The Blue Jays have spent the first month-plus of the 2021 season playing their home games at their Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Fla., but the team announced Wednesday that beginning June 1, they’ll move their home games to Buffalo’s Sahlen Field — the home of their Triple-A affiliate and the site of last summer’s home games. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported on the move back to Buffalo shortly before the Jays made the formal announcement.
Per the announcement, the Blue Jays are in the process of a renovation project at Sahlen Field in order to prepare the facility for compliance with health-and-safety protocols associated with the return of fans. There are also updates being made to the field of play itself and the facilities, which include moving the bullpens off the field and behind the outfield walls, installing new batting cages beyond the right field wall, re-sodding the outfield grass, a new weight room, updated clubhouse facilities and updates to the stadium lighting. While those renovations are ongoing, they’re expected to be completed prior to June 1. The Bisons, meanwhile, are playing their home games out of Trenton, N.J. to accommodate the Blue Jays’ relocation and the ongoing renovations, Davidi points out.
The move to Sahlen Field is indefinite, as a return to Toronto is dependent on government regulations and recommendations of medical experts in Canada. For the time being, the Jays extended thanks the city of Buffalo and to Bisons ownership, expressing excitement over the ability to return to the site of their “strong 2020 campaign, this time with in-person cheers from Buffalo-area fans.”
The Jays will open Sahlen Field at 24 percent capacity and begin selling tickets the morning of May 13. You can see their full press release here (courtesy of MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, on Twitter).
Why don’t they just officially move to Buffalo and be done with it? In the post 9/11 and post Covid world having a league operate in two different countries is a logistical nightmare. Toronto is a great city, I loved my visit there, but it just seems to be more trouble than it is worth right now.
The Canadian government is full of leftist pantywaists who enjoy the control over their citizenry. There is no medical or scientific reason that MLB can’t play in Toronto. MLB should call the Canadian politicians out on this, but then it is full of leftist pantywaists too. See All Star Game, Atlanta.
Massive merchandising opportunity if they change their name to the Buffalo Blue Jays just for this season. I’m a Boston fan and I might buy one of those jerseys!
Remember the Canadians are subjects not citizens
You’re such a tool. I lived in Toronto for a year and enjoyed my experience. I Bet you’ve never been to Canada.
He is technically correct as we have a Queen as a head of state. We are subjects to the Queen of Canada. However, we are still Canadian citizens.
thank you for proving my point, the mitigation procedures WE PUT IN PLACE -, OWS, lock down, etc. saved about 1.7 million lives. In spite of Governor Cuomo.
I was planning on visiting soon, but man the police state up there is getting out of control. Government over reach and corruption skyrocketing in one of the nicest countries on earth.
Lmao
Most accurate post in here.
Yankees will now be the 3rd best team in NY lol.
Cause the Mets are so good right now
I’m sorry we didn’t get to play Detroit like 6 times lol
Mets played the Marlins. They played the Rockies. Every team plays last place teams.
No. Cause the yankees are bad. Get with the program. Jk, let there by 162, then decide.
And the Mets are 4th behind the Yankees, Bisons and Bills
So they’re better than the Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Devils, Islanders, etc. Not that it’s much of an accomplishment, sadly.
mmmmmm…someone isn’t very good at math, @mestfan22 (meaning: you!).
Yanks (10-3 in their last 13 – one’ve the hottest teams in MLB) moved ahead of the Jay’s last night. While the mets continue to wallow below .500. What a mess that club is lol. Firing your hitting coach at the 25 game mark?
Panic city!
Looking at how things stand (again using very basic math skills) it is: Yanks. Blue Jays. mets.
Which seems about right, uh?
I hope you find this information helpful, bro.
@MetsFan22- yeah, if Lindor ever hits? The Jays are too good for Dunedin, so they have to go back to Buffalo. A 3rd team isn’t needed in New York. The Jays should just stay in Dunedin.
I grew up in Buffalo. It consists mostly of Yankees fans and bandwagon Red Sox fans who started watching baseball in 2004.
Anyway, it’s great to hear that the Jays will be back in June. It will take people’s minds off of the atrocious Sabres season that is mercifully ending shortly.
I have to give credit to Shapiro for getting the team through all the covid challenges. What really needs to happen in Canada is a new Prime Minister, one that isn’t such a Marxist dictator and the Jays could be playing back in T.O.
You mean like the 2 conservative PMs who are the cause of Canada not having its own vaccine production ? Brilliant as always.
We do produce vaccines. Trudeau just ignored them and teamed up with China. Also, Trudeau was in power for 4 years before the pandemic, if he wanted to change our domestic vaccine production he had plenty of time to do it. But unfortunately he is an idiot.
