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December 24, 2006
Weekend update: "Santa says we win!"
The stadium watch stops for no lousy caribou stampede:
- The holiday lull meant lots of room in the Washington Post for resident baseball fixture Tom Boswell to get all giddy about the new Washington Nationals stadium, currently under construction near the Anacostia waterfront. On page one of yesterday's edition, there was Boswell reporting how owner Ted Lerner's son Mark told him that the owners will spend $30 million of their own money on such improvements as a bigger scoreboard and more luxurious luxury boxes - a story that the Post headlined "Nationals Owners To Dig Even Deeper," though the team is still putting in less than 20% of the total construction cost, and all the revenues from the new improvements will go to their own pockets. And in the front of the sports section, you had Boswell declaring gleefully that the stadium is "one-third finished: on time, on budget and with a right field grandstand that has risen 10 stories ... Don't look for financing flummoxes, D.C. Council snafus or hazmat nightmares. We're past that now. Santa says we win." And you don't want to mess with the big guy.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins arena deal has only been dead for four days and already the rumors are flying about where they might move to. The manager of Kansas City's tenantless built-on-spec arena exulted that "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," Ontario BlackBerry king Jim Balsillie wrote to Mario Lemieux that he's still interested in buying the team (though he claims he wants to keep it in Pittsburgh), and the mayor of Hartford wrote Lemieux that "Hartford is looking for an NHL franchise to be a symbol of the revival of this city." Paper Collar Joe was right!
- It's never too late to wave the move-threat flag, apparently: In a press conference last week, Toronto Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers declared that before he bought the club, "there were Americans looking at buying it and moving it to the United States." None of which was publicly reported at the time, but given that there are recurring rumors of the Jays wanting a new baseball-only home (by 2009, SkyDome will be 20 years old and the seventh-oldest stadium in MLB), you have to figure Rogers is thinking ahead.
- Finally, a Christmas present of a sort, if you're the kind who likes maudlin spectacle: The city of Detroit has announced that fans will have one last chance to go inside Tiger Stadium, likely in late March, before they turn it over to sports memorabilia marketers to cart off the best bits for auction and ready the structure for demolition. "People will be able to go out on the pitcher's mound and take snapshots," Matt Allen, press secretary to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, told the Detroit News. Unless anyone has a better idea.
I could see the blue jays moving out of canada in the near future. Toronto is a hockeytown they really don't care much for baseball.
Posted by dan on December 24, 2006 05:42 PM
They did care back around the late 80's/early 90's, when the Jays had a competitive team and won two championships. Give them something to believe in like, say, a team to goes to the 2007 playoffs and the people there will return in big numbers. Rogers is doing his best to make that happen in a tough division like the AL East.
I want the Jays to stay in TO and hope that they can turn things around completely. At least that would mean another team to compete against other than the Sux. ;0)
Posted by mad bomber on December 25, 2006 02:41 AM
Turn Tiger Stadium into a soccer field for a MLS Detroit expansion team.
Posted by Bertell Ollman on December 25, 2006 11:41 AM
The Expos stadium is going up fast.
And what would private developers do without eminent domain and the Supreme Court?
Posted by Mike on December 25, 2006 10:26 PM
I can see ted rogers gestures about the blue jays being part of a scheme to get the jays a purpose built baseball stadium on the taxpayers dime and the rogers centre would be open for a new tennant to come to town . Good bye canadian football league / toronto argos hello NFL. The NFL had expressed that they would only consider Toronto with a stadium of their own. This would happen after los angeles gets an NFL franchise of course.
Rogers got a sweet deal with the purchase of the skydome for a mere 25 million canadian and I am sure the drive towards the NFL would play into his hands. The raptors do well, the maple leafs do well. I am sure southern ontario would support the jays and an NFL franchise. I could not see another retractable roof stadium for an NFL franchise in toronto and that is what is needed for a possible seasons play ending in january or febuary conpared to november with the CFL.
The jays could do well in a 45,000 seat updated stadium and the NFL would do well in the roger centre.
Their would have to be major renovations to Rogers Centre if an NFL franchise were to play their home games there permanently. The Toronto Argonauts and the CFL issue would have to be resolved first before an NFL franchise comes to Toronto.
As for the Blue Jays, they are not going anywhere as long as Ted Rogers doesn't wake up one day and say he doesn't want to own this team any more.
Posted by Daniel F. on December 27, 2006 08:30 PM
Well considering Rogers bought the building for a mere 25 million and he was ided as one of the interested party's for an NFL franchise in the GTA I would say that is where the rogers center is going to.
The Argos are not paying a rent to rogers so that lease could go in a heart beat. The issue would not be as much getting rid of the argos but what type of payment would a toronto franchise have to pay the buffalo bills for being in their franchise territory. The Buffalo Sabres have payed the Toronto Maple Leafs since Buffalo entered the NHL.
Pretty simple an NFL franchise would fill the roger center , the argos do about 30,000 or half fill it. The CFL is dying a slow death especially in southern ontario. Considering Ottawa situation inwhich potiential ownership groups has passed on the idea of restarting a franchise for the third time in the nations capital. That is the state of canadian football . Canadian tastes have moved on for better or worse to american football. Sports bars in canada seem to do great business for superbowl parties but not grey cup parties.
paul
Posted by paul on December 28, 2006 08:51 AM
How sad and/or funny that Rogers Centre was bought for 25 million.
No question an NFL franchise in Toronto would fill the Rogers Centre. The problem is that it's going to cost more to upgrade Rogers Centre to NFL standards.
It's going to be interesting to see how many people will come out to see the Grey Cup game here in Toronto in November next year.
Posted by Daniel F. on December 29, 2006 06:30 PM