Rogers Centre Expectations: Home of the Toronto Blue Jays

Well here we are! After two years of careful planning, budgeting and building excitement, the great American road trip is set to begin! First stop, Canada?! Makes sense right? The first stop on our tour will be the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. This is a special stop on the trip because it is one of the three places where we will be seeing two games. Here are our expectations of the Rogers Centre.

Rogers Centre Stadium Expectations

To be honest, we had been to the Rogers Centre before back in August 2015 so we kind of know what to expect. There is nothing inherently wrong with the Rogers Centre but there is nothing that really makes it stand out, especially when compared to other dome stadiums. The stadium opened in 1989 so we remember it being a bit outdated. There was nothing that made it aesthetically pleasing as you would see with some of the more modern stadiums. We were born in 1988 so it kind of hurt calling something that opened in 1989 outdated! If it is a sunny day, we expect the roof to be open and have the sunlight shine through. Marc has only gotten sunburn one time at a baseball game and ironically it was in Toronto and not in a place that is known to be chronically hot like Atlanta or Arizona. If the weather is poor, we expect the roof to be closed. The last time we had been to the Rogers Centre, we looked up and spotted the hotel rooms located in the outfield. It will be different this time because when we look up at those same rooms, we will have experienced them for ourselves. However, there have been a few renovations and upgrades that could be promising.

Game Expectations at the Rogers Centre

Friday (4/12/24)-Colorado Rockies @ Toronto Blue Jays (Toronto Marriott Center City Hotel-Stadium View Room)

The first of two games in Toronto is on Friday, April 12^th, where the Blue Jays take on the Rockies. For years, the baseball world has been talking about the hotel that is attached to the Rogers Centre where you can open your blinds and see the game. That hotel would be the Toronto Marriott Center City. So naturally, we booked a room for an astronomical amount of money. Marc has a busy week at work and will be working until late into the afternoon. Therefore, after work, we are “already at the game.” All that needs to be done is close the laptop, open the blinds and there is the game! We are very much looking forward to it because we will be at an MLB baseball game but have a totally intimate environment where it is just us. We will likely order food and open a bottle of wine to celebrate the start of this trip and ironically this trip will take place on the nine year anniversary of our first date. Not sure if there is a way to sample some of the stadium food/beer through the hotel but that is something that is on our radar to try. We expect an amazing, once in a lifetime baseball experience even though the game likely will not be close. The Rockies are a historically bad team and we expect the Blue Jays to annihilate them, despite the name Blue Jays not being incredibly intimidating. As a side note, Marc already promised to not be immature and make any gestures that would bring attention to our room from the whole stadium.

Marc’s Score Prediction: Blue Jays 7 Rockies 2

Brittny’s Score Prediction: Blue Jays 5 Rockies 1

Saturday (4/13/24)-Colorado Rockies @ Toronto Blue Jays (In-Stadium)

The second of two games in Toronto is on Saturday, April 13^th, where the Blue Jays will once again take on the abysmal Colorado Rockies. This time we will be in the stadium for the game with a 3:07pm start time. The hotel checkout when there is a day game is 10am so we will plan to walk around Toronto and take in some of the sights before the gates open. Our seats are in section 148B in the outfield in the front row. So, on a deep fly ball, we will probably make a few appearances on the local broadcast if anyone is watching in Toronto or any of the three Rockies fans that have the game on. One place in the stadium that is intriguing to see is the newly constructed “Outfield District” which includes new bars with extraordinary food items. The Blue Jays roster is loaded with superstars including Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette, and Kevin Gausman who always are exciting to watch. I look forward to this game.

Marc’s Score Prediction: Blue Jays 9 Rockies 3

Brittny’s Score Prediction: Blue Jays 5 Rockies 2

Food Expectations

Here is the culinary starting lineup for the Rogers Centre that we pre-selected:

• Poutine Hotdog
• Peameal on a Bun
• Canadian Caesar Hot Dog
• Oreo Churro
• Blueberry Popcorn
• OK Blue Jays Rum Punch

The newly renovated “Outfield District” consists of six bars with unique food and beverage items that range from a poutine hot dog to peameal on a bun to specialized mac and cheese. (In case you live under a rock like Brittny, poutine is a Canadian specialty consisting of cheese curds and brown gravy over French fries.) We are looking forward to trying food from this location in the stadium.

Beer Expectations

There are many craft beer options to choose from. If you remember our rules, the craft beers that meet our criteria are the following. We hope to try one craft beer each on Saturday and hopefully a few of these on Friday, since we are driving out of town after the game on Saturday. These are the craft beers that were listed on the Rogers Centre website.

• Beau’s Lug Tread
• Bellswood Jelly King Sour
• Bellswood Jutsu Pale Ale
• Collective Arts Lost in the Clouds IPA
• Henderson Gold Rush Ale
• Mill Street 100^th Meridian
• Mill Street Blue Wave
• Mill Street Organic
• Mill Street Organic Haze Phaze IPA
• Mill Street Pineapple Sour
• Oast Barnraiser Pale Ale

Rogers Centre Bucket List

We built a bucket list of things to do/see in and or around the Rogers Centre. We hope to accomplish everything on the list and will score our success by how many we were able to complete.

• See a game from Toronto Marriott Center City hotel
• Visit the top of the CN Tower and see the view of the Rogers Centre
• Try the foods listed on our pre-selected menu
• Try 2-3 of the local craft beers on the list above
• Photo of/with Ace, the Blue Jays Mascot
• Full stadium photo
• Scoreboard photo
• Buy a Blue Jays related souvenir
• Get a foul ball/baseball
• See the mascot race
• Photos from different vantage points throughout the ballpark
• Scorecard
• Visit the Blue Jays Hall of Fame
• Get on local broadcast television
• Photo of Rogers Centre sign
• Get at least one autograph
• Go on a tour of the stadium
• Visit the Legend’s Row Roberto Alomar, Tom Cheek, and Joe Carter statues

Let’s see how our experience matches up to our expectations of the Rogers Centre. Will it be better, worse or right on par? Let us know what you think!