Maybe goodbye to the SkyDome?

[Parataxis]

https://www.tsn.ca/report-rogers-centre-demolition-part-of-toronto-blue-jays-new-stadium-plan-1.1557043

I've got a lot of conflicting feelings about this. The last of the modern stadiums, gets certainly getting old - but also, it's iconic and a heritage building now.

Whatever happens, I really hope they don't put more public money into a new stadium - Rogers has already made a fortune off it.

[metafisical]

https://www.680news.com/2020/11/27/rogers-plans-to-demolish-the-rogers-centre-build-new-ballpark-in-its-place/

The 680 News link that I provided seems to suggest that Rogers and Brookfield will be privately funding the demolition and building of a new stadium. However, I wouldn't be surprised if public money managed to find its way to this project (openly or not).

[Schad]

Sounds like Rogers would want to eschew public funding if only because they want to make back a fair portion of the costs by building commercial/residential on part of the property. It isn't a terrible plan in a lot of respects: Skydome is frankly much larger than it needs to be, and a dedicated baseball stadium wouldn't need anywhere near the same footprint.

[metafisical]

Realistically, if Skydome is rebuilt, what is a good seating capacity? Currently, it's around 50ish thousand, I believe?

[polo007]

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[Ado05]

About time.

Hopefully yhe new one doesn't look like crap.

Sucks for the skyline though. RC is a huge part of the iconic skyline.

[Parataxis]

Realistically, if Skydome is rebuilt, what is a good seating capacity? Currently, it's around 50ish thousand, I believe?

50,000 would have us as the third biggest stadium in the league (which is where we're at now, btw). Part of the problem is that - except for the boom years right after the Dome was built - it's just too big. It'll fill up for opening day and the playoffs, but the rest of the time you're looking at a half-empty stadium

If I had to guess, it'll be somewhere in the 38-42k range, possibly smaller.

[bluerap23]

Realistically, if Skydome is rebuilt, what is a good seating capacity? Currently, it's around 50ish thousand, I believe?

50,000 would have us as the third biggest stadium in the league (which is where we're at now, btw). Part of the problem is that - except for the boom years right after the Dome was built - it's just too big. It'll fill up for opening day and the playoffs, but the rest of the time you're looking at a half-empty stadium

If I had to guess, it'll be somewhere in the 38-42k range, possibly smaller.

My preference is 50K. More seats = lower cost/ticket

[Parataxis]

Realistically, if Skydome is rebuilt, what is a good seating capacity? Currently, it's around 50ish thousand, I believe?

50,000 would have us as the third biggest stadium in the league (which is where we're at now, btw). Part of the problem is that - except for the boom years right after the Dome was built - it's just too big. It'll fill up for opening day and the playoffs, but the rest of the time you're looking at a half-empty stadium

If I had to guess, it'll be somewhere in the 38-42k range, possibly smaller.

My preference is 50K. More seats = lower cost/ticket

That's one of the reasons that I don't expect Rogers to do it. Less seats = more scarcity. They can charge a lot more and/or get more ticket package sales when you can't just show up day of and buy a ticket.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

50 thousand is definitely way too many. I'm guessing and hoping the park has a more intimate feel. 30-35K still sounds like a big number but think that would be a happy medium.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

50 thousand is definitely way too many. I'm guessing and hoping the park has a more intimate feel. 30-35K still sounds like a big number but think that would be a happy medium.

did I really seize your ID?

[Parataxis]

50 thousand is definitely way too many. I'm guessing and hoping the park has a more intimate feel. 30-35K still sounds like a big number but think that would be a happy medium.

That would have us as the second smallest park in the league, after the Trop.

[Ado05]

50 thousand is definitely way too many. I'm guessing and hoping the park has a more intimate feel. 30-35K still sounds like a big number but think that would be a happy medium.

30-35k is way too little.

When the team is competitive, they pull that on a monday night. I think it'll be in the 45k range.

[polo007]

Rogers Centre faces demolition as Blue Jays owner plans new stadium - The Globe and Mail

Rogers Communications Inc. and the real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. are working with city, provincial and federal government officials on a plan that would effectively cut the Rogers Centre in half.

The partners would build a new, baseball-focused stadium on the foundations of the southern end of the current facility and adjacent parking lots. The northern portion of the 12.7-acre site would be turned into residential towers, office buildings, stores and public space.

Rogers is also considering building a new stadium on a lakefront site if plans for the Rogers Centre fall through. On Thursday, Rogers chief communications officer Sevaun Palvetzian said: “Prior to the pandemic, we were exploring options for the stadium but through this year our primary focus has been keeping our customers connected and employees safe, so there is no update on the Rogers Centre to share at this time.”

For Rogers, turning a stadium into condos and other developments would allow the company to cash in on a lucrative investment, while creating a better experience for baseball fans – the Jays are expected to move from artificial turf to natural grass.

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.

Rogers bought the Jays 20 years ago for US$137-million. Since arriving three years ago, chief executive Joe Natale has frequently talked about raising money or restructuring Rogers with steps that force investors to recognize the value of its holdings.

