TORONTO – The brand new-look Rogers Centre made a wonderful first impression on followers in the course of the Toronto Blue Jays’ dwelling opener.
Mates Matthew Martin, Jack Fisher and Ben Watson, all from Kitchener, Ont., had been excited by the intensive renovations to Toronto’s ballpark when the gates opened on Monday earlier than the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2. Martin mentioned the modifications, designed to make the stadium a baseball-first venue, had been instantly noticeable.
“I really like what they did,” mentioned Martin, who favored how the brand new seats face dwelling plate. “There’s much more room between the seats and the cupholders are so good.
“I imply every thing appears to be like wonderful. It’s superior.”
The renovated 100-level concourse and the brand new Gate 9 entrance is what instantly struck Watson.
“I used to be actually stunned by the structure,” mentioned Watson. “The stone and stuff, it feels far more stable.
“The doorway over there, I used to be actually stunned by it. It was so burnished and glossy and shiny. It was like the long run, dude.”
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Jamie Larsen, who drove into Toronto together with his household from Kingsville, Ont., for the sport, thought the renovations gave the Blue Jays the very best ballpark in group historical past.
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“From Exhibition Place to the outdated SkyDome, which was all concrete, this simply appears lots nicer,” mentioned Larsen. “It’s somewhat extra slick than simply the concrete that it was earlier than.”
The primary part of renovations had been accomplished within the low season between 2022 and 2023. They up to date the higher bowl and outfield seating areas. Section 2 was targeted on the decrease bowl, subject, and players-only areas just like the dugouts, clubhouses and exercise rooms.
“There’s a sport room, there’s float tanks, simply the look of the gamers’ clubhouse is one thing completely different,” mentioned Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider. “I in all probability haven’t seen every thing but to be sincere with you, however there’s a whole lot of it that actually stands out.”
All-star shortstop Bo Bichette mentioned the renovations will supply a small aggressive benefit, at the least in relation to staying heat throughout longer innings.
“Transferring the batting cages so near the dugout makes it fairly straightforward,” he mentioned.
A prolonged pre-game ceremony included a video that confirmed the transition of the multipurpose stadium to a baseball-specific venue. Initially in-built 1989, Rogers Centre was designed to transition from sport to sport simply and was additionally dwelling to the Canadian Soccer League’s Toronto Argonauts and the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation’s Toronto Raptors for a number of years.
How the brand new subject’s dimensions impression the precise sport continues to be unknown.
Historically a hitter-friendly stadium, fewer dwelling runs had been hit at Rogers Centre final season regardless of the upper outfield partitions being moved nearer to dwelling plate. The second part of renovations shrunk the foul areas, giving catchers and nook infielders much less house to catch foul balls.
It additionally created greater retaining partitions in left and proper subject, which means outfielders will now not be capable to lean into the stands to catch deep fouls.
“There’s extra space taken out than you notice, however I assume we’ll see,” mentioned Schneider. “I assume objectively, yeah, in all probability you’re going to lose some outs that had been caught final 12 months. We’ll see the way it performs.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed April 8, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
