Sports

Blue Jays feeling ‘pride’ in Rogers Centre renovation now at finish line

Published

7 months ago

April 4, 2024

TORONTO – Now that the finish line is days away on a nearly $400-million stadium renovation that’s been all-encompassing for Toronto Blue Jays staff over the past few years, the overwhelming feeling for Marnie Starkman is …

“Pride,” the club’s executive vice-president, baseball operations, said Thursday after helping unveil the fully renewed Rogers Centre, even as work continued on the finishing touches ahead of Monday’s home opener against the Seattle Mariners. “The reality of the project, we keep saying 18 months in five months – it’s really what it was. Overall it was probably like a 4-5 year project we did in two years.

“We were fortunate we had the roof,” she continued. “A lot of other ballparks have to do this in the middle of snow and weather and that was one thing we could control. The second we could get in here, we started. PCL (the contractor) did an incredible job. Our staff did an incredible job. And it was around the clock. … We were so involved in the design and so intentional on the design. I’m so proud of that because you’re seeing it come to fruition.”

The second phase of the renovation completely redid the Rogers Centre’s lower seating bowl, which was essentially untouched since the dome’s opening in 1989, reorienting all the seats so they now face the field. The chairs were widened, with cup-holders, the slope was raised to improve sightlines, the stairways between sections now have rails and anyone five-foot-eight or taller won’t have to fret about legroom any longer.

Visually, the stadium now looks seamless after a Frankenstein season in 2023 which featured the old bowl with an entirely redesigned outfield. In terms of how it plays, we’ll see, but there’s now about 3,000-square-feet less foul territory, although it’s more concentrated around the infield now, a new version of the same turf they’ve had the past three seasons and new high, angled walls leading to the outfield which could create interesting bounces on balls driven down the lines.

There are also new food and beverage items, further adding to how the place’s entire feel is changed.

“I’m excited for people to just experience the bowl differently,” said Starkman. “We didn’t make changes to the concourse, but the change of bringing the bowl in opened the concourse. The (new) drink rails. You go to different ballparks and that’s the point, walk around and experience it. You don’t have to sit in your seat all nine innings.

“Our old ballpark, that was all we had to offer, the seat. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

The changes have shrunk the dome’s capacity down to about 38,000 seats, a figure that flexes up to about 40,000 with outfield district tickets and private suites, although accessible seating is up 18 per cent, with new lowered drink rails ringing the lower bowl.

A key revenue driver will be the new 1,600 premium seats behind home plate, 210 of which are in the TD Lounge area that will be visible on TV behind home plate and has a striking resemblance to the premium seating behind the plate at Yankee Stadium. (Work continues on three premium clubs that are expected to open mid-season, as planned).

That’s no coincidence as Starkman along with Anuk Karunaratne, her former co-VP who this off-season left to join the St. Louis Cardinals, and several other staffers toured dozens of sports venues to help inform their decisions.

The new dugouts, for instance, are a nod to Minnesota’s Target Field, Atlanta’s Truist Park and Texas’ Globe Life Field. The new seats borrowed from what the Cubs did at Wrigley Field. The premium seating and lounges were informed by what the Yankees did as the Blue Jays partnered with the same concessionaire, Legends.

At the same time, “we’re still Toronto and there’s still a different way of experiencing sports here,” said Starkman. “Some of the premium, we took inspiration from ballparks, but we also looked at the city. We’re competing with King Street and all these other amenities that aren’t the same as Texas and Atlanta and Arizona and some of those places. So there were little bits of things that we took as we went along. The brick that we put behind home plate, we wanted a bit of character, but we knew we weren’t a red brick place, so it was like, OK, let’s make it our version of that. So many teams were so helpful in sharing that information. We appreciated that and it was really helpful in the design process.”

Blue Jays players and visitors will both have new clubhouses, with the home side getting all the bells and whistles. Finishing work on both continued frantically on Thursday to have everything done on time for Monday.

Starkman called this a generational renovation of the dome and smaller projects still lie ahead, with president and CEO Mark Shapiro saying in the spring that key areas of opportunity include some sort of kids area and areas recognizing team history, if not a single-spot focused club Hall of Fame.

Ben Nicholson-Smith is Sportsnet’s baseball editor. Arden Zwelling is a senior writer. Together, they bring you the most in-depth Blue Jays podcast in the league, covering off all the latest news with opinion and analysis, as well as interviews with other insiders and team members.

“We need to obsess every year with how do we continue to modernize this place,” said Starkman, since the club envisions the current iteration creating a 10-15 year runway during which bigger picture decisions about the dome’s future have to be made.

Before the Blue Jays embarked on this renovation, the idea of embarking on a larger-scale, sports-anchored real estate project was examined but that’s a massive undertaking that requires years of planning.

Considering what’s next isn’t imminent, but it’s on the horizon.

“I don’t really have a time-frame,” Shapiro said during the spring. “I just think, OK, we got done this, we’ve addressed what we had to address, we modernized fan experience, we modernized player experience, we need to turn our attention to the Dominican, think about our facilities there, some of our minor-league facilities, continue to do normal capital planning and projects and maintenance. But one of the things we’re going to need to think about is long-term planning. So that just involves research, that involves understanding alternatives and a plan. It’s just responsible business to think about that. …

“We’ll continue to continue to maintain and approach capital the way you would as if (the dome) was a new ballpark. But we also have to think about life-span and normal course of business.”

For the time being, the Blue Jays and their fans have a renewed stadium to enjoy, the most substantive change to their customer experience since the dome first opened.

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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