Rogers Centre Renovations

[Jonn]

Obviously Grass.

 

Would love to see them open the Stadium up a bit. Improve fan experience.

 

Blow the roof off once the grass is installed.

 

But really I don't understand why they are renovating that place over building a new stadium. Its prime location but that's just about the only thing it has.

 

I will trust the process though and see Shapiro's vision for the cement dump.

[Jay Train]

Do we even know if they're considering major renovations and not just marginal improvements? The stuff you guys are asking for seem like they would take more than 5 months.

[Governator]

Obviously Grass.

 

Would love to see them open the Stadium up a bit. Improve fan experience.

 

Blow the roof off once the grass is installed.

 

But really I don't understand why they are renovating that place over building a new stadium. Its prime location but that's just about the only thing it has.

 

I will trust the process though and see Shapiro's vision for the cement dump.

 

Where would they build a new one? I would think if they relocated off the 401 for easier access somewhere that would have an impact on the economic growth in the city. Hotels, restaurants, city transit, taxis, would all see a dip. Plus businesses like the new Ripley's or the CN Tower would be much less attractive on game days.

 

Don't get me wrong it's a pain in the ass to get down there for me but I enjoy the city experience when I go. I feel I'm in the minority but I for one love a retractable roof. Even though it's not pretty and creates a stuffy environment I know when I take time off of work or plan a full day the game will be a go.

[Slade]

For the love of god do something about the seats. I don't want to go to the stadium anymore cause at 6'5 I'm bumping the person beside me and my leg is jammed against the seat in front of me.

[burlingtonbandit]

Obviously Grass.

 

Would love to see them open the Stadium up a bit. Improve fan experience.

 

Blow the roof off once the grass is installed.

 

But really I don't understand why they are renovating that place over building a new stadium. Its prime location but that's just about the only thing it has.

 

I will trust the process though and see Shapiro's vision for the cement dump.

 

You do wonder why Rogers wouldn't want to build it on a huge chunk of land where they can have control their own hotel, restaurants etc and get extra revenue from those properties. RC is a great location for the fans but it really doesn't give Rogers any money from the surrounding area.

[JuniorFelix]

 

4. It's not very visually appealing. Just tons of concrete everywhere. I'm not sure how that could be remedied though.

 

Paint. I think that's the reasonable answer here. If they get creative with colors/textures it'd make a world of difference.

[Joshtowers]

For the love of god do something about the seats. I don't want to go to the stadium anymore cause at 6'5 I'm bumping the person beside me and my leg is jammed against the seat in front of me.

 

Same here. Its unbearable sitting in the seats

[Jonn]

Where would they build a new one? I would think if they relocated off the 401 for easier access somewhere that would have an impact on the economic growth in the city. Hotels, restaurants, city transit, taxis, would all see a dip. Plus businesses like the new Ripley's or the CN Tower would be much less attractive on game days.

 

Don't get me wrong it's a pain in the ass to get down there for me but I enjoy the city experience when I go. I feel I'm in the minority but I for one love a retractable roof. Even though it's not pretty and creates a stuffy environment I know when I take time off of work or plan a full day the game will be a go.

 

I'm more annoyed with the strict rules put in place on opening and closing the ballpark. I won't go to games with the roof closed anymore especially when its hot outside because its way to stuffy and I don't feel like sweating balls for 3 hours. Especially when you can actually smell the odor of the people around you. It's super gross.

 

They either need to fix the AC to actually make it effective or get a new roof that can actually open and close without extreme weather restrictions. Apparently they say they won't risk opening it if has a chance to drop below 14 degrees. Seems pretty stupid. You're already jam packed and uncomfortable as is.

 

We have massive football stadiums that can open and close its roof in freezing conditions. That's another thing the roof should only be closed if raining. Not if its to cold or hot for people. We get 3 months of summer I would like to spend as much of it outside as possible.

 

As for location somewhere near the lake front would be lovely. However that's around where they want to build the NFL Football stadium if they ever get a franchise. Atleast that was the plan when they bid on the Bills.

