ROGERS CENTRE

ROGERS CENTRE

TEAM ::: TORONTO BLUE JAYS
LOCATION ::: TORONTO, ONTARIO
MY FIRST GAME ::: JULY 30, 1992
OPPONENT ::: KANSAS CITY ROYALS
PARK MAY ALWAYS BE KNOWN AS :: SKYDOME

RATINGS

BALLFIELD ::: C
SCOREBOARD ::: A+
FACILITIES ::: C
FOOD ::: C
MLB STADIUM RANK ::: 22 OF 28

MY TAKE ON THE PARK

SKYDOME IS THE ORIGINAL, WHICH AT THE TIME I VISITED DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BUT LOOKING BACK YOU COULD SEE HOW THIS PLACE INFLUENCED A LOT OF THE NEW BALLPARKS OF TODAY. AS WITH ANY ORIGINAL, YOU TAKE WHAT WORKS, MODIFY WHAT DOESN'T, AND THEN ADD IN A FEW THINGS THAT WORK IN OTHER PLACES. FROM WHAT I COULD SEE, EVERYTHING WAS WORKING IN SKYDOME IN 1992.

THE PLACE WAS PACKED EVERY NIGHT AND THE BLUE JAYS WERE WINNING.THE IDEA WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO DO WHILE GOING TO THE GAME INSTEAD OF ARRIVING 1/2 HOUR BEFORE AND THEN SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR AN HOUR AFTER THE LAST PITCH. GET PEOPLE TO THE GAME RIGHT FROM WORK AND THEN LET THEM HAVE A RESTAURANT THAT'S SERVING AFTER 10PM CLOSE TO THE BALLPARK. THAT IS THE SKYDOME COMMUNITY WHICH CONSISTS OF A FEW RESTAURANTS, A HOTEL, AND THE CN TOWER. (THE TALLEST FREE STANDING STRUCTURE IN CANADA)
LOOK AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES AND NOT JUST AT THE RETRACTIBLE ROOFED STADIUMS. ALL HAVE TAKEN THE TORONTO MODEL AND INCORPORATED IT INTO THEIR CITY. TODAY, HOWEVER, WHAT TORONTO HAS ALSO PROVEN IS THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A QUALITY TEAM ON THE FIELD, NONE OF THE OTHER STUFF WILL BRING PEOPLE OUT.

SOMETHING I FOUND STRANGE AT SKYDOME WAS THAT IF YOUR TICKET SAID ENTER GATE 'G' YOU HAD TO ENTER AT THAT GATE. BECAUSE, THAT GATE TOOK YOU RIGHT TO THE LEVEL. THERE IS NO MOVING DOWN TO A BETTER SEAT HERE, THE LEVEL YOU ENTER AT IS WHERE YOU ARE FOR THE GAME
ANOTHER UNIQUE ITEM HERE AT SKYDOME IS THE CONSESSIONAIRE. "McDONALD'S!!" WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I ALWAYS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE FOOD AT THE REST STOPS AND THEN THEY PUT McDONALD'S IN. THE FOOD WASN'T GREAT, BUT YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GETTING. MUCH THE SAME AT THE BALLPARK, AT THE GAME THE FOOD WASN'T GIVEN MUCH ATTENTION BECAUSE YOU WERE A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE AND WOULD BUY WHAT THEY HAD. BUT DON'T YOU THINK THE BLUE JAYS ARE GIVING UP BY GOING FOR McDONALD'S? WHILE OTHER TEAMS TODAY ARE OPENING BARBEQUE PITS, SUSHI BARS, AND STADIUM PUBS, TORONTO IS SETTLING FOR THE MC BLT AND THE MC RIB.

OF THE 27 MAJOR LEAGUE PARKS I'VE VISITED, I RANK SKYDOME 21st, BEHIND FENWAY BUT AHEAD OF THE VET IN PHILLY. AT SKYDOME, THEY HAVE THE HUGE VIDEO BOARD AND ALL THE EVENING'S ENTERTAINMENT YOU COULD WANT WITHOUT EVER LEAVING THE PARK. HOWEVER, AS FAR AS BALLPARKS GO, IT IS JUST ONE LEVEL ABOVE A COOKIE CUTTER BOWL. LOTS OF CONCRETE WHICH IS VERY CLEAN BUT HAS NO PERSONALITY.

****UPDATE 2005**** IN FEBRUARY 2005 SKYDOME'S NAMED CHANGED TO "ROGERS CENTRE". IN THE ARTICLES I'VE ATTATCHED TO THE SITE BELOW, IT IS SAID THAT SKYDOME IS OBSOLETE. AS AMAZING AS THIS MIGHT SEEM, THE ARTICLES DESCRIBE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BE MADE.

LINE UPS

KC ROYALS MANAGER ::: 11 HAL MCRAE
BLUE JAYS MANAGER ::: 43 CITO GASTON

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

56 Brian McRae cf

9 Gregg Jefferies 3b

5 George Brett dh

22 Kevin McReynolds lf

12 Wally Joyner 1b

15 Mike Macfarlane c

25 Gary Thurman rf

13 David Howard ss

3 Terry Shumpert 2b

27 Luis Aquino p / LP

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

25 Devon White cf

12 Roberto Alomar 2b

29 Joe Carter rf

32 Dave Winfield dh

9 John Olerud 1b

23 Candy Maldonado lf

17 Kelly Gruber 3b

10 Pat Borders c

2 Manuel Lee ss

36 David Wells p / WP

50 Tom Henke S

ROYALS 000 000 000 0 3 1
BLUE JAYS 110 001 00x 3 7 0

TIME ::: 2:35
ATTENDANCE ::: 50,417
WEATHER ::: INDOORS, OUTSIDE :: COOL, DRIZZLE

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UNCLEBOBSBALLPARKS@GMAIL.COM