In The Black & Blue: Rogers Centre Turns Profit For Rogers Media

Rogers Centre To Post Profit For Second Straight Year

Blue Jays President & CEO and Rogers Centre President Paul Godfrey said Rogers Media was able to turn a profit from the Rogers Centre in '06 after buying the stadium the year before, and the company “will do the same this year,” according to Lisa Wright of the TORONTO STAR. Godfrey said, “We’re at the stage now where the building is profitable.” Wright noted the stadium had not been profitable since ’92, the last time Rogers Centre hosted the Grey Cup before this year. Rogers reports attendance “is up on all events, including Blue Jays games, about 3[%] over last year,” and there were 205 event days on the ’07 calendar. The Blue Jays’ locker room is currently being upgraded into a 24,000-square-foot clubhouse, twice the current size, and plans are in the works for a C$9M renovation for the 400-seat Windows restaurant inside Rogers Centre, which will “get a new look, better culinary offerings and probably a new name for the 2009 season.” However, Godfrey “denies they’re making room for more seating to make the venue NFL-worthy” (TORONTO STAR, 11/24).