The Rogers Centre and the Jays are now worth at least US$1.6-billion, according to analyst Adam Shine at National Bank Financial, while the company has a stake in Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors parent Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment worth US$1.9-billion.

“What does the market think about these investments? Nothing,” Mr. Shine said in a report. “Rogers either gets no credit or a materially discounted consideration for these assets.”

Redeveloping the Rogers Centre would allow the company to potentially make more money from its real estate holding at a time when it is spending $2.8-billion annually to upgrade its internet and cable networks and roll out 5G telecom services.

One source familiar with the partnership between Rogers and Brookfield said one option under discussion is the telecom company will put up its lease on the stadium, while Brookfield shoulders development costs. Rebuilding the stadium is expected to play out over five to eight years.

[SharoneWright]

Years ago, I read somewhere that Rogers Centre had the shallowest grade on it's field-level seating of any MLB park. You're basically sitting there staring at the head of the person in front of you. Doesn't matter I guess if the crowds are sparse, but you really do feel pushed away from the field, rather than pushed up to be right on top of things.

[Raider917]

no more wilner either. its like a dream come true. baseball on artificial turf should be banned

[polo007]

Demolishing Rogers Centre will be 'expensive and noisy,' says stadium's ex-CEO - The Athletic

Working at SkyDome was so much fun in the early 1990s — with the championship baseball teams, the concerts and the celebrities — that Richard Peddie grew his hair out. He had a ponytail for a while, and he started wearing an earring just to match the relentless energy around him.

He was the president and chief executive of a building billed as “the eighth wonder of the world,” with a built-in hotel, a retractable roof and a Hard Rock Cafe. Madonna played to sellouts for three nights in a row one spring. Frank Sinatra sang 31 storeys beneath the famous roof.

It was a multi-use, multi-purpose marvel. Peddie joined the year it opened, in 1989, and the feeling was that, whatever an event could draw at another venue, you could safely add another 25 percent if it was moved to SkyDome because everyone wanted to be there.

And then he went to visit Camden Yards, shortly after it opened in 1992, in Baltimore.

“Oh f#ck,” he said.

It was a baseball park designed for baseball. It had natural grass and an authentic feel. Its seats were not on rollers connected to tracks that made them easy to move for different events. It was designed for one thing — and to do that one thing very well.

“I remember it so vividly,” Peddie said. “I was so in love with Camden Yards. I said, ‘That’s the end of multi-use.’”

There were structural problems that did not relate to the building. Peddie said one company was in charge of building a stage for a concert, but another was in charge of providing generators. He said McDonald’s held the rights for fast food but another company held the rights for fine dining, and they would often get into disputes over chicken sandwiches — were they fast food or fine dining?

He said SkyDome had a capital budget of $2 million each year, which was money used to replace old lightbulbs, fix cracked seats or paint over scratches in the walls.

When he joined Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Peddie said the capital budget for Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena) was up to $8 million a year.

“I don’t really believe in the shelf life of stadiums,” Peddie said Friday. “I believe that if they were built right the first time – and you’re prepared to constantly invest in them — you don’t have to replace them in 30 years.”

Scotiabank Arena is only 10 years younger than Rogers Centre.

“And it looks damned good,” he said. “And they’re spending a lot of money to make it look good.”

Demolishing Rogers Centre would be complicated by the fact so many condominiums have sprouted along the edges of the property, he said. There would be environmental questions about the dust and the noise associated with taking down a building of that size — and with that much concrete.

It would not be like the videos of other stadium demolitions, he said with a chuckle, with a series of explosions followed by the orderly collapse of an old venue.

“You can not do that at SkyDome,” he said. “It will take nuclear weapons to take that thing down. It will be expensive and noisy.”

[polo007]

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[polo007]

FAQ: The Blue Jays' plans to demolish Rogers Centre, obstacles and what's next - The Athletic

Where would the new stadium be located?

Citing unnamed sources, the Globe reported, the new stadium would be baseball-specific — the current structure is multi-purpose — and about half the size of the existing Rogers Centre. It would be built “on the foundations of the southern end of the current facility and adjacent parking lots,” while the northern part of the structure would be used for residential, business and commercial property as well as public space. One need not look any further than up the street to Maple Leafs Square to imagine how a sports facility can anchor a bustling residential and commercial neighbourhood.

Currently, the Marriott City Centre hotel is located in the northern part of the Rogers Centre.

This image below, courtesy of Canada Lands Company website, outlines the area known as the Toronto Stadium Lands lot, which includes the footprint of the stadium, as well as land to the north, south and east of the building.

As mentioned above, an alternative site is one in Toronto’s Port Lands neighbourhood. That area is primed for redevelopment

What could get in the way?

This will likely not be a quick process. There will be a lot of red tape involved, as the project will require approval from multiple levels of government. Further complicating the process is the limited amount of physical space. The current stadium is located across the street from Roundhouse Park, a national historic site that includes the Toronto Railway Museum, Steam Whistle Brewing and the entertainment and gaming facility, The Rec Room.

The Globe wrote the entire process is expected to play out over the next five to eight years.

[polo007]

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