The Rogers Centre Gets A $300 Million Facelift

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Today At A Glance:

The Rogers Centre, which opened in 1989, was once a modern marvel of sports stadiums. But after nearly 35 years, stadiums have modernized at lightning speed, and Toronto’s baseball stadium has become a relic of the past. So today’s newsletter breaks down the stadium’s currently ongoing $300 million, privately-financed renovation.

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Friends,

When the SkyDome opened in 1989, the downtown Toronto-based structure was lauded by many as the world’s most technologically advanced sports stadium.

Take the dome-shaped roof, for example. It covered eight acres and reached a height of 282 feet. It included four steel panels that collectively weighed 11,000 pounds and could be moved within just 20 minutes by the push of a button, uncovering more than 90% of the seats and becoming the world’s first stadium with a fully retractable roof.

Fun Fact: There was a 2-hour primetime TV event on CBC to celebrate the opening of the SkyDome. It included songs written about the retractable roof, and the game was eventually rained out — because fans demanded that they open the retractable roof.

(Video: Timelapse of the Rogers Centre roof via Michael Nguyen/Youtube)

But fast forward 35 years, and the 65,000-seat stadium formerly known as the SkyDome isn’t nearly as impressive. I mean, sure, the roof is still pretty cool, and nothing necessarily changed. But that’s the problem — nothing has changed.

The SkyDome is now known as the Rogers Centre. It has been sold four times since its opening in 1989, and its latest sale price of $25 million in 2004 represented just 4% of the stadium’s $570 million in initial construction costs.

This is because it’s saddled with debt. For example, the stadium was projected to cost just $150 million, with $90 million covered by the Canadian government. But, by the time it was finished, the total cost had ballooned to $570 million ($1.4 billion when adjusted for inflation), and the stadium had a $400 million debt load by 1993.

The stadium hasn’t kept up with the times, either. The outfield concourse is dark, and some seats don’t directly face the field. There is a severe lack of premium experience options, and attendance has sat between 42% and 85% of capacity over the last decade.

Major League Baseball’s Oldest Ballparks

1. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox): 111 years old

2. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs): 109 years old

3. Dodger Stadium (LA Dodgers): 61 years old

4. Oakland Coliseum (Athletics): 57 years old

5. Angel Stadium (LA Angels): 57 years old

6. Kauffman Stadium (KC Royals): 50 years old

7. Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays): 34 years old

8. Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays): 33 years old

9. Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox): 32 years old

10. Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles): 31 years old

So with the Blue Jays getting better and attendance increasing 50% last year — 1.75 million fans to 2.65 million fans — the Rogers Centre needed a serious facelift.

And that’s why they’re now completing a $300 million, privately-funded renovation.

The Rogers Centre is being renovated in two phases. The first phase has already been completed, and the second phase is expected to be done by the start of the 2024 season.

The updates include the following:

• Hundreds of new lights and a brand new 8,000 square foot video board.

• A barbershop and 7,900 square foot weight room (3x the size of the old one).

• A raised bullpen with new warm-up areas (just feet away from fan seating).

• A spouses lounge and two-story playground for players’ kids.

• A new studio space for the “Blue Jays Central” show has been built.

• Eight 500-level seating sections have been replaced with patio areas, including cabana-style bars like the Corona Rooftop Patio and family-style social areas with artificial turf floors, candy dispensers, video games, cornhole, and more.

• A new “Outfield District” has been added, which features five “neighborhoods” with Toronto-inspired food and fan access at just $20 per home game.

• Three premium club seating areas will be added to the stadium's lower bowl, and each has its own unique experience — sports bar, live music, fine dining, etc.

“The largest focus [is] modernizing the fan experience,” said Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro. “Taking a 1980s perspective of what an experience was and turning that into a 2020s [notion] and beyond of what a compelling fan experience should be in our modern sports entertainment landscape.”

These changes will reduce the overall capacity by 7% to 41,500 — but more importantly, it will instantly turn one of MLB’s oldest ballparks into one of its best.

Here are a few pictures of the renovations that have been completed so far:

And when you combine these upgrades with Toronto’s brand-new, publicly-financed Spring Training facility in Florida, the Blue Jays will have gone from having one of the worst facilities in Major League Baseball to one of the best in just five years.

• 65 acres

• 115,000-square-foot building

• Cold/hot tubs and indoor pool

• Indoor/outdoor weight room

• Outdoor turf field and seven baseball fields

Here’s what the Spring Training Facility looked like before:

And here’s what it looks like now:

And the financials behind the Rogers Centre renovation are fascinating, too. The $300 million renovation project is privately financed — and significantly cheaper than a new build.

For example, at $300 million, the Blue Jays are spending 46% to 87% less than other MLB teams have spent over the past 15 years to build a new stadium.

Cost of Prospective and Newest MLB Ballparks (2008 to current)

• New Las Vegas ballpark (Athletics): $1.5 billion

• 2020 Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers): $1.2 billion

• 2017 Truist Park (Atlanta Braves): $1.3 billion

• 2012 LoanDepot Park (Miami Marlins): $630 million

• 2010 Target Field (Minnesota Twins): $555 million

• 2009 Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees): $2.3 billion

• 2009 Citi Field (New York Mets): $830.6 million

• 2008 Nationals Park (Washington Nationals): $693 million

Now, of course, this renovation doesn’t necessarily make the Rogers Centre new. But it does provide a necessary refresh at an affordable price for a cool stadium in a great location. And when you combine that with the Toronto Blue Jays young core of impressive players, the sky’s the limit for the only remaining Canadian MLB team.

If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider sharing it with your friends. My team and I work hard to create quality content consistently, and every new subscriber helps.

I hope everyone has a great day. We’ll talk on Friday.

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Extra Credit: How Formula 1 Makes Billions

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Huddle Up is a 3x weekly newsletter that breaks down the business and money behind sports. If you are not already a subscriber, sign up and join 100,000+ others who receive it directly in their inbox each week.

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