Demolition Complete Inside Toronto’s Rogers Centre

The Toronto Blue Jays have completed the first stage of its $300 million renovation of Rogers Centre with demolition finished as crews begin to build new infrastructure within the stadium as part of a two-year project.

This offseason’s renovation will focus on the upper level and outfield seating. All 17,000 seats that were part of the 500 level have been torn up and will be replaced in the winter. Significant work has also been done to the outfield, which will take on a new look in 2023.

The offseason’s lower level work will include new social spaces and bars, raised bullpens and 100 Level seats brought closer to the field. There will also be renovations to player facilities. More work next offseason will include further overhauls to the the 100 Level and player facilities.

“We are committed to building a sustainable championship organization for years to come, and this renovation to Rogers Centre will give new and lifelong Blue Jays fans a ballpark where they can proudly cheer on their team,” said Mark Shapiro, Toronto’s president and chief executive officer.

The Blue Jays say 2.2 million pounds of materials have been recycled in the process, including 1.3 million pounds of concrete and 900,000 pounds of steel. Over the 35-day demolition, the average construction crew size each day was 110 workers inside Rogers Centre, six days a week.

Known as the SkyDome when it opened in 1989 with the first retractable roof in sports venue history, Rogers Centre was designed as a multi-purpose stadium supporting both MLB baseball and Canadian Football League action. The Blue Jays said in a statement that the renovations “will address the most important challenges with the current ballpark, while not rushing the necessary long-term work needed to maintain the ballpark for future generations of fans.”