rogers centre construction

[deltox]

this was posted today
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/...867840/photo/1

will this be finished by Saturday???

[Joe Kool]

Looks pretty minor in terms of seats impacted compared to the rest of the dome. Not like we are going to sell out the dome again....I would be shocked if we did.

[deltox]

you will be able to walk around the whole 200 level after this.

here is the before pic (in case you forgot)

[MarkEightThree]

Pretty sure that's just the restaurant anyways. If anything it's just going to look ugly.

[Waggy]

Pretty sure that's just the restaurant anyways. If anything it's just going to look ugly.

It's not a restaurant anymore. It's an open concourse where people can watch the game/get food/drinks etc. It's a really fantastic idea. I'm sure it won't be ready for this game, it's supposed to be done for the Jays home opener.

[Canary10]

Seeing these pictures just reminds me what an anachronism the Rogers Centre is. I wish Rogers would just tear the damn thing down and build a nice, properly scaled baseball stadium. Maybe throw BMO into the pot as well and build a proper football stadium over the old one.

[Borga]

I dunno, if you bought a $500 million stadium for $25 million and would need to spend hundreds of millions to build a replacement, would you be so quick to do that?

[Canary10]

I dunno, if you bought a $500 million stadium for $25 million and would need to spend hundreds of millions to build a replacement, would you be so quick to do that?

Ha, no but I can wish!

[tfcleeds]

Kind of ironic that when Rogers Centre (er, I mean SkyDome) was completed, it was state of the art. Problem was, it was right at the end of the cookie-cutter all-purpose stadium era, and just before the retro-ballpark era. Now, it's arguably the most tired looking facility in MLB other than Tropicana Field.

[Carts]

They could just cover it up with the 'Skytent' curtains... Hide it from view...

[Carts]

Kind of ironic that when Rogers Centre (er, I mean SkyDome) was completed, it was state of the art. Problem was, it was right at the end of the cookie-cutter all-purpose stadium era, and just before the retro-ballpark era. Now, it's arguably the most tired looking facility in MLB other than Tropicana Field.

100% bang on... They built it right at the wrong time...

Another Ontario project like that - Copps Coliseum. Built 1-day before the "private box" boom began - arena was out of date before it even opened...

[Waggy]

Kind of ironic that when Rogers Centre (er, I mean SkyDome) was completed, it was state of the art. Problem was, it was right at the end of the cookie-cutter all-purpose stadium era, and just before the retro-ballpark era. Now, it's arguably the most tired looking facility in MLB other than Tropicana Field.

The Dome was opened in 89? If you can find me one other thing from 1989 that was considered state of the art that isn't now fit for a museam, I'd love to hear it. My dads office was still using typewriters then, while they blasted their cassette tapes and paid like 35 cents for a litre of gas. Nothing designed to be high tech will still be high tech 25 years later. I mean hell, CD's were created, overtook the music industry, and are now basically obscolete. All in that time period. What they should do when designing stadiums is make them more timeless and easilly upgradable. What can you do. I still wish we'd waited a few years and had our own version of Camden Yards built.

[MarkEightThree]

I love the dome and the memories I have there, but it SUCKKKKSSSSSS. It's a giant, soul-sucking mausoleum.

[tfcleeds]

^Kind of what I was getting at. In retrospect, it's too bad they couldn't have held off for another couple of years. But of course, no one was thinking about that at the time (or could have guessed the retro-ballpark craze would kick off soon). We were all just glad to be out of Exhibition Stadium.

[Canary10]

In a way BMO Field is similar. It was built at the end of the era of frugal soccer specific stadiums where just getting stands around a 115 X 75 yard field was an accomplishment. Now with Red Bull Arena, Houston's stadium, etc there is more attention to the things that make a soccer stadium experience better ie. a roof, steep inclines, closer to the pitch). I wish the designers behind BMO had paid more attention to that. Of course, Vancouver is in even a worse phase - they're in the Skydome era of soccer stadiums still.

