Design & Development

Blue Jays debut new seating bowl at Rogers Centre

Featured image credit: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team has unveiled a reimagined 100 level seating bowl at Rogers Centre for the start of the new season.

The new seating bowl is designed specifically for baseball viewing and marks a continuation of the Blue Jays’ wide-ranging project to renovate the stadium.

The Blue Jays detailed plans for the reimagined 100 level seating bowl in July last year. The previous bowl was fully demolished at the end of the 2023 season and has been rebuilt for the 2024 campaign.

Fans will be given the first chance to enjoy the newly renovated bowl during the Blue Jays’ opening homestand from April 8-17.

In July 2022, the Blue Jays announced a more than C$300m (£174m/€204m/$221m) privately funded renovation, to be completed between 2024 and 2025, that will transform Rogers Centre from a stadium into a ballpark through a series of projects focused on modernising the fan experience and building world-class player facilities.

Rogers Centre was conceptualised as a multi-purpose stadium when it opened in 1989 and had not previously undergone a large-scale renovation in its history.

Mark Shapiro, president and chief executive of the Blue Jays, said: “To build a sustainable championship organisation, we needed a home that is specifically for baseball. We asked ourselves at the onset what we would build if we were designing a ballpark, and we fit that vision into the existing infrastructure of Rogers Centre, with fans always at the centre. Blue Jays fans deserve a true ballpark to proudly cheer on their team.

“Reimagining the home of the Blue Jays required an astonishing scope of work in a short timeframe, and that would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Edward Rogers, Tony Staffieri, and Rogers ownership. They share our championship vision and have invested in the team and infrastructure necessary to build a best-in-class fan and player experience.”

Elsewhere in MLB, the Boston Red Sox have agreed a multi-year partnership with all-in-one safety solution Aura.

The deal includes a refresh of Fenway Park’s pavilion level and names Aura as the official family online safety partner of the Red Sox. Aura will take on naming rights to the pavilion level and will unveil the Aura Pavilion, a refreshed premium area that houses the Aura Club, 12 suites and 1,500 seats across the fourth and fifth levels of the ballpark.

Fans and season ticket-holders who purchase Aura Pavilion tickets will have access to the Aura Club, a premium seating and dining space located behind home plate.