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Work is well underway on the multi-year Rogers Centre renovation following Rogers Stadium Limited Partnership awarding the first phase of the renovation project to PCL Constructors Canada, Inc. (Toronto) in October 2022.
Work being completed this offseason is part of a $300 million multi-year renovation that aims to transform the 33-year-old multi-purpose stadium into a ballpark through a series of projects focused on modernizing the fan experience and building world-class player facilities.
“PCL and our partners are passionate about bringing the Toronto Blue Jays’ reimagined vision for Rogers Centre to life,” says Monique Buckberger, vice president and district manager, PCL Toronto. “Following months of preconstruction planning, our team hit the ground running on the first phase of renovations to give the home of Canada’s Major League Baseball team a new look for the 2023 Home Opener.”
To meet the fast-track schedule, work is being sequenced in two shifts over a six-day work week. Demolition to bring portions of the stadium back to base is already nearing completion, enabling next steps, which opens to fans on the 2023 season Blue Jays Home Opener (April 11), including:
Field level:
• Players’ family room.
• 5,000 sq. ft. weight room.
• Staff locker rooms.
100 level and 200 level outfield:
• Creation of multiple new social spaces with patios, drink rails, bars, and viewing platforms.
• Raised bullpens surrounded by traditional and new bleacher seats, as well as social viewing areas that look into the bullpens to increase fan and player interaction.
• 100 level seats brought forward to the new outfield walls to brings fans closer to the game.
500 level:
• Two new social decks in right and left field.
• Replacing every 500-level seat from the originals when the building opened.
Rogers Centre was conceptualized as a multi-purpose stadium when it opened in 1989 and has not undergone a large-scale renovation in its 33-year history. The scope of this project will address the most important challenges with the current stadium, while not rushing the necessary long-term work needed to maintain the ballpark for future generations of fans.
Fast facts:
Demolition
• The demolition began October 14 with 500L seat removal (all to be replaced for the 2023 season), followed by structural demolition of the outfield beginning on October 20.
• The demolition was completed last week (November 18), culminating in 35 days of work and approximately 21,000 worker hours.
• An average of about 110 workers have been on site daily, six days per week, including about 50 workers dedicated to demolition.
• 2.2 million pounds of materials have been recycled from the stadium, including:
- 1.3 million pounds of concrete.
- 900,000 pounds of steel and metal.
• A 200-tonne crane was used for heavy structural removal, while small machinery was utilized to break up concrete.
• PCL Construction is the club’s construction partner for the first phase of projects, to be completed before the Blue Jays Home Opener on April 11, 2023.
• The outfield turf has been protected or removed in certain areas to facilitate construction, while the infield remains accessible to the Blue Jays Field Operations team to continue offseason work.
500L seats
• It took approximately one month to remove the 500L seats (around 17,000) and railings (October 14 to November 11).
• Two mobile cranes (90 tonne and 50 tonne) were used to bring the seats down from the 500L.
• New seats will be delivered in January 2023.
New build
• The size of the stadium allows for multiple projects to progress at the same time, so while demolition was being completed, building began the second week of November with concrete poured in the 500L and new structural steel installation.
About PCL Construction
PCL (pcl.com) is a group of independent construction companies that carries out work across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Australia. These diverse operations in the civil infrastructure, heavy industrial, and buildings markets are supported by a strategic presence in more than 30 major centers. Together, these companies have an annual construction volume of more than $8 billion, making PCL the largest contracting organization in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
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