E-guide to Rogers Centre Review

Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a list of E-guides available for different major league parks around the U.S., and Toronto’s Roger’s Centre has a guide updated for 2014.

E-guide to Rogers Centre, by Kurt Smith, is more suited to someone just getting into baseball, or someone from out of town who is planning a trip to the Rogers Centre for a Blue Jays game, and wants to make sure it is an enjoyable experience. There are a few tips—particularly money saving tips—that may help the casual fan who goes to games a few times a year.

The layout of the guide is basic, going from section to section with some colour photos. Following each section is some money saving notes with bullet points called “Tightwad Tips.”

Having sat almost all over the stadium I can say that the Tickets and Seating section is pretty accurate. There is some good advice about areas where sight-lines may become disrupted, nearby minor annoyances, as well as where to sit if it’s a scorching hot day and you want to avoid the sun.

The Getting There section mentions just about every possible method of getting to the game, even by ferry or bicycle. The sub-section for getting to the park by car, however, could be more thorough, such as noting that some routes in are electronic toll roads, but to be fair, the guide discourages getting there by car, noting the many hassles that accompany it.

If you should travel by car there is a large section on general parking around the city, including helpful colour photos for those needing to know what to look for. There are no specific prices regarding parking rates, but general notes about what areas are more expensive than others. Again the “Tightwad Tips” section is helpful here and there are even a couple money saving tips about transit that I wasn’t aware of.

Sections that follow go in-depth regarding what to expect for food and drinks at the ballpark. It provides pictures and comments on just about everywhere in the facility, letting you know what to expect. Again there are no specific prices (presumably many of these will change come opening day), just general comments about price ranges.

There’s a brief Visitors to Canada section which is pretty general, but would be helpful if you’ve never traveled to the country and are booking a trip without the help of a travel agent.

Finally the Extras section goes over various items, such as accessibility, and promotions. Some of this would be a useful section for those planning a group trip.

Overall, the guide functions like a knowledgeable friend of yours who’s been to the park a lot and wants to tell you all about it. The Tightwad Tips, in particular, offers some great advice, I just wish there more of these.

If you’re from Southern Ontario and you’ve been to a bunch of games before, you might not find the guide all that useful as you’ve learned much of it just from experience. Still, the electronic version of the guide is available for $5.00 bucks if you’re curious about some of the Tightwad Tips.

If you’re from out of town and planning a trip, the E-guide is much more useful. It will save time for having to research, and may save you money and some headaches once you arrive in Toronto.

The guide is available here, with links to guides for other major league ballparks. The sample available offers a look at the table of contents. The digital version is $4.99, and the print with digital copy is available for $7.99.