Blue Jays: Dear Rogers, Don’t Cheap Out

It’s always been a bit weird having a massive media company owning the Blue Jays.  So Corporate, so cold.  They built a statue for Ed Rogers out front of the Rogers Center.

For what reason. I don’t know.

When I think of Blue Jays baseball I certainly don’t think of old Ed. Or Rogers at all really for that matter.  I still even call it the “SkyDome” from time to time.

And that’s a problem.

When an owner is shelling out the kind of cash that Rogers has been lately, they typically want the praise to go with it. Yet most Blue Jays fans have not yet “felt the love” for ownership, even with some wins when it matters.

After “Going for it” with impressive payrolls, and high-profile acquisitions, the brass at Rogers must be asking themselves: What do we have to do to win these guys over?

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In my opinion, there are three ways this can be fixed:

1) Go out and sign some superstar players
2) Slash ticket prices
3) Invest hard in Rogers Centre renovations.

I’m hoping for the latter.

It’s already a minor crime that Rogers asks us to pay top dollar to visit what is a mostly unchanged fan experience since the 80’s.

The building is old in concept and style. A claustrophobic concrete tomb for most of April and May, with little feeling.

And make no mistake. The casual Blue Jays fan is not interested in seeing the team get shelled by opposing teams. They will save their money and stay home, as we saw with the mass exodus of fans this year.

The casual fan needs more draws to the park. The food options and entertainment MUST be improved, along with aesthetics. There need to be more activities and things to do when games are being lost, and attention waver.

At the moment, the only draw to Rogers Centre is the game itself.

However, the Jays and Rogers Centre have a lot going for them. Their real estate is PRIME.

It is one of the best-located parks in baseball, and the potential for casual fans is astronomical.

It will be a costly endeavor to completely remodel the Rogers Centre entirely. It comes with it a good chance that baseball would even need to be played elsewhere (Montreal) for a season during so. I think that its worth it completely.

That’s why I beg Rogers. When you lay down the final plans to renovate the Rogers Centre.

Please don’t cheap out.

The casual fans are watching.