Rogers Centre opened in '89 and has a seating capacity of 49,282 for baseballGETTY IMAGES
The Blue Jays are planning to replace the press box at Rogers Centre and turn the media area behind home plate into premium seating. Blue Jays VP/Communications Sebastian Gatica said plans are in the very early stages. He noted the Jays are still figuring out what kind of premium seating they want, as well as design, pricing and costs of the project. Gatica: "We are aiming for 2019." The team will also have to figure out where to put a new press box. Gatica said more details of the press box transformation could be unveiled later this month or early June. Part of the press box redevelopment effort includes bringing current and prospective premium fans into the ballpark to look at various seating and design options. Gatica said Rogers Centre has a dearth of premium seating, especially given the size of the Toronto market (6.4 million people) and its large business community. Rogers Centre is in the lower end of MLB ballparks for premium seating. The press box conversion is not part of a much larger modernization of the venue proposed by Rogers Communications, which owns the team. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was in Toronto last week advocating for upgrading the ballpark, which could cost between $250-450M. The venue opened in '89 and has a seating capacity of 49,282 for baseball.
