Blue Jays barred from playing games in Toronto
Canada’s government says it’s too risky to travel back and forth to United States
TORONTO — The Blue Jays won’t play their home games in Toronto this year because Canada’s government doesn’t think it’s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told the Associated Press ahead of the announcement.
The team had been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play in its home stadium and was awaiting approval from Canada’s federal government. The other 29 Major League Baseball teams plan to play in their home ballparks, without spectators, when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins Thursday.
Mendicino told the AP frequent travel to the U.S., where COVID-19 cases are surging, was the biggest issue.
“There were serious risks if we proceeded with the regular-season proposal of the MLB and the Jays and therefore we concluded it was not in the national interest,” Mendicino said. “I get that some people will disappointed but this decision can’t be taken as a fan. It is taken on behalf of the health and safety of Canadians.”
The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call. The team’s alternate sites for home games include its training facility in Dunedin, Fla., which is among the states that are virus hot spots, as well as Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y., which is home to Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate and just across the Niagara River from Canada.
Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro said player health is a concern in Florida. He said the team has spent more time examining Buffalo in recent days but said the stadium has infrastructure challenges. A lack of space in the clubhouse makes social distancing difficult, but Shapiro said some players could have their lockers set up in suites. Sahlen Field also needs upgrades to its field lights and its training facilities, he said.
“Dunedin is the only one that is 100 percent seamless right now and ready to go. That from a player health standpoint has some challenges,” Shapiro said. “Buffalo is certainly one that we’ve
spent an increasing amount of time on in the past few weeks. That is not done. There are some infrastructure and player-facility challenges to get that up to major league standards. And then we have other alternatives that are real that we continue to work through that may be better for us.”
He declined to say what other sites they are considering. He said they would look to improve batting cages, weight rooms and training rooms in Buffalo if it is picked.
“Buffalo is the place we’ve spent the most time on in the last 10 days,” Shapiro said. “There is a lot we have to do. Some of it might get done after we start playing but I’m confident Buffalo is a viable alternative. With the amount of resources that we would marshal if we focused solely on Buffalo we can make it what it needs to be for us in time to play games.”
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start the season July 24 at Tampa Bay. Their home opener was set for five days later against Washington.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz have pushed for the team to relocate to the city.
“Let’s find a way to make them the ‘Buffalo Blue Jays’ this year,” Poloncarz wrote in a text to the AP.
Shapiro called Canada’s decision disappointing but gave health officials credit for mitigating the spread of the virus.
“Without any hesitation we respect the decision. It’s not hard to think about how well managed and well led the virus has been throughout Toronto and Canada by public health and political leaders,” Shapiro said.
“We move forward with no excuses knowing that all of our alternatives are going to be somewhat imperfect.”
Mendicino said the government is open to considering future restart plans for the postseason should the risk of virus transmission diminish.
“We’ve committed to maintaining an open line of communication with both MLB and the Toronto Blue Jays and we will reassess in due course,” he said.
MLB needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least Aug. 21.
“In Canada you’ve seen us flatten the curve. You’ve seen that cases have decreased significantly and that is largely attributable to the sacrifices Canadians have made. We can ill afford a step back,” Mendicino said.