Blue Jays preparing to relocate to Buffalo as return to Toronto unlikely
Posted April 9, 2021 1:32 pm.
Last Updated April 9, 2021 1:36 pm.
The Buffalo Bisons will relocate to Trenton, N.J., for the start of the 2021 season, clearing the path for the Toronto Blue Jays to return to the home of their triple-A affiliate.
The Bisons said Friday they are completing a joint renovation project with the Blue Jays to prepare Sahlen Field for Major League regular-season games during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The upgrades at Sahlen Field include moving the bullpens off the field and behind the outfield walls, new batting cages, a new weight room, LED light bulb replacements and two additional temporary lighting poles.
The Blue Jays have said Buffalo is a potential temporary home this season after the team played most of its home games at Sahlen Field last year.
The state of New York is now allowing 20 per cent capacity at outdoor sports venues with 2,500 or more seats. The current downtown stadium seats 16,600. No fans were allowed at Blue Jays games in Buffalo last year.
The Blue Jays are playing their first three homestands this year at their 8,500-seat spring-training facility in Dunedin, Fla.
Now that Ontario is back in lockdown for a third time, the club will at minimum make a pit stop in Buffalo as the Blue Jays are reluctant to remain in Dunedin through the intense heat and frequent rain of the Florida summer.
According to Sportsnet, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo got his second COVID-19 vaccination before Thursday night’s game, and some players also got shots as well.
