Time has come for a makeover to the SkyDome, er, . . . , Rogers Centre

By Cameron French

There was a small window in the early 1990s when Toronto wasn’t a regular on the “worst stadiums” list. Before that, we had the old Exhibition Stadium, which was so bad that some of the seats didn’t even face the field. In 1989 the SkyDome opened, and everyone liked it for a few years until the novelty of a moving roof wore off and everyone got a look at Baltimore’s Camden Yards and went: “Oh yeahhhh, we should have done that.”

The Dome (sorry . . . . Rogers Centre) isn’t going anywhere, and high-tech fake grass can only go so far in fooling us into thinking it’s a real ballpark. So, here are a few ideas to make the Lake Ontario Folly a bit less awful.

1. Lose the roof, or at least keep it open.

The roof was kind of a stunt in the first place, which I guess makes sense for a city used to stunts (hello, world’s largest free-standing restaurant). But it makes no sense for a summer sport in a city with normal precipitation. There’s nothing more depressing than a half-empty dome with the roof closed, echoing with the voice of the kid hawking beer three sections over. With it open, you can close your eyes and at least pretend you’re at a real ballpark.

But the maddening thing is that Rogers seems to look for excuses to keep it closed. They won’t unseal it in April, and they seem to do it in May only if there’s an ironclad guarantee of sunny and 25 C. So you walk down to the ballpark in a light jacket and shades for a spring matinee and then file in to an airplane hanger.

Accept the early-season chill, accept rain delays (part of the game, dude), put in real grass, buy a blue riding mower, and enjoy the open air. If New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland are tough enough to handle an April evening, why aren’t we?

2. A splash of colour.

I know the colour “scheme” was figured out with the Blue Jay and Argos in mind, but the concrete and blue thing is way too Wal-Mart. We can spice it up and still support the home team. Paint the seats for starters. You can go green for the natural look, or do a multicolour thing (“Daddy, we’re in the orange section!”). And cover up the concrete, or at least some of it. Fake brick, flagstone, cedar shingles. Maybe bring in the white marble slabs left over from the First Canadian Place makeover. Just do something about the concrete. The place has looked unfinished for 26 years.

3. Add an irregularity.

The great ballparks all have something unique. Fenway’s got the Green Monster. Minute Maid Park in Houston has a hill in centre field. The Royals have that fountain. The Dome needs something like that. What about converting the 200 level seats in right field into a big beer garden that extends out over the field? You can hear Buck Martinez with the call: “Look out! Bautista’s put another one onto the patio!” Free pitcher if you can catch the ball in your pint glass.

4. Embrace the history.

Sure, they’ve got the Level of Excellence and all that, but it has to go deeper. If you want us to live and die by the Jays, we need the heroes to be shoved down our throats. Give us concessions named after players. Barfield’s Barbecue and Stieb’s Stir-Fried Yams. Moseby’s Mosey-On-In For-A-Cold-One Saloon. Get the picture? This team has been around for almost 40 years, has won two World Series, produced MVP and Cy Young winners, and the ballpark was home to one of the greatest second basement ever (Literally. Roberto Alomar lived in the hotel. It’s true). That’s a history.

5. Which brings us to… the statue.

What is it about media guys named Ted? And no disrespect to Mr. Rogers; he was clearly a great Canadian. But that statue of him outside the Dome is the kind of thing the baseball gods frown on. The other Ted, Turner, named the Braves ballpark after himself, when more than a few people were thinking that Braves legend Hank Aaron would be a more appropriate namesake.

But at least Ted Turner likes baseball. Rogers didn’t. So it feels like there could be better statue options, like Alomar in mid-air pivot, or Roy Halladay leaning in for the sign. Or maybe it could commemorate a big moment at the Dome. Wasn’t there one once? Something about Joe Carter and a deep fly to left? I’ll go get a chisel.

6. A light show.

Okay, here’s where we let the dome get high-tech again, because the in-game gimmicks are tired. That whistle when the ball goes out of play? Snore! Let’s borrow a page from the Leafs and Raptors, which crank out a pretty decent pre-game light show. This is where the dome could shine, with all the blank concrete and wraparound fifth-deck seating. Instead of The Wave, imagine seeing actual waves surging along the upper levels. Or a 3D laser Devon White crashing up against the centre-field wall during the seventh-inning stretch. You could even use the CN Tower, which you can see from most of the seats (when the Dome’s open, see above). Imagine it exploding with strobes on every home run, or glowing green when the Jays are ahead and red when they’re behind, like a baseball barometer for the city. We should be aiming for Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies territory. Rogers is a telecom company, for Pete’s sake.

7. Change the name back.

Carter didn’t hit the big World Series home run at the Rogers Centre. He hit it at the SkyDome. It may have been a dumb name at first, but we accepted it, and it’s inextricably tied to the best sports era in this city that any non-boomer can remember. I’m not totally against corporate naming rights, but changing the name midstream is an insult to the fan base. Just ask Ottawa fans what their hockey arena’s called, but do it fast before Shopper’s Drug Mart buys up the rights next week and renames it Optimum Gardens. If Rogers had gone halfway and named it the Rogers SkyDome, I might be cool with that. But it’s too late. Back to SkyDome. Full stop.