When people elect an idiot, it means they’re idiots.
2016-2020. USA. Idiot-in-chief. I rest my case.
No we do not have a facility capable of producing Covid vaccine. That went out the door during the Mulroney era and after Sars , Harper ignored recommendations that there be a university based facility. Go read up on the history of vaccine production in Canada. If you seriously think O’toole could have done a better job with this you are dreaming.
As for Trudeau teaming up with the Chinese , that was a mistake but the US under Trump was not trustworthy after he tried to block 3m from sending Canada PPE. Thus the reason we are buying vaccine from Pfizer’s factory in Belgium vs across the border in Michigan.
yes, several millions of people are idiots. what a great way to extend the olive branch.
Yes. Yes a million times yes we would be better off with O’Toole. We would have been better off with almost anyone else in charge. Trudeau is a liar. Ethically challenged. Corrupt. Inept. He has so many scandals surrounding him it borders on the ridiculous. He screwed up vaccine acquisition. He lied about it. He allowed rampant sexual harrassment in the military. Lied about it. Bullied 3 female MPs until they quit. Lied about it. The list goes on. He is terrible.
Its true though. People who voted for this man after knowing about him assaulting a woman and wearing blackface so many times he can’t remember, are idiots.
Ellis, O’Toole is a weak buffoon. Everything else you said is accurate.
2020-? (removed for incompetence prior to 2024)
Worthless moron who can’t even read from a teleprompter.
Anytime I can hijack a baseball website with my political takes, I do it, because it shows how well versed I am in that subject. This is a normal mindset.
And is this the thread where we can introduce divisive religious topics too?
With Canada wanting a vax passport isn’t it going to be hard for MLB who aren’t vaccinated to play away games in Toronto?
Why wouldn’t MLB require everyone to get vaccinated? Are they that stupid?
Um, yes, sadly.
because maybe they dont believe they should be demanding it? a large portion of the population ha already gotten it already even with most businesses not requiring passports/requiring employees to get vaccinated. simply not demanding something of someone is not stupidity.
Eat your vegetables or no dessert.
Waaah, you’re taking away my freedom!
Waaah.
Waaah.
wow, that’s funny, I never said anything about that. I cant comment on the success of vaccinations without most having been required to get it? I never said you shouldnt or cant require it, just that it may not be nessicary.
Politician = a person who convinces the voters that everything that is wrong is someone else’s fault so they can win and then make things even worse.
I was hopeful they would be able to get back to Toronto by July for home games but that is looking less and less likely with vaccinations taking longer than expected here. Unfortunate, but the new Renos look decent in Buffalo. Hopefully if they make the playoffs they can have a game here.
Can’t wait to watch baseball in person again, so jealous every time I see the US stands with people
If Toronto doesn’t want the Blue Jays then maybe the Blue Jays should find a government that actually wants them. I’m sure there are many.
Toronto Bison. Buffalo Blue Jays. A name change is in order!
just great how every one of these articles turns into international mudslinging. good grief people.
Anybody that thinks the Jays are moving, or should move from Toronto, does not know what they are talking about. They Jays are owned by a massive communications company that use the Jays as content for their TV, internet, entertainment packages. Money is not an issue.
They have a rabid fanbase of 38 million people that extends across the country. They consistently get great ratings. Check out what happens when the Jays go to Seattle, western Canadians take over the stadium, and its like a home game for the Jays. Many fans go to Minni too.
Dealing with passports is not an impediment. Everyone else in the world seems to be able to figure them our, and teams have many support people to take care of that, plus players have agents.
The team is willing to spend money. They just build one of the nicest training facilities in Dunedin, and have done renovations two years in a row to Buffalo, that will result in an excellent AAA facility.
In short, the Jays will not be leaving Toronto, no matter how ignorant you are.
All true. That massive conglomerate needs to build a better/great stadium for the Jays to play in.
yeah I think the sticking point of the border is clearly the issue here and as much as I have some reservations about how Canada handles the situation I applaud them for not throwing away what they believe to be right simply to facilitate sports. It sucks for the Jays but they know why this is happening and know to understand and accept this.
As soon as the Blue Jays are allowed to go back to Toronto, just move the Rays to Buffalo.
Problem solved, everyone’s happy.
It’s kinda laughable that the Blue Jays can’t play in Toronto.
They should definitely rock a Buffalo jersey this year, that’d be cool
Buffalo wore Trenton jerseys yesterday, which was neat.
And this is why comments used to be closed
There’s no telling how many lives have been saved by having them in Dunedin.