TORONTO - Rogers Centre (52,230)

[weava]

One of the worst looking stadiums in the MLB. Only Tropican and Oakland can compete with it for the ugliest outfield.

Are there any plans for a new baseball stadium for the Blue Jays?

[JYDA]

Won't disagree with you. I absolutely hate the Rogers Centre. Problem is that every level of government has an awful taste in their mouth from spending $600 million in the 80's (adjust that for inflation to see the real pain) for a building that was just sold to Ted Rogers for only $25 million a few years ago and failed to provide the economic benefits that were promised. Any new stadium would require political funding which would NEVER be approved. Despite the ugliness of the building it has all the bells and whistles (tons of boxes, restaurant, hotel) and the retractable roof allows it to be used for a lot of other purposes throughout the winter. Unfortunately I'd say it will be at least 15 to years minimum before a new facility can be discussed. The real shame is that Rogers Centre was built right at the end of the multipurpose stadium era and just before the sport specific era which has brought us all the great modern MLB stadiums we see today.

[Alx-D]

It was built right on the fringe of the new generation. It's still a very modern stadium but its but ugly

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by nyrmetros

How come the CFL doesn't seem to be a big draw? And what leagues did the Argos play in before the CFL came around??

It's a big draw outside of Southern Ontario. Southern Ontario is a football no man's land. Elsewhere in the country, attendance is strong. Average attendance for Saskatchewan is 31,000. In Winnipeg it's 27,000. This might not sound like a lot, but when you consider how small these places are, the attendance is very good.

Saskatchewan play in the City of Regina, population 195,000. Winnipeg is bigger, but still only home to 695,000 people. It's the same story in every CFL city outside of Southern Ontario; they like football and support their teams. With the exception of Green Bay and Buffalo, NFL host cities usually have over 2,000,000 people in their metro area.

Before the CFL came into existence, the Toronto Argonauts played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union which was founded in 1883, 10 years after the founding of the Argonauts.

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Ewwww! When did they bring in the law banning pretty cheerleaders?

First of all, those aren't real cheerleaders, they are female dancers of the 'pole dancer' variety, used to titillate straight men and lesbians. Real cheerleaders do pyramids, acrobatic stunts, and have male members. Women aren't strong enough. If they had some male cheerleaders, then maybe I'd care.

Real cheerleaders look like this:

image hosted on flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1189/...26695d.jpg?v=0

[The Game Is Up]

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Ewwww! When did they bring in the law banning pretty cheerleaders?

Maybe get the girls from Naked News to do the cheers? Of course, they'll have to wear outfits to get past the censors.

[Arist]

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Ewwww! When did they bring in the law banning pretty cheerleaders?

thats the best canada can do

[isaidso]

UWO Mustangs placed first at the Division 1 NCAA Championships, so it seems they can do better than anything in the USA some years. Perhaps, you should research a little before shooting your mouth off. They're very talented athletes. If you appreciate gymnastics, you'll appreciate them. If you're looking for half naked pretty women, go to a strip club for straight men.

Originally Posted by The Game Is Up

Maybe get the girls from Naked News to do the cheers? Of course, they'll have to wear outfits to get past the censors.

That doesn't belong in sports, it belongs in a strip club for straight men.

[The Game Is Up]

Anyway, the discussion went offtopic so I'll do my best to bring it back.

To me it is a decent facility. I wouldn't say great but not nearly as bad as some critics have opined. First, the stadium is very modern and looks "clean". Second, it is located downtown, about the best in terms of location for siting a major sporting facility in a major North American city. Even if they wanted it replaced, where would they go that's better than the location they have now?

The one bad thing is that they haven't found a way to put a permanent grass surface because it's a multipurpose facility that's used for more than sports. Still, it can't be said to be a true baseball facility when they have to use removable Fieldturf for the surface, the same situation as Minneapolis and Tampa Bay.

[krudmonk]

Just get rid of the terrarium carpet and it's 1000% better.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by The Game Is Up

To me it is a decent facility. I wouldn't say great but not nearly as bad as some critics have opined. First, the stadium is very modern and looks "clean". Second, it is located downtown, about the best in terms of location for siting a major sporting facility in a major North American city. Even if they wanted it replaced, where would they go that's better than the location they have now?

It's a great place to watch baseball, but sucks for other sports. A few upgrades to the exterior, and some attempts to soften the coldness of the concrete would go a long way.

I like Skydome, but only for baseball.

[JYDA]

The sightlines in the lower tier are terrible for football. Very shallow grade and the first few rows are unusable because they go straight to ground level meaning you can't see over the players on the sidelines. .

[KingmanIII]

Originally Posted by JYDA

The sightlines in the lower tier are terrible for football. Very shallow grade and the first few rows are unusable because they go straight to ground level meaning you can't see over the players on the sidelines. .

