Blue Jays offer inside look at demolition, excavation of Rogers Centre during ongoing renovations
Posted November 21, 2023 11:52 am.
Last Updated November 21, 2023 11:59 am.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered an inside look at the construction process during the ongoing second phase of renovations at the Rogers Centre.
The team posted a video to social media and released images revealing the offseason overhaul of the stadium, which includes the demolition of the lower bowl and the excavation of the field level.
According to the club, the lower bowl was demolished over 13 days from Oct. 13 to 26, where 29.5 million pounds of materials were removed from the stadium and recycled.
The field level excavation took place from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, where 780 truckloads of materials were removed and 530 loads were brought in.
“To facilitate excavation, a temporary bridge was installed over the site of the former seating bowl,” the teams said in a release. “At the peak of demolition and excavation work, 10 excavators were on site with 344 trucks cycling in and out of Rogers Centre over the temporary bridge in one day.”
On Nov. 9, a piece of mechanical equipment was dropped into the stadium through the roof opening from a crane that was parked on Bremner Blvd.
An average of 350 people have been working at the site daily, which is three times more than the first phase of renovations that took place last offseason. The work is scheduled to be completed before the team plays their home opener in April at the start of the 2024 regular season.
A look at the construction process
The team says the current 100-level seating bowl and structure – from foul pole to foul pole – is being rebuilt specifically for baseball viewing with the goal of bringing fans even closer to the action. The key feature will see foul territory reduced by approximately 3,000 square feet between the middle of the infield dirt (just past the bases) to before the warning track on both sides of the diamond.
The club says this will result in additional legroom, wider seats between the dugouts, and improved sightlines with seats facing the infield.
Before and after renderings
The team redid the outfield prior to the 2023 home opener, introducing a new “outfield district” that contains five distinct neighbourhoods and many new social spaces designed to transform the 33-year-old stadium into a ballpark.
The team says season ticket members will have first access to seats in the new 100 level, in addition to guaranteed access to all 2023 Blue Jays postseason home games.
For the second year in a row, the Blue Jays will open the season with 10 road games to allow more time for the renovations to be completed.
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