Have you heard about the Toronto Blue Jays? It’s the professional baseball team in Toronto, founded in 1977. This popular baseball team plays its home games at the iconic Rogers Centre. That’s how important this stadium is in this city, not only for citizens but also travellers. 

Located in downtown Toronto, Rogers Centre is no longer just a stadium. It is now considered one of Toronto’s Landmarks and a must-visit destination for baseball fans. 

Let’s get to know this stadium more and discover the ways to visit it, even if there is no game. 

Rogers Centre Stadium History 

Formerly known as SkyDome, Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Toronto. It is also the first stadium in the world with a retractable roof. The idea of creating such a stadium emerged when Toronto failed to secure the 1976 Olympics. 

However, the preparation didn’t start until 1986. This year, the government hired two renowned architect and engineer, named Rod Robbie and Michael Allen. They were supposed to create a stadium with a retractable motorized roof, which might have seemed unimaginable at that time. 

The stadium opened in 1989 as the home ballpark for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. However, it was the first stadium designed to accommodate both baseball (Blue Jays) and football (Argonauts).

Due to debt issues, SkyDome was sold in 1994 to a private consortium led by Blue Jays owner Labatt. It changed hands again in 1999 to Sportsco International before being purchased by Rogers Communications in 2004. 

Afterwards, Rogers renamed it to Rogers Centre in 2005 after acquiring the Blue Jays franchise as well.

Rogers Centre Design and Features

Since Rogers Stadium Centre is located in downtown Toronto, near the iconic CN Tower and Lake Ontario shoreline, many tourists decide to visit it as one of the attractions of the city. Here are some of the features that make this stadium a landmark. 

• The stadium has a multi-level seating structure that extends from right-centerfield to home plate and left-centerfield.
• The centerfield area has a large 110ft x 44ft video board that was recently upgraded in 2022.
• The retractable roof consists of four panels that open/close in 20 minutes and weighs 21 million pounds.
• It features a massive 348-room Hotel attached beyond the outfield, with 70 rooms overlooking the playing field. 

Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel

Now, let’s take a look at the four-star Marriot Hotel, which has rooms with views over this sports field. Marriot City Centre Hotel is located inside the Rogers Centre. Therefore, its guests are lucky because they can easily watch the games from the comfort of their rooms. 

This hotel is also known as Renaissance Toronto Downtown. However, it was renamed to Marriot City Centre in recent years. 

This 4-star hotel offers great amenities and facilities, including shoe shine services, large meeting rooms for conferences, a Mediterranean restaurant, an indoor pool, and cable TV with pay-per-view movies. 

However, apart from all these facilities, the hotel is mainly known for its rooms overlooking Rogers Stadium. Actually, sports lovers are mostly the fans of this hotel. Who doesn’t enjoy watching a live game sitting on a comfortable couch, drinking beer? 

Rogers Centre Stadium Renovations

After the 2022 season, the Blue Jays embarked on a $300 million renovation project to modernize the fan experience.

• Phase 1,  in 2023 brought outfield seating closer, added social spaces/patios, and replaced upper deck seats.
• Phase 2, in 2024, rebuilt the entire lower bowl, upgrading seating and premium clubs and reducing capacity to 41,500.

Other Events

The Rogers Centre hosts other events in addition to sports. For all these years, this stadium has been a place for major concerts, conventions, trade shows, and even circuses. However, it owes its popularity to its retractable roof capability.

Notable past concerts include Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Shawn Mendes. Furthermore, Taylor Swift has 6 shows scheduled in November 2024 as part of her Eras Tour.

Attractions Nearby Rogers Centre Stadium Toronto 

Here are some of the major attractions located near the Rogers Centre stadium in downtown Toronto:

• CN Tower (0.18 mi away)- This iconic landmark is located just a short walk from the Rogers Centre. The tower adds to the popularity of the stadium, as it overlooks the stadium field, and creates a wonderful view in this centre at night. 
• Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada– This massive aquarium with underwater tunnels and exhibits showcasing marine life from across the globe is right next door to the Rogers Centre on Bremner Boulevard.
• Roundhouse Park- Rogers Centre is situated right beside Roundhouse Park, which features a preserved early 20th-century rail building, playground, and open green spaces.
• Olympic Park- This small park on Bremner Boulevard has monuments and displays commemorating the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games hosted in Toronto.
• Steam Whistle Brewery- A popular brewery housed in the historic Canadian Pacific Rail building offering tours and a beer hall.
• Toronto Railway Museum- An indoor museum exhibiting restored trains and railway artifacts from Toronto’s rail history.
• Harbourfront Centre– A premier arts and culture venue right on the Lake Ontario waterfront with exhibitions, events and recreational trails.

How to Get to Rogers Centre Toronto?

Since Rogers Stadium Centre is located in downtown Toronto, it is easily accessible by subway and TTC. If you want to get there by metro, the Conventional Centre metro station is the closest stop to this stadium. From there, you can get to the Rogers Stadium within 5 minutes of walking. 

However, this centre also has a parking lot, so if you want to drive to it, make sure the parking is open. Additionally, the closest bus stop to this location is Spadina Ave at Bremner Blvd. It will take less than 5 minutes to get to the doors of Rogers Centre Stadium. 

Bottom Line 

In summary, the Rogers Centre is Toronto’s iconic downtown multi-purpose stadium. Known for its revolutionary retractable roof design, this sports stadium also has a hotel overlooking its field. In addition to watching the games, tourists can visit this old stadium via tours. That’s how this centre has become a popular attraction for sports lovers. 

FAQs

1. How Can Tourists Visit Rogers Centre Stadium?

Rogers Stadium is very much open and accessible for tourists to Toronto. They can take guided tours, attend events, or simply visit and admire the stadium’s unique architecture even when nothing is scheduled.

2. How Many Seats Are in Rogers Centre?

Since this stadium is used for different purposes, it has different number of seats. Rogers Centre in Toronto has a seating capacity of approximately 53,506 seats for baseball games and around 50,000 seats for football games or concerts.

3. What is Rogers Centre Famous for?

First, this stadium is known for being the home of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. However, that’s not all. Rogers Stadium centre is also known for being the first stadium in the world with a retractable roof. Accordingly, it is one of the few stadiums in the world that can accommodate both indoor and outdoor events.

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