July 29, 2001
SkyDome (Capacity: 41,083)
Toronto, ON
Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees
Final Score: 1 – 4
* The stadium was re-visited for a game on July 27, 2004
** SkyDome has been renamed Rogers Centre
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My first non-local stadium trip came with a couple friends as we made the drive across the border to see the Blue Jays-Yankees game. Toronto is home to over 2.5 million and it is the largest city in Canada. Located in Southern Ontario along the shores of Lake Ontario, it is a really beautiful, clean and cosmopolitan city with a ton to do. SkyDome became home to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, after the Jays spent their first 12 years in awful Exhibition Stadium. At the time the ballpark was built, it was unlike any other. This also became a raucous place in their early years as the team won back to back World Series championships in the early 90s, the second of which came on Joe Carter’s famous walk-off home run. Though the atmosphere has dwindled with the Jays in a playoff drought, I appreciate the stadium for the innovative trends it started, but it does feels more like a mall than a ballpark.
Prestige Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Location
SkyDome is placed in a terrific location downtown, between the entertainment district and harbor. It is also located next to the tallest freestanding structure in the world, the CN Tower. One of the coolest parts of SkyDome is taking a ride up the tower and going to the observation deck to see an incredible overhead view. The view is neat when the roof is both open and closed. Within walking distance are many other attractions like the Steam Whistle Brewery, Hockey Hall of Fame and various theatres, bars and restaurants.
Location Ranking: 10 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
The stadium location is right near the Gardiner Expressway and though there is parking, it is limited right at the stadium. Many lots and garages are available downtown within walking distance. We found a private lot and went from there. However, given the amount of construction and congestion in the city, driving/parking is no easy task. Public Transit is much easier and this is made better by the fact that the central hub, Union Station is within a short walk. Here, regional GO Transit trains, along with the TTC subway system all converge at Union and lines are expansive. Just beware, that on weekends, many of the GO trains don’t run (only the Lakeshore lines do).
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Exterior
There’s not much to the exterior and the beige-colored concrete walls give it a sort of bland look. It is a massive facility that is impressive in size from the outside. Though there are several entrances, there is no real grand entrance like you see at other ballparks. It is shaped with flat sides and a curved front and back as the most noticeable feature is the large white retractable roof. The Renaissance Hotel, which is attached to the stadium is viewable from the outside.
Exterior Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Concourse and Food
The concourses were tight in spots, but there were three of them, serving each level of seating. The whole feel kind of sets the stage for the mall-like atmosphere inside the ballpark as the floors in the concourse level are shiny and the way the stands looked made me think of a food court. Speaking of food, there was a lot of chain stuff here, both of the Canadian variety, like Pizza Pizza and the more globally recognized places like McDonalds. Labatt’s was the only beer I saw offered. The outfield features a couple restaurants, including the Hard Rock Café and they do provide some views of the field.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food Ranking: 4 out of 8
Interior
This is a very large ballpark with five levels of seating, too much of it designated for luxury seating. The 100s and 200s are blue chairbacks, however the 200s behind home plate are reserved for club seating. Then, the two rings of suites take up the 300s and 400s, while the section in the 500s is a steep, high upper level (skydeck seating). The seating bowl is in a circular pattern, which is never that appealing, but certainly had more pizzazz than the cookie cutter circular stadiums from the 60s and 70s. There are many features with this ballpark that are unique, starting with the outfield. The Renaissance Hotel which is attached to the stadium, features rooms near the outfield scoreboard region that overlook the field. The impressive CN Tower looms over towards the right foul pole. Then there is the retractable roof, the first working one ever built. By today’s standards it is old, but still impressive to watch the four-panel roof open and close. We were lucky enough to have it open up for us just before each game. It feels like two completely different ballparks depending on the roof configuration. Also, the multi-purpose design (to accommodate their CFL team) makes it act more like a football stadium as opposed to a ballpark. Overall, it may be older, cavernous and not have the catchy design of newer parks, but SkyDome has unique features and all-around sightlines that are fair as overhangs don’t obstruct lower seating.
Interior Ranking: 8 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard is built into the centerfield design as the video screen is sort of integrated with the hotel rooms. It is certainly an impressive board as it is all digital and one of the biggest in the league with the capability of showing full screen video. There are also various digital boards around for stats and game information.
Scoreboard Ranking: 4 out of 4
Displays
Built into the SkyDome on the outside is a cartoonish sculpture seen in a couple spots depicting fans watching baseball and cheering (the design reminds me of the old guys from the Muppets). The sculptures are a part of other various artwork that subtly can be found on or around the facility. Most of the Blue Jay hono(u)rs are inside the stadium towards the roof in the outfield. Skinny banners above the scoreboard display accomplishments, including their two World Series championships, which are shaded blue as opposed to white. You will also find several banners for the CFL Argonauts in this area. Along the wall above the 500 outfield seats is the “Level of excellence”, where the most prominent Blue Jays are honored with name and number.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Starting with tickets, this is an affordable venture, especially when compared to the other pro teams in Toronto (Leafs and Raptors). The highest individual seat is only $35, while it’s possible to spend less than $10 as there are many sections in the 500s that only go for $7. Average prices were near the MLB median, a nice trend after the team had some of the highest prices in the league in their early SkyDome years. While tickets are affordable, the private parking lots are pricey, with several going for at least $15. Concessions are high too.
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
The Blue Jays not only get decent support from Toronto, but most of Canada roots for the Jays as well. Within Toronto they definitely play second fiddle to the Leafs who dominate the sports scene. After the honeymoon period with the stadium in the early 90s, Toronto has settled to the bottom half of the league in terms of attendance as paid numbers average out in the 20,000s. For most games, the majority of the 500 level seats are a sea of blue. To be fair, it has been awhile since the team was competitive and it seems that any sniff at being good will help fill the stadium more. At the game I attended, many Yankee fans helped to boast paid attendance to 40,149.
Fan Support Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The atmosphere had a mixed feel thanks to all those Yankee fans. One nice tradition here is the playing of “OK Blue Jays” during the seventh inning stretch. It should be noted that when the Jays were in the playoffs in the early 90s, the SkyDome (with the roof closed) was a ridiculously loud stadium, likely one of the loudest in playoff history.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8 out of 14
Other Stuff
Yuk, the field here is artificial turf…..The Toronto Argonauts also call the stadium home as they play in the CFL. The multi-purpose design had both the Jays and Argos in mind…SkyDome was plagued with budget issues from the beginning and they even had to file for bankruptcy in the 90s as the financial plan backfired.
Game
In the game, the Yankees dominated as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning. The lead expanded to eight a few innings later as Jorge Posada and Tino Martinez hit back to back home runs. Meanwhile Andy Pettitte cruised and Toronto ended up losing 9-3.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