 

You can't worry about surrounding events. We need a Baseball only venue built for only Baseball. You could keep the Rogers Centre to do concerts and that monster truck s***. Rogers purchased that place for pennies. They could do all kinds of s*** with it. They could make it another huge mall for all I care.

 

Those places were built when we were lucky to get 20K a game. I'm sure they can survive without the Blue Jays. Atleast they shouldn't cater to the tourist fan who plans to make a day trip to the city. You want to cater to the people who plan to be the building 40+ times a year.

[Jonn]

You do wonder why Rogers wouldn't want to build it on a huge chunk of land where they can have control their own hotel, restaurants etc and get extra revenue from those properties. RC is a great location for the fans but it really doesn't give Rogers any money from the surrounding area.

 

This is very true. A lot of upside on starting fresh and surrounding it with things that will only profit them. The problem is that land is being bought up fast. It's something they would need to do in the next 10-15 years or they might have to look outside the city after that. They won't be able to stay in the Rogers Centre forever. After the Rays and A's have their ballpark issues solved. Rogers Centre becomes the new piece of s*** ballpark MLB complains about. If we are not including Fenway which only still stands for nostalgic purposes apparently. Really depends on renovations though. Every renovation to date has been pretty underwhelming. I wouldn't imagine they have a huge budget either.

[AdamLindsMom]

+1 on the seating. I avoid going just because of how crammed you are. Also for the love of god add cup holders. I've never been to a park where it's literally impossible to eat peanuts while drinking a beer.

[Brownie19]

+1 on the seating. I avoid going just because of how crammed you are. Also for the love of god add cup holders. I've never been to a park where it's literally impossible to eat peanuts while drinking a beer.

 

You guys need to hit up the 200 level

[burlingtonbandit]

This is very true. A lot of upside on starting fresh and surrounding it with things that will only profit them. The problem is that land is being bought up fast. It's something they would need to do in the next 10-15 years or they might have to look outside the city after that. They won't be able to stay in the Rogers Centre forever. After the Rays and A's have their ballpark issues solved. Rogers Centre becomes the new piece of s*** ballpark MLB complains about. If we are not including Fenway which only still stands for nostalgic purposes apparently. Really depends on renovations though. Every renovation to date has been pretty underwhelming. I wouldn't imagine they have a huge budget either.

 

Yeah they're probably going to need at least 100 Million when you include the infrastructure improvements probably more. Thats why I can't see grass going in because if you factor in that cost you may as well build a new ballpark. tr5

[Brownie19]

Where would they build a new one? I would think if they relocated off the 401 for easier access somewhere that would have an impact on the economic growth in the city. Hotels, restaurants, city transit, taxis, would all see a dip. Plus businesses like the new Ripley's or the CN Tower would be much less attractive on game days.

 

Don't get me wrong it's a pain in the ass to get down there for me but I enjoy the city experience when I go. I feel I'm in the minority but I for one love a retractable roof. Even though it's not pretty and creates a stuffy environment I know when I take time off of work or plan a full day the game will be a go.

 

I'm with you Gov. Hop on the train in Barrie, take it to Union, enjoy the City atmosphere for half a day....roof guarantees there a game, make the trip home and back to reality. Works for me

[UWHabs]

It's pretty much a perfect location right now, so there's no point in thinking of building a new one. And you really do need the retractable roof in the Canadian climate, so I can't see them wanting to change anything with that. If you wanted to build a new retractable roof stadium in the downtown area, you're talking about 1B+, which I can't see them do. At some point in the next 20 years they'll probably need to build a new stadium, but I can't see them wanting to leave the downtown area, and there's not a lot of space. The only space that really makes sense would be moving east towards the port lands/cherry beach area, but then you have a big wasted space where RC is right now, it's a worse location than now, and you also have the problem that the park is supposed to face E-NE, and the view from that location isn't really anything of note.

