National Post

Rogers mulls new nest for Jays but pandemic still at bat

- Geoff Zochodne

• 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 back burner this year because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

“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.

Brookfield declined to comment.

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.”

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 and public involved.

“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 Skydome until its renaming in 2005, 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 Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

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 also 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.”

 ?? John E. Sokolows ki / USA TODAY Sports files ?? Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy, whose ward includes the Rogers Centre, pictured, says he wants the city and public involved with “the clear understand­ing that public dollars are not used to pay for a revitalize­d stadium.”
John E. Sokolows ki / USA TODAY Sports files Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy, whose ward includes the Rogers Centre, pictured, says he wants the city and public involved with “the clear understand­ing that public dollars are not used to pay for a revitalize­d stadium.”

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