[Waggy]

In a way BMO Field is similar. It was built at the end of the era of frugal soccer specific stadiums where just getting stands around a 115 X 75 yard field was an accomplishment. Now with Red Bull Arena, Houston's stadium, etc there is more attention to the things that make a soccer stadium experience better ie. a roof, steep inclines, closer to the pitch). I wish the designers behind BMO had paid more attention to that. Of course, Vancouver is in even a worse phase - they're in the Skydome era of soccer stadiums still.

One of the good/bad things with BMO is it's basically built like a lego stadium. It's completely customizable except for a few key components. So if the desire/demand was there, it could basically be rebuilt around the frame that exists. Unlike the Skydome which would have to be fully demolished and rebuilt (which would cost way more and take WAY longer). I actually prefer the way BMO was designed to the Dome. Besides, most classic stadiums started small and slowly expanded, that's what BMO is designed for. The Dome is a concrete block.

[PopePouri]

I recommend the following article comparing Camden Yards with the Rogers Center built around the same time.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/77...s-20-years-old

Certain places have that history and soul sucked out due to need to be state-of-the-art. One example that I can think of is Highbury which the stands close to the pitch:



the Highbury clock.



The Emirates is the complete opposite, built by modernists and christened by the Corporate elites. That romanticism has gone.

[Greatest Ripoff]

Modern stadiums can be still be nice and have a soul. One of my favourite places I have seen a match is the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. Cost less to build than BMO and is a way better stadium.

[Auzzy]

The Dome was opened in 89? If you can find me one other thing from 1989 that was considered state of the art that isn't now fit for a museam, I'd love to hear it. My dads office was still using typewriters then, while they blasted their cassette tapes and paid like 35 cents for a litre of gas. Nothing designed to be high tech will still be high tech 25 years later. I mean hell, CD's were created, overtook the music industry, and are now basically obscolete. All in that time period. What they should do when designing stadiums is make them more timeless and easilly upgradable. What can you do. I still wish we'd waited a few years and had our own version of Camden Yards built.

The Eaton Centre opened 1977. Now there's a piece of smart, forward-looking, flexible design & engineering. Even though it's very corporate/commercial & all the rest.

[Gilberto9]

What do you all mean when you say the Skydome is a "soulless" place? I've never been there, as I'm not a huge fan of baseball or CFL.

[Red CB Toronto]

Here is some info on the reno going on at the dome right now.

http://blogs.thescore.com/djf/2013/0...d-renovations/

[GabrielHurl]

Here's what they've done

[mulliganl]

^That picture is of the opposite end of the stadium from where the renovation of Windows restaurant is taking place. Sections 221 and 222 (the TD comfort clubhouse) are roughly behind homeplate (behind and above where the supporters groups were during the SKC game).

[dutch]

i think bmo is awsome, ya it could use a roof or be more closed in from rain, but i dont want shade on a nice sunny day. it is totally capable of tearing down one side every year and building twice as large. somtimes when I look at small stadiums in league 2, I gotta remember its more about the quality of the fans in the seats and the play on the pitch than all the other stuff. with bmo you just couldnt pick a better spot for a pitch imo

[jaahuuu]

^Kind of what I was getting at. In retrospect, it's too bad they couldn't have held off for another couple of years. But of course, no one was thinking about that at the time (or could have guessed the retro-ballpark craze would kick off soon). We were all just glad to be out of Exhibition Stadium.

HOK first used their retro styling on Pilot Field in Buffalo (now Coca-Cola Field), then used a similar design years later for Camden Yards.

They broke ground on Pilot Field in summer of '86, 3 months before Skydome was started.

[tfcleeds]

^Great little ballpark. Now that they're the Jays AAA affiliate, hope to maybe catch a game over the summer.

[jaahuuu]

^Great little ballpark. Now that they're the Jays AAA affiliate, hope to maybe catch a game over the summer.

The Bisons said the Jays were going to play an exhibition game in Buffalo on March 31st, either against the Bisons or another MLB team, since I've heard nothing about it since the announcement and the dats is only 2 weeks away i guess its not happening.