 

For RC, I assume grass is a no-go, so I would assume that the changes would revolve mostly around the seating and concourse areas, and essentially removing all the "convertible" features. What I would most want/expect:

1. redo the 100-level outfield to stretch to the field. As others have mentioned, the wasted space there is kind of stupid (obviously there as a relic from when it was convertible).

2. Have more open spaces/congregating spaces where you can view the field. The Flight Deck was a huge positive when they added that in - I fully expect to see more like that. You probably have enough space maybe down the LF or RF lines to take out a few seats, and put in a nice multi-level bar/seating area.

3. Replace seats/add cup holders. As mentioned, the ones down the line can certainly be angled more towards home plate.

4. Expand/open concourse areas. This could also help the view from the outside as well, if they add more windows, would help to remove some of the concrete. Even something as simple as blasting out the concrete on the ramps and replacing that with floor to roof windows for that section would go a long way to opening it up more, even if they don't end up adding escalators. They also need to do something about the hotel hallways - it's such a dark and ugly section to walk through to get around the stadium on the 500-level, but I'm not sure what they can do there to open it up.

 

Of course, the flaw is that you really only have a few months to do any construction, so I'd expect they'll take this winter to plan the options, and then plan one big change a year for the next few years. Not sure how long things take to do, and sadly there's not really a lot that can be done, especially with the added problem that any work needs to be done over the winter.

[jaysblue]

Ontario Place would be a great place to put a new ballpark right along the lake. Like the property isn't even being used other than for the Molson Amphitheatre. Rogers should really consider buying parts of the land from the city. Rogers could even build like a mini-strip with restaurants, bars, shops etc. outside of the ballpark. They'd make loads of money as I'm sure almost any major restaurant/bar chain would want to get a spot in there. Lot's of parking around there and at the Ex, so could tailgate etc. Could still easily get there via public transit: GO Trains, buses, streetcars from Union or Dufferin.

[Yorkshire Blue Jay]

Wishful thinking because it's not my money and Rogers needs to spend some..

 

1) Grass

2) Escalators or moving walkways on 500 level ramps

3) Break up and relay base concrete steps for the seating rows in the movable 100 level to face the field (& home plate) while in Baseball configuration

4) Install the seating from the 200 level (more comfy than the TD level for me) throughout the stadium

5) Stadium feature of some sort in the 300 or 400 outfield with standing bar area similar to the flightdeck - Tulo's Terrace, Donaldson's deck or Pillar's porch!

[Art Vandelay]

Where would they build a new one?

 

Port Lands?

[Governator]

Port Lands?

 

Be a real nice view to be right on the water for sure.

[TheHurl]

1. Cram seats closer together in the lower level to increase capacity in the lower levels

2. Close the Dome all the time so that the freeloaders in the condos can't watch for free

3. Put in escalators, which can only be used by Rogers Cellular customers

4. Tear down the Ted Rogers statue and put up mine

5. Pay architects and designers in Texture subscriptions.

 

Alan Douglas Horn

 

My own suggestions

 

Make the hotel rooms more like boxes with a balcony, and then you can charge more. It is honestly one of the worst places to watch a game as you stand by window.

As someone suggested, improve the flight deck making it more of a party zone.

Create a baseball feel around and in the stadium. Have more baseball themed photos, banners and games.

Do something about the gate entrances so that you aren't standing around so long waiting to get in (I go to gate 12-14 and cut the time considerably). Quicker people get in the quicker they start to sell s***.

[TheHurl]

Be a real nice view to be right on the water for sure.

 

It would have to be the East side of the of the Don as the rest is already spoken for. Could make for some horrible commuting to games, and hurts the downtown bars a lot. Now if you build there and turn the Rogers Centre into a Casino complex, we might still have something.

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-default/images/articles/2015/07/16673/16673-55533.png

[Governator]

It would have to be the East side of the of the Don as the rest is already spoken for. Could make for some horrible commuting to games, and hurts the downtown bars a lot. Now if you build there and turn the Rogers Centre into a Casino complex, we might still have something.

