Toronto councillors will have the chance Thursday to let the Rogers Centre know if they still want to have the option to take themselves out to a ball game.
Council has been refusing to spend around $100,000 a year on season tickets to the 16-seat box since the 2008 Toronto Blue Jays season.
The city had been buying tickets and awarding them to councillors’ offices through a lottery system.
In a report going to Thursday’s council meeting, city clerk Ulli Watkiss is asking councillors if they want to terminate the lease on Suite 311, starting March 31, 2011, or just continue not buying tickets for the 2011 baseball season.
Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said he sees no reason why the city should buy the tickets and doesn’t understand why council would keep the box.
Holyday said unless staff can give a good financial reason for keeping Suite 311, the city should give it up.
“What’s the point?” he said.
The city has had the box since 1994 when Metro Toronto contracted with owners of the then-Skydome to lease the suite for $1 in return for buying 16 season tickets for all Jays’ home games. The lease expires in June 2088.
If the city doesn’t buy tickets for seven seasons, the Rogers Centre has the right to terminate the lease with 60 days notice.
Back when he was a councillor, Mayor Rob Ford raged against the box and unsuccessfully tried to convince council in 2006 to dump the box and the tickets.
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