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

I make no qualms that RC is in the bottom half to bottom third in terms of MLB stadia. However the issue I have with those who simply spout "RC sux" with out contributing anything else is that I think they fail to take into account the following.

- The stadium was built at the tail end of the cookie cutter, concrete, multi purpose (baseball/football) stadiums and was dated by the time Camden Yards opened 3 years later
- The climate necessitates having a roof
- The stadium was practically left to rot for the better part of 2 decades while it was stuck being owned by Sportsco
- The stadium was designed to be a dome that can become open air when weather allows, rather than an open air stadium that can close the roof during inclement weather
- The location is unbeatable
- It's now the 7'th oldest stadium in MLB with a few of the older ones having undergone massive renovations that may as well have made them new stadiums

Sure you could have a more traditional brick facade, and baseball oriented seating. but the roof will always be there under any renovation or replacement. That will always lead to a claustrophobic effect when closed.

Toronto, despite its stature as a metropolitan area in North America, will never have a Yankee stadium, Dodger Stadium, PNC park, or Petco park. I think it's contemporaries will always be more like Miller Park (American Family field), T Mobile park, and Comerica park/Progressive field.

I'm honestly most curious to see what they do with the 100 level renovations, particularly the seating. Because a proper baseball style seating arrangement could be a significant difference maker in the look and feel of the stadium
 
Someone posted an update on reddit

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Given the placement of the Rogers logo on the right field wall, I guess we won't be seeing the fans behind the fence as seen in this render?

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T.E.C.II said:
Someone posted an update on reddit



Given the placement of the Rogers logo on the right field wall, I guess we won't be seeing the fans behind the fence as seen in this render?

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The seating/restaurant area in the RF corner will likely happen in 2024 after rebuilding the entire 100 level. If you look at recent images from March, the wall panels with the Rogers logo in RF are removable.

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A recent update from yesterday courtesy Blue Jays Twitter. I'm impressed with the upgrades and thankfully, they're fairly accurate to what was depicted in the renderings. I was a tad skeptical last year after seeing the renderings from Cleveland's stadium renovations compared to what was actually built back in 2014-15. Shapiro almost certainly had a much larger budget and better resources than anything the Guardians franchise provided.

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The outfield bleachers are making the most impact in my mind at this point. What used to be tiny dark sections of the stadium now look to have 50 to 100% more seat and now will be brighter by being out from under the upper bowls
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
The outfield bleachers are making the most impact in my mind at this point. What used to be tiny dark sections of the stadium now look to have 50 to 100% more seat and now will be brighter by being out from under the upper bowls
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Even last year, the impact that bright lights with dispersion mirrors had on the 100 outfield seats was incredible.
 
Does anyone know, or was it discussed on the size of the new seating in the 500's? Are they larger/cup holders etc?
Looks great and can't wait to go to a game this year!
 
T.E.C.II said:
Well, from what I've heard, there were more elaborate (expensive) options on the table, although I don't know what those exactly were, just that it may have involved "knocking down walls". I think there also was some talk of possibly rotating the field. And this isn't to criticise what Rogers is doing, just that they could have done even more if they wanted to.
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Last year at the press conference announcing the renos, Shapiro said that they did prepare multiple plans for renos at different price points and presented them to Rogers. He said there was an option for a more expensive reno that involved knocking down segments of the outfield walls to the outside world and letting light in.

Too bad it didn't happen! That would have been something else. Nice to know it's theoretically on the table though, if a new stadium doesn't come about in 10 - 15 years. I think some have speculated on here that it would be impossible.
 
In my opinion, the stadium was in really poor shape by around 2010 or so (as many pics in this thread have attested). I think at that point the 'this stadium is god awful' complaints would have been quite valid. It did have a depressing, abandoned concrete warehouse feel. But I really think the work they put in the last 10 years (MUCH better turf, dirt infield cut outs, Flight deck, better concourses) plus the renovations we're seeing this off season and next, have taken the dome to a totally different level. Of course it's not Fenway or PNC Park. But it's also not bad at all, and frankly when it's packed it's pretty awesome.

I'd still be thrilled if we ended up with a totally new ballpark at some point, but I'm surprised at how much I've come around to the fact that a renovated, updated dome that has actually had some thought and care put into it is actually pretty decent.
 
JMSRead said:
In my opinion, the stadium was in really poor shape by around 2010 or so (as many pics in this thread have attested). I think at that point the 'this stadium is god awful' complaints would have been quite valid. It did have a depressing, abandoned concrete warehouse feel. But I really think the work they put in the last 10 years (MUCH better turf, dirt infield cut outs, Flight deck, better concourses) plus the renovations we're seeing this off season and next, have taken the dome to a totally different level. Of course it's not Fenway or PNC Park. But it's also not bad at all, and frankly when it's packed it's pretty awesome.

I'd still be thrilled if we ended up with a totally new ballpark at some point, but I'm surprised at how much I've come around to the fact that a renovated, updated dome that has actually had some thought and care put into it is actually pretty decent.
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SkyDome/Rogers Centre: Never what we truly want it to be, but never as bad as we claim it is. And definitely not as bad as Oakland Coliseum or Tropicana Field.
 
I can't wait for Phase 2 ( the lower 100 renovations ). Based on the results and the renderings coming to reality. I cannot wait to see what's next to come to the Rogers Centre.
 
The new 500 seats are slightly larger than the previous.

I will chime in - once the organization removed the restaurant & glass in center field and replaced it with the Flight Deck, that really sparked a turning of the page in making the Dome less of a sterile bunker and began feeling more open.

Dirt infield followed suit a few years later, and now the turf even has a classic pattern to it.

Next year, the new 100 level will arguably be the biggest single change in the dome's history.

There's a lot to look forward to in making this stadium the best it can be.
 
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