Report: Blue Jays Owner Wants To Replace Rogers Centre

Blue Jays owner Rogers Communications wants to "demolish the Rogers Centre and construct a new stadium as part of a downtown Toronto redevelopment," according to sources. The company, along with the real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management, is "working with city, provincial and federal government officials on a plan that would effectively cut the Rogers Centre in half." The partners "would build a new, baseball-focused stadium on the foundations of the southern end of the current facility and adjacent parking lots," while the northern portion of the 12.7-acre site "would be turned into residential towers, office buildings, stores and public space." Sources said that the "multibillion-dollar renovation would be privately funded by Brookfield and Rogers," but "needs numerous government approvals to move forward." Rogers also is "considering building a new stadium on a lakefront site if plans for the Rogers Centre fall through" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/28).