Opinion | Rogers Centre renovations should bring the buzz back to the Blue Jays

What Rogers Centre lacked in character, it made up for in practicality. But after committing more than $300 million to extensive renovations, the Blue Jays hope their ballpark now offers plenty of both.

The stadium, which is set to host its first game of the season Tuesday night, has taken its fair share of criticism over the years for a cookie-cutter design and concrete jungle atmosphere. While the retractable roof and prime downtown location are selling points, everything else about the in-person experience hasn’t been up to par for some time.

On warm sunny days when the roof was open, the facility came alive. During pennant races in front of sold-out crowds, the environment was electric. But the moments in between were much more mundane and, while the stadium wasn’t entirely to blame, the memories it provided often left a lot to be desired.

Outside of runs to the post-season in 2015 and 2016. Rogers Centre hasn’t been the place to be for casual baseball fans since the early 1990s. The Jays and ownership group Rogers Communications intend on changing that, starting Tuesday, with new social areas and fan-friendly zones designed to inject new life into a ballpark that matches its rebrand of personnel.

It’s impossible for the Jays to recreate the initial buzz that surrounded the early years of the stadium. When the multi-purpose SkyDome opened in 1989, it was a heartbeat of Toronto’s core, a place prominent on the city’s skyline where people came to be seen whether they were baseball fans or not. A run at an American League East title might mark a temporary return to such prestige but the Jays need to attract crowds before the stretch run of the season begins, and during years when being a contender isn’t possible. The renovations are meant to cast a wider net to compel people to show up, with a multitude of experiences to keep bringing them back.

That’s why the first phase of the two-year renovation focused on aspects of the ballpark that aren’t necessarily related to what is taking place on the field. There are new bars where fans have the option of seeing the game from different angles or ignoring it entirely. For families with young kids, there are shuffleboards and games of Connect 4 that should help with short attention spans. Lack of outdoor space at home? The Jays have you covered with a new rooftop patio.

Baseball purists won’t be interested in any of that but there’s something in the renovation for them too because new outfield dimensions will have a direct impact on the product. The outfield wall has been moved in at certain spots and the symmetrical fence is gone, replaced with one that has a wide variety of heights and angles. Next year, foul territory will be removed to bring the infield bowl even closer to the field.

The Jays insist the adjustments are neutral and won’t favour pitchers or hitters more than the other. Statcast suggests a slightly different story with data that shows the new dimensions would have added 26 homers last season while taking away just seven.

Most of the additional homers would have been to the power alleys where the left-centre field wall has been moved in seven feet and the right-centre field wall 16 feet. All but one of last year’s home runs that would have stayed in the new-look park were to right field, where the wall is almost two feet higher.

There are a few ways an altered Jays roster should benefit from the changes. The fence in straightaway centre has been lowered by two feet, presenting more opportunities for highlight-reel catches, a specialty of the recently signed Kevin Kiermaier. Gold Glove finalist Daulton Varsho is there to anticipate weird bounces that come from the wall’s unique design.

And while the Jays sacrificed power by trading Teoscar Hernandez during the off-season, this team is still going to hit plenty of home runs with returnees Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman among those who should take advantage of the reduced dimensions. Rogers Centre allowed the fourth-most home runs last year with 204. If 19 more had been added to the tally, it would have ranked first.

“It’s never going to be a pitcher’s park, so I think as long as you know that going in, it’s not Yankee Stadium — there’s not going to be any cheap homers,” Jays starter Kevin Gausman said this spring. “That’s one thing I’ve always felt about Rogers Centre. Yeah, it’s a hitter’s park but usually the home runs you give up aren’t nail-biters anyways.”

There’s excitement to every home opener, even in cities with no hope of contending. The anticipation just happens to be greater around these parts than most because of the renovated ballpark and the revamped roster. Expectations can’t get much higher, and an uneven opening road trip through St. Louis, Kansas City and Los Angeles didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for Tuesday’s home debut against the Detroit Tigers. Fred McGriff, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this summer, will throw out the first pitch while Alejandro Kirk and Guerrero will receive their Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards, respectively.

After that, the attention will shift to a season that should be considered World Series or bust. SkyDome had its fair share of post-season heroics, a dated Rogers Centre had some, too. Now the Jays hope to create some lasting memories in their renovated facility. The journey begins Tuesday night.

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