From the pictures I've seen, they put a tarp over those seats for most football games (except for big-ticket games like the Grey Cup).

[JYDA]

Originally Posted by KingmanIII

From the pictures I've seen, they put a tarp over those seats for most football games (except for big-ticket games like the Grey Cup).

I know. That's why I said they're "unusable"

[KingmanIII]

Originally Posted by JYDA

I know. That's why I said they're "unusable"

Have they ever contemplated lowering the playing field? It would greatly improve sightlines for those in the front row.

Arizona State did so to Sun Devil Stadium, and while the view is far from perfect, it is vastly better than at many other stadiums.
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr


Don't know how it'd affect sightlines for baseball however.

[JYDA]

The Jays owner owns the stadium and would never go for it. The only way it would happen is if he gets the NFL team he wants so badly and the NFL forces him to improve the sightlines. The Argos have considered moving to BMO Field which is where Toronto FC plays but they'd have to pay for an expansion and the owners don't have the money for that.

Here's a pic of BMO Field

[KingmanIII]

Originally Posted by JYDA

The Jays owner owns the stadium and would never go for it. The only way it would happen is if he gets the NFL team he wants so badly and the NFL forces him to improve the sightlines. The Argos have considered moving to BMO Field which is where Toronto FC plays but they'd have to pay for an expansion and the owners don't have the money for that.

Here's a pic of BMO Field

I've heard a lot about the Argos' potential move to BMO, and I'm not very sure it's going to be worth the trouble--expanding that playing field to fit a 150-yard-long gridiron is gonna piss off a lot of F.C. fans.

What about renovating and expanding Lamport? Is there enough room?

[JYDA]

There's been a lot of talk about moving to BMO although it all cooled down after the Argos polled their season ticket holders and they unanimously wanted to stay at Rogers Centre. May heat up again in a few years because MLSE is looking to expand BMO to 25 or 30 thousand. Toronto FC has a season ticket waiting list of 13,000 and growing so an expansion is a matter of "when" rather than "if". Although the refitting for the Argos and covering the field in football lines is sure to piss off MLSE and their fans of which I am one.

As for Lamport, that place is hemmed in by roads and buildings on all sides and is totally run down. They considered trying to move there a few years ago after seeing the success of the Montreal Alouettes moving to a smaller stadium

[KingmanIII]

Originally Posted by JYDA

There's been a lot of talk about moving to BMO although it all cooled down after the Argos polled their season ticket holders and they unanimously wanted to stay at Rogers Centre. May heat up again in a few years because MLSE is looking to expand BMO to 25 or 30 thousand. Toronto FC has a season ticket waiting list of 13,000 and growing so an expansion is a matter of "when" rather than "if". Although the refitting for the Argos and covering the field in football lines is sure to piss off MLSE and their fans of which I am one.

As for Lamport, that place is hemmed in by roads and buildings on all sides and is totally run down. They considered trying to move there a few years ago after seeing the success of the Montreal Alouettes moving to a smaller stadium

How about the prospect of building a new stadium in roughly the same blueprint as BMO, but with a larger capacity? From what I've gathered, BMO wasn't a terribly expensive stadium. They could have their own digs for no more than $75M.

[JYDA]

It would certainly be nice for them to get their own stadium but several factors are preventing them.

1) The two owners of the Argos are wealthy in mortal terms but just aren't playing in the same financial ballpark as MLSE and Ted Rogers. They're having a daunting enough task just considering the prospect of paying a measly 15 million to refit BMO. Even 75 million is out of reach for these guys.

2) The downtown area has been rapidly developed and there's not really much of any land left at all. The location would likely be much worse than than that of the Rogers Centre or BMO field.

3) The government is all out of generosity. Toronto FC only got a sweetheart deal on building BMO because of the FIFA U20 World Cup. The city still owns the stadium. Like I stated before, people in Toronto and the city itself are still extremely bitter about how much Rogers Centre cost to build. Then considering part of the reason it was built was to give the Argos an indoor escape from the frigid temperatures on the lakeshore, the mere thought of municipal help is a non-starter.

4) It's tough to justify building your own stadium for 8 games a year. Easy to say it could be used for other stuff as well but there's a ton of options in Toronto when it comes to that.

5) The threat of the NFL coming makes it a big risk. Ted Rogers is trying to line up a purchase of the Bills now that Ralph Wilson has said he's going to sell to the highest bidder when he dies rather than pass the team down to his family. CFL folks around here are very concerned about the detrimental effect it would have on the CFL because the Argos would struggle to stay alive.

[El Mariachi]

I bet they are kicking themselves for not making BMO bigger or more unique.