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An outdoor ballpark in Toronto? These guys think it could work

October 13, 2009 04:43 PM | Posted by   Elliotte Friedman  

OK, this blog's a little different. It’s about two baseball fans who want to see a big change from the Blue Jays.

They’re not talking “Fire the GM/Trade Vernon Wells!” types of moves.

They’re talking outdoor ballpark.

First, introductions. Jeff Citron is a partner in the Banking and Finance Group at Goodmans LLP, a well-known law firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver. (He is based in Toronto.) He worked as associate counsel for the NHLPA from 1995-2000, playing a major role in drafting the 1995 CBA. David Steinhauer is a 22-year-old student taking the combined JD/MBA program at the University of Toronto. He previously attended the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and interned with the Toronto Argonauts for one summer.

Both men have something in common. They no longer enjoy attending Jays games at Rogers Centre.

“I consider myself a baseball purist,” Citron said in a phone interview last Friday. “For the last five years, interest waned. Going to a game was not a pleasant experience.”

For him, the piece de resistance was Victoria Day. On one of the first decent afternoons of spring, Citron decided to go see the Blue Jays play Chicago. The Dome was closed.

“That ruined it for me,” he said.

Steinhauer is like many of you who will be interested in this proposal - he loves to travel to different ballparks. This summer, he went with his dad to Philadelphia and New York, seeing both the Yankees and the Mets’ new stadiums.

Now, I’m a big baseball fan too. During the NHL playoffs, it’s not unusual for a few of us to go on our off nights. In the last two years, we’ve been to ballgames in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (the most beautiful ballpark in the sport – too bad the team is so awful) and Detroit. I dragged my wife to the second-last game at Yankee Stadium and to Wrigley the day after we got engaged. (Thankfully, she didn’t change her mind.)

I see the Blue Jays about 10 times a year, and couldn’t believe how bad the crowd was on Labour Day, taking my British brother-in-law to see his first game.

So, after reading this prospectus, I decided to do this blog. Put it out there, give it some traction and see what people think. Citron, whose primary expertise/interest is in the business of sports and stadium financing, feels “there is no reason we can’t have an outdoor stadium.”

The entire proposal can be found here. A few highlights:

  • The weather. This is going to be the big argument against such a plan. Citron and Steinhauer don’t bother trying to avoid it, titling their first section: “The Myth that the Toronto climate makes an Outdoor Ballpark untenable for the Blue Jays.”

    According to their research, Detroit and Chicago (we’re talking White Sox, not Cubs) outdrew the Blue Jays in average home attendance for April games from 2006-09. Neither plays in a weather-controlled environment. Toronto doesn’t see a real large spike in attendance when the weather gets nicer. Detroit does. So does Cleveland. The point is the Dome isn’t a draw in either circumstance.

    It’s also argued that very few games get postponed anyway, but we’re eliminating that because major-league owners would rather sell their first-born children than refund tickets.

    As for the playoffs, “If you actually get to the post-season, people grin and bear it,” Citron said.

  • Variable pricing. It makes a lot of sense. Why not charge less for an April game than a July one? If you’re going to have an outdoor stadium, you’re going to need to provide incentive to come when it’s a bit cooler.

  • New stadiums lead to increased revenues and payroll. While the idea of raising payroll may not appeal to ownership, growing revenue sure does. And, with the Blue Jays not looking like a playoff contender anytime soon, maybe a new park would do it – just as long as the view isn’t of condominium construction.

As of yet, Citron/Steinhauer haven’t run this by the Blue Jays. In case Argonaut fans are curious about this, Citron doesn’t like the idea of a football/baseball hybrid. “I don’t like the sightlines, the things you have to do...it’s compromising from a baseball point of view.”

SkyDome was state-of-the-art when it opened in June 1989. But the next new ballpark was Camden Yards, built for $173 million. Instantly, the dome was dated from a baseball perspective. Since then, everybody’s going retro. The Minnesota Twins are now done with the Metrodome, going to an outdoor stadium next season. Toronto is now one of two domed, Astroturf parks remaining. The other is Tampa, and the Rays would move in a second if there was financing to do so.

And, that brings us to the magic word: Money. This project – which would not include a retractable roof – would be in the area of $300 million. That’s half of what SkyDome cost, and you can’t blame governments or taxpayers for being skittish about such a project after that fiasco.

The last half of the prospectus is all about financing, with the first sentence reading, “The Jays themselves should be expected to privately finance a large portion of the construction of a new ballpark.” But, yes, there are recommendations for public finding as well – for example, the possibility of ticket taxes if not direct government grants.

Realistically, though, what are the chances?

“I’m an optimist,” Citron says. “Fifty per cent, in this economy. Better economy, 80 per cent. You have to sell it as not just a ballpark, but a larger complex that will benefit people.”

Instead of building it downtown, he suggests putting it on the Lakeshore between the core and The Beaches. (For those of you unfamiliar with the city, it’s an area people have been trying to dress up for years.)

There are plenty of reasons to say no. But, there is a major reason to consider the possibility. The best way to sell tickets is winning. The organization is not in position to do that right now, especially with Roy Halladay’s future so much in question. Fans have made it clear they aren’t interested in watching a bad team at Rogers Centre. But, will they be more interested in doing it outdoors?

If the answer is yes, why not?

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