the new stadium, and I can't for the life of me see why we should give them any.

Of course they would, however taxpayers shouldn't fund this, we've been hosed enough. As long as it's paid for by the private sector it'll be awesome to see a new stadium.

 

[Richard White]

Of course they would, however taxpayers shouldn't fund this, we've been hosed enough. As long as it's paid for by the private sector it'll be awesome to see a new stadium.

A public/private partnership is what built the Skydome and I can see that being the case here.

It also gives the government a bit of control over what gets built where.

 

[JMSRead]

i'm curious if the people who are upset that it may get demolished are jays fans? I can't imagine that there are any jays fans out there that are asking to save it. It was amazing at its time but there's nothing worth saving here. It's absolutely terrible to watch a game in. I've been to 18 ballparks and it's the worst one i've been to. When the roof is open, it's okay but not great. When it's closed, it's flat out depressing in there. The cost to renovate it to bring it to modern standards would probably cost more than putting up a new park. You would have to remove the hotel, hollow out all the exterior concrete to put in windows and glass to brighten it up and from my understanding the hotel (and all its concrete) hold the roof up on days where the dome is open so that wouldn't be easy to change.

This gives them the opportunity to put in a beautiful park that holds far less people (in the 30-40K range i'd hope). Yes, the skyline will change but it changes all the time anyways. The dome is already blocked if you look at the skyline from the east or west. From the south it's visible but still obstructed a bit.

Yes, this exactly. I don't want to sound condescending, but it seems as though the people upset by this are not people who pay close attention to sports? Among sports fans, Rogers Centre is *not* regarded as historic or iconic in any way - in fact, I think that idea would be considered kind of laughable. It was considered outdated and lacking character within a few years of opening, sadly. Now, it is widely considered to be one of the worst facilities in baseball. Look - I don't hate the dome. So many great memories there. But it's not a good ballpark. If Rogers is willing to replace it and not ask for public money? In my opinion, as a baseball fan and as someone who cares about Toronto, I think that's fantastic.

 

[picard102]

I'll definitely miss the Dome considering there were so many great memories that happened there, it does feel sad that it'll be gone in the near future.

However, a new stadium is definitely needed for the Blue Jays, it seems like many of you guys here aren't baseball fans, but if you've been to other MLB stadiums, it's beyond obvious that major upgrades or a new stadium is needed for the Jays to compete.

To compete with who? Other Toronto baseball stadiums?

 

[Richard White]

To compete with who? Other Toronto baseball stadiums?

Compete with other teams. When players decide where to go in free agency, etc they look at things like the facilities.

Rogers Centre is despised by alot of players for the artificial turf and playing conditions with the dome closed. Right now we can't compete with teams with modern facilities.

We need a modern stadium if we want to bring in quality players.

 

[Ward8]

I'm a huge baseball fan. Without counting baseball or heritage concerns. It seems like an enormous waste to build this type of facility and tear it down so soon. For a structure like this to last only 31 years seems unacceptable. There must be a much more cost effective, and environmentally friendly way to retrofit this stadium with grass and a new roof. If not, then the plan for the next stadium should take it to account the need for a 80 to 100 year life span.

 

[Amare]

I am vehemently against having this site include residential/office/whatever else Rogers and Brookfield have in their minds. Most cities in the U.S with their baseball stadium sites, in a way "protect" land for their next successive baseball stadium by having a park or parking space immediately adjacent to their stadium proper.

And of course in typical Rogers fashion, they have this land in hand and what to they plan on doing. Cutting the stadium land in half and allowing the other half to be developed, while make it more difficult for themselves to replace the stadium both now and again in the future.

I'm sorry but there's no way the city should allow for that kind of plan to pass, once you lose that land to development there's no way you're ever getting it back. There should be absolutely NO residential development, or office development allowed on site period.

 

[Richard White]

I'm a huge baseball fan. Without counting baseball or heritage concerns. It seems like an enormous waste to build this type of facility and tear it down so soon. For a structure like this to last only 31 years seems unacceptable. There must be a much more cost effective, and environmentally friendly way to retrofit this stadium with grass and a new roof. If not, then the plan for the next stadium should take it to account the need for a 80 to 100 year life span.

A new roof would be prohibitively expensive and there is no way to install drainage for real grass without rebuilding a large portion of the stadium.

Simply put, the stadium was not built to last. It was design with 1980s brutalism and the need for a roof in mind.

 

[T.E.C.II]

The problem with the stadium is that it quickly became obsolete once Camden Yards opened. After that, fans realized they prefered stadiums with a more old fashioned feel.

 

[Richard White]

The problem with the stadium is that it quickly became obsolete once Camden Yards opened. After that, fans realized they prefered stadiums with a more old fashioned feel.

The problem is that Canadian stadiums have certain weather related requirements that other places do not.