Real Grass is the Least Important Renovation Needed at Rogers Centre
It may have been a smoke screen all along, but the probability of real grass coming to the Rogers Centre was always a long-shot. That dream was all but extinguished earlier this week.
Stoeten picked up on this for Blue Jays Nation, but Stephen Brunt mentioned this on the Jeff Blair Show (it starts around the 14:25 mark) and all but assured Blue Jays fans that grass at the Rogers Centre was never going to happen.
The artificial turf in Toronto has long been an issue, but there haven’t been many public outcries since the club installed a new AstroTurf playing surface in early 2015. Mark Shapiro told Jays from the Couch “the turf is almost a non-issue now for players now”.
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And another interesting quote from Shapiro in that Jays from the Couch piece:
“If there’s three different things we can do versus grass, I’m going to make sure we look at those three things”.
It may be a combination of the new playing surface – it probably also has a lot to do with the fact that the Blue Jays celebrated playoff berths in 2015 and 2016 – but real grass at the Rogers Centre isn’t a priority anymore.
A few years ago, people were screaming at the Blue Jays front office to install real grass at the Rogers Centre. It was Paul Beeston who dangled a carrot in front of ticket holders at the 2012 state of the franchise:
“We’re actually examining the ability of bringing grass in here. This is a multi-purpose stadium. It doesn’t mean we’re going to do it, but we’ve brought grass in here for soccer before, so it will work.”
At that State of the Franchise, Alex Anthopoulos also cited a few examples where the Blue Jays couldn’t convince free agents to come to Toronto and the turf was a major stumbling block in those negotiations.
Way back when, the Blue Jays made it seem like the artificial turf playing surface was hindering their ability to draw premiere talent and in turn, preventing them from becoming a contender.
There wasn’t much to root for during Alex Anthopoulos’ tenure as Blue Jays GM, which made the prospect of real grass feel like an olive branch extended by the front office. In retrospect, it was more of a red herring.
The Blue Jays did their best with a few band-aid solutions in the meantime; they installed a new AstroTurf in 2015 and switched to an all-dirt infield in 2016. In the meantime, the prospect of grass under the dome fell by the wayside.
In all honesty, putting in real grass is one of the least important renovations the Blue Jays need to make to the Rogers Centre.
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The club is in the midst of figuring out how to modernize the 28-year-old ballpark, which is a colossal undertaking. Estimates of $250-$400 million in renovation costs to update the Rogers Centre are likely even on the modest side.
Shapiro also spoke to Future Jays and revealed a grass field could chew upwards of 30% of the entire renovation budget, which is a lot of money to pay for something which would only improve the Rogers Centre incrementally.
There are much more pressing needs around the ballpark; the concourse need to be improved and could be opened up, the seats need to be re-aligned, the concessions need to be overhauled and the Blue Jays need to pay tribute to teams and players past by enshrining them with statues or displays around the Rogers Centre.
As Shapiro said in that interview with Jays from the Couch, if the club has the choice between allocating capital to fixing three things at the Rogers Centre or to install grass, they’re leaning towards fixing three things first.
While it’s important to keep the players happy with a suitable playing surface, real grass at the Rogers Centre doesn’t add to the fan experience whatsoever. Wouldn’t the average fan prefer better sight lines at the game, better food and drink and more interesting places to visit and interact at the ballpark?
Or how about some sort of craft beer garden or craft beer tap house in the upper deck? The Chicago White Sox feature over 75 craft beers in their “Craft Kave” at Guaranteed Rate Field. How many craft beers are available at the Rogers Centre, you ask? One: Hockley Dark.
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If Shapiro says the AstroTurf is a non-issue for the players, then it should be a non-issue for everyone else, too. Sure, it may not look like the most aesthetically pleasing thing up close, but that’s the reality of playing in a cold weather climate city.
It’s been five years since Beeston brought up the possibility of the Blue Jays playing on real grass at the Rogers Centre. At this point, I’ve reserved myself to the fact that the Jays playing on real grass won’t happen in my lifetime.
A winning product on the field is much more important than the field itself. In the meantime, I hope the Blue Jays allocate their resources wisely towards improving the overall experience at the ballpark.
If the renovation of Progressive Field – which Shapiro spearheaded – is any indication of where the club is going with this re imagination of the Rogers Centre, I’m confident he can help breathe new life back into the 28-year-old dome.
As a season seat holder and avid baseball fan and “Blue Jay” fanatic, real grass would be nice! However, I agree that there is much more that need to be done with the Rogers Centre “a very cold and boring building”. With 40 years in the majors, it is time to honor some of our past “greats” with monuments possibly inside and out. We need specialty food vendors with interesting concoctions and greater variety as opposed to the boring, bland, fast food menu currently available. Lets make the experience “great”.
The only question ought to be whether grass would be better for the health, longevity and well being of the players.
In the past not only have several players suffered injuries because of the surface but several free agents have indicated that their careers might be shortened as a result of knee and ankle injuries. Any orthopoedic surgeon would warn patients to be wary of hard playing surfaces without the ‘give’ of natural turf.
An outfielder’s knees are a lot more important than fract beer experiences and other such trivia.
It’s probably a bit of a stumbling block with players, but it sounds like it isn’t nearly as bad as it was with the old turf from 3 years ago. For infielders, the dirt infield helps, but the outfielders still have to stand on the carpet.
But it would take years to get a grass field in there and the park sorely needs to be updated. I’d say they should fix those other things first and then maybe look at long-term solutions for grass.
Don’t agree – real grass is a much better aesthetic for the park and actually makes it smell like a baseball game – not one of the best stadiums are still the best if they have turf. MLB should ban turf altogether. Turf Also creates too many ground rule doubles. There is a reason almost every stadium has grass now even though turf technology is much better.
If it were apples to apples and the Jays had to choose one thing to fix right away, I would opt for the grass. But that project would take the longest to implement and could be many more years away. I don’t doubt it can be done and that it might be done down the road, but there are other things to fix around the ballpark in the meantime.
I don’t think it should take that long bring in the sod work at it now , keep watering all winter should be good
The problem isn’t putting in the sod, it’s the lack of a proper drainage system. That’s where all the time and money will go.
If Astro turf is so great, why do the Blue Jays players have so many leg issues?,, If I go to a ball game I would rather see a healthy team than have my choice of 75 craft beers
Well that was completely lacking in substance.
I don’t have an issue with the Dome and never had an issue with the Dome. I don’t hear a lot of complaints when the weather outside is not pleasant nor did I hear a peep when the Blue Jays made the Playoffs in 2015 & 2016.
You hear complaints when the place is not full and there are less than 25,000 people in there.
Real Grass / Artificial Grass I think people are thinking of the artificial surface from the earlier years of Rogers Centre and Exhibition Stadium when it was basically thin green carpet over concrete. The new artificial surface seems to have more give and very close to real grass.
The Dome could use some cosmetic changes maybe convert some sections into a beer garden if that is what people want. But the corridors could use some sprucing up. Maybe a play area for kids where Parents can still watch the game but kids can blow off steam. Behind the outfield fence might be a good spot for a playground and put up a plexiglass section of the wall so Parents can see the field along with some monitors.
Sightlines are good and the seats are fine. When the Dome is open it feels great in there. Maybe paint the inside of the dome to a dark blue colour instead of gray.
Thanks Doug – I wrote about that very subject here: https://bluejaysnation.com/2018/04/02/mark-shapiro-shares-what-the-re-envisioning-of-rogers-centre-might-look-like/ . It sounds like Shapiro wants to carry over a lot of renovations they did in Cleveland over to the Rogers Centre.