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-default/images/articles/2015/07/16673/16673-55533.png

 

Well there ya go. I don't really want to see it moved at all to be honest, I like the location, the bars, the inner city feel. They could definitely give it a makeover though, someone photoshopped the dome blue here a couple years ago and it looked really cool, not as much of a cement block.

[jaysblue]

Ontario Place is the best spot seriously.

[TheHurl]

Ontario Place is the best spot seriously.

 

Still think they should try the new council about the Caesars recommendation for that spot which they turned down in 2013. The Woodbine site just sucks, and with Caesars up for sale, it might end up in Ajax or Pickering.

[UWHabs]

Ontario Place is the best spot seriously.

 

Yeah, at first I thought it would be too small, but on second glance, a part could likely fit on the main island. You'd still need to reroute some transit, since even the opposite side of the exhibition grounds is a pretty decent trek. Plus, you have virtually no walk-up traffic, since it's a solid 20-30 minutes even from the dome. But you would get pretty awesome views - city view over LF, and water view down the 1B line.

 

The Don lands would have to be re-purposed, but there's also a lot of potential new work that can be done along that whole eastern corridor to build it up. The other "flaw" is that since parks are supposed to face East-ish, there's less views from that spot, as it would be hard to orient it to get city views.

 

But again, either plan is a 1B+ pricetag, and with some renos, there's no reason why RC can't still function for the next 10-20 years, so probably no reason to speculate too much on other site locations.

[Brownie19]

Many complain about the concrete walkway ramps - but I wonder if those are critical structural components for the building...

[jaysblue]

Still think they should try the new council about the Caesars recommendation for that spot which they turned down in 2013. The Woodbine site just sucks, and with Caesars up for sale, it might end up in Ajax or Pickering.

 

There is enough space for a new ballpark and a casino at Ontario Place. I'd be down for that. Seriously the spot is going to waste.

[jaysblue]

Yeah, at first I thought it would be too small, but on second glance, a part could likely fit on the main island. You'd still need to reroute some transit, since even the opposite side of the exhibition grounds is a pretty decent trek. Plus, you have virtually no walk-up traffic, since it's a solid 20-30 minutes even from the dome. But you would get pretty awesome views - city view over LF, and water view down the 1B line.

 

The Don lands would have to be re-purposed, but there's also a lot of potential new work that can be done along that whole eastern corridor to build it up. The other "flaw" is that since parks are supposed to face East-ish, there's less views from that spot, as it would be hard to orient it to get city views.

 

But again, either plan is a 1B+ pricetag, and with some renos, there's no reason why RC can't still function for the next 10-20 years, so probably no reason to speculate too much on other site locations.

 

I'm sure they can add an extension to the street car lines, and that they could run extra express buses from Union Station and the GO Station. Driving down would be a lot easier as well. As for walkup traffic, everything is done online these days so if people who work downtown want to go to the game after work, they can just go online and purchase them. And with every game almost being a sellout in the summer months, they really don't need to depend on walkup crowds to fill up the ballpark. Also, there is enough space to add like a boardwalk Wrigleyville type area with bars/restaurants etc. right on the water.

 

You can get awesome views from Ontario Place for sure. It would be a perfect spot for a new ballpark. The Don Lands are way too far out there and tough to get to by public transit.

[burlingtonbandit]

Beeston was quoted as saying the stadium needs $200-$400 Million in renovations last year. If thats how much this reno would cost a new stadium makes a lot of sense. I mean you'll need a new one eventually anyway and like many have said its not going to get any easier to get land in Toronto.

[Art Vandelay]

Kind of wish we could put a stadium on the island, where the airport is.

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/display-slideshow/images/articles/2015/09/17410/17410-57993.png

[GD]

Beeston was quoted as saying the stadium needs $200-$400 Million in renovations last year. If thats how much this reno would cost a new stadium makes a lot of sense. I mean you'll need a new one eventually anyway and like many have said its not going to get any easier to get land in Toronto.

 

Not that I'm doubting you here but where did he say that?