“It’s never too late to wave the move-threat flag, apparently: In a press conference last week, Toronto Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers declared that before he bought the club, “there were Americans looking at buying it and moving it to the United States.” None of which was publicly reported at the time, but given that there are recurring rumors of the Jays wanting a new baseball-only home (by 2009, SkyDome will be 20 years old and the seventh-oldest stadium in MLB), you have to figure Rogers is thinking ahead.”
I think the authour misinterpreted Ted Rogers remarks. Rogers was just stating the obvious. That the team would have moved if he didn't step in. I say they still will eventually leave Toronto.
But anybody who think Mr. Rogers threatening to move the Toronto Blue Jays will make Ontario and/or Canadian taxpayers open their wallets and ask "how much do you need" must be smoking some pretty strong stuff.
Because the importance of the Toronto Blue Jays to Canada is greatly exaggerated by the baseball fans in the media. The Expos died and few cared. The Blue Jays dying will have the same affect.
And can you imagine the feds chipping in the save the Blue Jays, while CFL teams and potential CFL cities need stadiums as well? There'd be hell to pay.
In Toronto, I think it will come down to two, maybe three things. First off, it must bug the living heck out of baseball fanatics there that soccer has their own specific stadium and not the big-time Jays. But MLB isn't a money maker like the NFL is with the TV contracts the NFL has. So if Ted wants a legacy in his name after he passes on, what does he do? Build a new $300-$400 mill baseball stadium? Or go all the way with partners and really put Toronto on the map and build a close to $1 bill stadium for and NFL team along the lines of what the Cowboys are doing? But baseball is his no. 1 love I think but the business model in baseball is somewhat leaky? Who knows. Or maybe Rogers leads the pack in getting the Olympics to Toronto at some point down the road, but he will have passed on by then me thinks.
Who knows. And maybe in the long run, if Winnipeg builds a new stadium, maybe Ted gets fed up with MLB and Yankees/Sox spending etc. and says that Toronto and the Argos are going to have the best CFL stadium and forget the MLB or NFL thing? Again, who knows eh?
Eventually though the Blue Jays will "need" a baseball only facility to satisfy their real fans and keep them, the RC is not a baseball looking facility that bleeds the game. But will they get it?
There are a lot of Blue Jays/baseball fans across Canada, from coast to coast. Just a couple of weeks ago, 10,000 Blue Jays fans from Vancouver traveled down to Seattle to cheer on the Blue Jays. I won’t read much into the Jays wanting a new stadium, after the vast renovations that are taking place at Rogers Centre. Rogers bought the stadium for $25 million, and has invested $100 million into renovations. Why would he want a new stadium when he is investing large amounts of money into renovations at Rogers Centre?
As for the Argos, I think they are happy with what they got at Rogers Centre. Free rent, they take in the ticket, concessions and marketing revues, and are making a profit. They have the best deal in the CFL.
As for Rogers and the NFL, there is nothing into that as well. Rogers had said they are not interested in getting a NFL team in Toronto, and are focused on the CFL, with major sponsorship deals with the league.
The Leaf practice facility will just be a 4 rink arena located very near to the arena where they have held their practices for the past 4 or 5 years. There is no room anywhere near that location for any kind of stadium. I play in that rink and know the area.
I am sure the Argo practice facility is first rate. The two portables are just classrooms. It is located on the university grounds and they most likely have all the bells and whistles there.
ArgoSteve, Rogers has invested $100 million into reno's for the RC? Wow, that's a lot of money to put into a stadium. Good on them but I know from listening to some baseball diehards in Toronto, like my unlce and cousin, it isn't what they want. They do want a baseball only facility that is all baseball in Toronto. Maybe Ted doesn't care though, as long as he's making a bit of money from the Blue Jays it satisfies his baseball owner fix, I don't know.
Well I guess it all depends on who you ask. Some people want to have a own baseball stadium, others are happy with a domed stadium, and others don’t care where the Jays play.
If the jays leave that means less baseball on TV!!! yay!
Jays die, then a CLB can start in full coast to coast in canada... travel expenses will suck but ohwell, that league could survive with Canadian TV money(sportsnet(thursday, sat, sunday) and TSN(monday, tues, wensday)). no friday games.
MLB is an annoyance, too many games + salaries excessively high.
Ohwell I'd rather watch Lacrosse or Basketball then MLB.
I'd much rather money be spent on CFL stadiums then a MLB stadium.
it only costs 120M for a top of the line CFL stadium. 2 more(QBC and MTN or HLX) and the league is coast to coast. work on that first.
the argos should just fold and move to halifax, they have never spent money on anything, they relied on aa broken down exhibition stadium, then they rely on the blue jays building the skydome and they didnt contribute one penny, then they try to harrass u of t and york for new stadiums, the argos never put their money where their mouth is and build first rate sports facilities in Toronto, its pretty sad that they are over 100 years old and still dont have a football-only facility in downtown toronto with an ajacent practice facility and team headquarters.
Exhibition stadium was built to be primarly football first.
But if your going after all stadiums not built for just football, then go after BC + Winnipeg + Montreal + Edmonton.
All were built with more in mind then just football.
Also very few CFL teams have gone on their own to build a new stadium.(although with Gov help)
Taylor field - very old though
Frank Clair - Very old.
Winnipeg when built was also a baseball park(south end zone)
Calgary had private investors who coughed up 30% of the stadium cost(atleast)(who I beleive were not owners of the team)
Edmonton - Commonwealth games, has a track so it holds other non-football events, is home to the Canadian National Soccer teams no?
Ivor Wynn, Built for the Empire games in 1930
Molson stadium - has a track, was a donation by
Percival Molson(or atleast a large % of the costs)
Big Owe - Baseball park
BC Place - Build for trade shows and such, when built the whitecaps played there for 2 years(soccer)
Skydome - Jays + Argos
the Stadiums that are football specific right now are:
Ivor Wynn, Canad Inns, McMahon and Taylor Field.
the others all have Soccer, Baseball, Track/field or large convetions/trade shows held at them regularly.
I agree completely. Who care about MLB, it’s a joke. Screw MLB and all american sport leagues. They always end up by screwing us over. Just ask Vancouver and Montreal. They’ll do the same to Toronto eventually. NLL and MLS are 2 american leagues that seem to include Canadian markets, and want to grow fanbases in Canada which is good. I too think a Canadian Baseball league would be super cool. In fact it’s kinda suprising that there’s not one. The CBL of 2003 was a joke so it doesn’t count.
Move to Halifax and play in a 2000 seat stadium? Toronto is not going anywhere and Halifax is not getting a CFL team until they build a stadium.
Even including Mtl's 20,000, the average attendance in the CFL was nearly 30,000 last year. Building a 25,000 seat stadium for a CFL team would be economic suicide. You need at least 40,000 seats to host the Grey Cup, so that is the minimum number needed for any new stadium. Most new stadium designs do not allow the erection of temporary bleachers.
the Min for a new CFL city(expansion) is 25K, but any new stadium for a current CFL market has got to be 30K if they have any desire to hold a grey cup event.
there are ways to make 25K work(high demand, high ticket prices) But it tends to work better to have 30K+
The Argos could use a more personal stadium of say 30K with a built in plan to expand to 40K when demand is there, but anything less is too small tis true tis true.