Field of Dreams

Next year, the Minnesota Twins will play baseball at a new outdoor field. Foolish or not, outdoor baseball in Minnesota will reduce to two the number of artificial turf stadiums in Major League Baseball –Toronto and Tampa Bay being the culprits. Furthermore, since Tropicana Field is baseball-specific, Toronto’s will be the only stadium with a reduced-dirt infield (no dirt between the bases), which is necessary for quick conversion of the field. This baseball embarassment hurts the field’s aesthetic which already suffers from the visible FieldTurf panel seams. (Why doesn’t the Metrodome have this problem too?)

So, is it time for a baseball-specific outdoor stadium in Toronto? There may be no money to pay for it. But where might we build it? A brief survey of downtown shows a potential location on Queen’s Quay between Freeland and the Loblaw's on Lower Jarvis. These two blocks (Cooper street would have to close) are surface parking lots save for the LCBO distribution warehouse which would be properly relocated to the 905. The site is roughly equidistant from Union station as the former SkyDome, and is adjacent to Waterfront Toronto’s East Bayfront development area.