Scott Stinson: Blue Jays fans may not miss the Rogers Centre, but don't expect them to pay for replacement - National Post

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Rogers Centre ‘s current owners bought the stadium for less than five per cent of its construction cost when it was just 15 years old. Photo by John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Could a similar scenario play out in Toronto? The specifics might be different but the end result the same: a big and complicated vision gets whittled down into more acceptable parts, and a lot of horse-trading ensues involving cost and land use and eventually a baseball stadium emerges at the end. Maybe it’s next to the Rogers Centre, maybe it’s somewhere else on the waterfront that is presently being imagined for better things.

The thing to remember as the process plays out is that Rogers has a baseball stadium that it already owns, and which it bought, at 15 years old, for less than five per cent of its construction cost. If it wants to replace it, that should be a project that is entirely up to Rogers management and its shareholders. The stadium gambit inevitably includes an appeal to public money to help with up-front costs, or tax breaks on the back end, or sweet land arrangements, or some combination of all three. Sure, that stuff benefits the team owners, but hey: New stadium! Outfield beer garden! Woo!

Already there are probably Blue Jays fans who are dreaming of a PNC Park North or an Oracle Park East — the lovely waterfront stadiums of Pittsburgh and San Francisco — and who would be fine if a few tax dollars went to that instead of filling potholes.

But that’s just the trap that the team owners set. Of course it would be nice if the Blue Jays replaced their fusty old dome. And if they do, the public should be willing to support it in one specific way, and one way only: by buying tickets.

• Email: sstinson@postmedia.com | Twitter: scott_stinson

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2020-11-28 01:15:32Z
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