Blue Jays fans buzzing over new stadium plan, but province has bigger issues on its plate

A new home for the Toronto Blue Jays might have to wait until COVID-19 is beaten

The Rogers Centre in Toronto, home of the Blue Jays. ohn E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports files

Like a lot of things in life, a new home for Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays might have to wait until COVID-19 is beaten.

While there have been some recent upgrades to Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the Globe and Mail reported Friday that Blue Jays-owner Rogers Communications Inc. and a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. subsidiary were interested in tearing down the stadium and building a new one.

The Globe, citing sources involved in the project, said the new stadium would form part of a redevelopment in Toronto’s downtown. Rogers, however, says any plans there might have been were put on the backburner this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Brookfield, meanwhile, declined to comment.

“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 keeping our employees safe, so there is no update on the Rogers Centre to share at this time,” Rogers said in a statement to the Post on Friday.

Speculation about the future of the Rogers Centre had kicked up in the summer of 2019, around the 30th anniversary of the venue’s opening. Brookfield and Rogers put out feelers around that time, as redevelopment of the Rogers Centre and the surrounding lands would require certain government approvals.

For example, most of the stadium area is owned by Canada Lands Co., a federal Crown corporation, which says it is the landlord under a lease for the Rogers Centre that expires in 2088. A spokesperson for Canada Lands said an “approval and/or lease amendment” would be required from them for redevelopment, which hasn’t happened.

“The proponents made the Province aware of this proposal,” said Ivana Yelich, spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in an email on Friday. “We look forward to hearing more about the proposed project, but at this time, our government’s focus is on getting through the second wave of COVID-19 and preparing for the distribution of vaccines in Ontario.”

Our government’s focus is on getting through the second wave of COVID-19 and preparing for the distribution of vaccines in Ontario

Ivana Yelich, spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy, whose ward includes the Rogers Centre, said Rogers, Brookfield and the Blue Jays reached out to him more than a year ago “to have an early discussion about the future of the Rogers Centre in broad terms,” but that he had not heard anything further since the pandemic hit. Whenever those parties are ready to restart talks, Cressy wants the city involved and the public interest represented.

“That includes the clear understanding that public dollars are not used to pay for a revitalized stadium,” the councillor said in a statement to the Post. “It will be especially critical to get any potential changes right because this is an iconic site for all Torontonians, and it is at the centre of neighbourhoods where hundreds of thousands of people live, work, and visit every day.”

Rogers Centre, which was known as the SkyDome until its renaming in 2005, first opened in 1989 after almost three years of construction and around $570 million in costs.

At the time of its opening, the Rogers Centre was the world’s first retractable-roof stadium, but the approximately 50,000-seat venue was constructed at the tail-end of a “multi-purpose” trend for such facilities. Not long after the SkyDome’s opening, teams began building more retro-style stadiums that have come into favour, such as Baltimore’s Camden Yards.

Rogers Communications Inc. and a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. subsidiary are interested in tearing down the Rogers Centre and building a new stadium, the Globe and Mail reported. John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports files

In 2016, the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, which previously called the Rogers Centre home, began playing their games at BMO Field. The Blue Jays then played their 2020 “home” games in Buffalo, after the pandemic prompted the closure of the Canada-U.S. border and the Canadian government rejected a proposal to play in Toronto.

Still, SkyDome was bought by Rogers in 2004 for $25 million. A recent report by CIBC World Markets valued Rogers’ ownership of the Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre at approximately $1.73 billion.

In addition to ownership of the Blue Jays, Rogers has a valuable stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., the parent company of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors.

“We have increased our estimates for (the 2021 fiscal year) and have become incrementally positive on the name,” the CIBC World Markets analysts said in their Nov. 19 report on Rogers. “That said, a greater valuation step-up requires better visibility out of the pandemic.”

Financial Post

• Email: gzochodne@nationalpost.com | Twitter: GeoffZochodne