TORONTO — When Mark Shapiro talks of building a sustainable winner, most of us think about the team on the field and a roster filled with in-their-prime players competing for AL East titles on a year-in, year-out basis.
But there’s much more to the Shapiro regime’s philosophy of sustainability, and the key project all along for the 53-year-old executive has been the venue his Blue Jays call home.
While Shapiro’s Blue Jays legacy will ultimately have a lot to do with how the baseball team performs on the field, he could have a hand in changing the Toronto skyline if the club’s vision for a new — or immensely improved — stadium comes to fruition.
A Rogers Centre renovation project has been talked about on and off since Shapiro arrived in 2015.
There have been batting-cage whispers ranging from large-scale renovations — think blowing up half the building and redoing most of it — to brand new lakefront plots of land to extensive cosmetic and fan-friendly changes to the existing bones of what was formerly known as SkyDome.
Publicly, Shapiro has hinted at both when asked and he has not been shy about the need for stadium upgrades, despite declining to go into specifics of what those could ultimately look like.
After a quiet period of more than a year as the team focused on renovating its Dunedin complex and other smaller-scale restructuring, a Globe and Mail report Friday says a plan in conjunction with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to demolish Rogers Centre as part of a privately funded multibillion-dollar redevelopment has been talked about.
According to the Globe’s Andrew Willis, citing anonymous sources, the plan would see a stadium project sit at the south end of the current site, with residential towers, office buildings, stores and public space to the north.
If plans fall through, a contingency includes building a new stadium on a different plot of lakefront land.
The project to demolish Rogers Centre and build a new stadium would have a five-to-eight-year timeline, according to the Globe, and still needs “numerous” government approvals to move forward.
In other words, it’s still in the idea stage and there may be more whispers to come as public discussion begins and the Jays continue to work through their options.
There’s no questioning where Shapiro’s work is focused these days, however, as the Jays, despite the prime downtown location, have one of the worst stadium situations in Major League Baseball at 31-year-old Rogers Centre.
On the field, the Jays are in good shape, both talent-wise and in terms of the payroll, with all of the club’s bad contracts — even Troy Tulowitzki — off the books.
The club also just completed a multi-million dollar renovation to its Dunedin player development facility and spring training stadium, leaving the ballpark at home in Toronto as the next major item on Shapiro’s checklist.
Even if the timeline of when the Jays are supposed to be a contender (pretty much now) and when a new stadium would be ready (at least a half-decade from now) doesn’t necessarily match up, it’s the clear next step in the franchise’s evolution.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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.”
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.
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.
