rogers centre guide
The Rogers Centre is home to the Toronto Blue Jays and is formerly known as Sky Dome. Many people are still pretty bitter about the fact that it has been renamed, and refuse to call it anything but Skydome. At one time this was considered something like the ballpark of the future, with its retractable roof dome. Those days are over. This park is now known as a little bit of a dinosaur compared to its contemporaries, but the prices can still be modern day expensive. Lets try to stop that.
parking
There is really nowhere to park for free at the Rogers Centre (at least that I know of). Usually metered parking is good for this, but in Toronto the meters are in effect practically all night long. So there is really no benefit to parking on the street, because you would have to feed the meter constantly – which isn’t possible.
The parking at the stadium is pretty expensive, about $20. The one major plus for parking in the Rogers Centre is that it has elevator access to the field. Cheap Fan ContestSo the walking to and from your car is practically nil. If you park in a private lot outside of the stadium, you will pay around $12 -15 and have to walk to the stadium and enter the more traditional way. Depending on who you are it might be worth it to pay a little extra to park in the stadium for the convenience factor. My dad would definitely be a pay $20 and park in the Rogers Centre guy.
You can also take the Go Train to the Jays game. The public transportation drops you off within a few blocks of Rogers Centre, but the cost of a ticket varies depending on where you are coming from. If you are from Toronto, you probably know that. If you are staying in town you may want to keep that in mind when you are weighing whether or not to drive. Here is a fare calculator that may help you decide if it makes more sense to ride or drive to Rogers Centre.
No matter how you decide to travel to the Jays game, leave yourself plenty of time. The gridlock in the heart of downtown gets pretty nasty, so getting in and out can be a mess. If you are from out of town and get lost, just look for the big tower – its near that.
tickets
Blue Jays tickets are not exactly in demand. What that means is you can find great value tickets to games at Rogers Centre. The best crowds will be when the Red Sox and Yankees are in town, but most of the fans will be cheering for the visitor.
You can get an idea from the picture above of what you are going to find in the cheap seats at Rogers Centre. Really the infield upper deck seats aren’t too bad, and for most games they face for under $10. They do have a strange element where there is a metal bar between each row. You may have seen this at places like Shea and the old Yankee Stadium, but I think this is the only place with these bars in every row. I don’t think they will be in your way, it’s just odd and worth noting.
The prices shoot up pretty quickly after that, for over double the price you can sit in the second deck of the outfield. I think out there you feel quite far away from the action. You also lose your view of the big screen in center field. That typically provides a good amount of between inning entertainment and statistics for the players during the game.
Another way to maximize your dollar is to plan ahead. Ideally you should be flexible when you are going to the game. That will allow you to be choosy on finding the best ticket deal. Check Stubhub and Ebay for potential below face value deals. I have found that eBay works best for finding these types of deals, especially auction format.
Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
parking
There is really nowhere to park for free at the Rogers Centre (at least that I know of). Usually metered parking is good for this, but in Toronto the meters are in effect practically all night long. So there is really no benefit to parking on the street, because you would have to feed the meter constantly – which isn’t possible.
The parking at the stadium is pretty expensive, about $20. The one major plus for parking in the Rogers Centre is that it has elevator access to the field. Cheap Fan ContestSo the walking to and from your car is practically nil. If you park in a private lot outside of the stadium, you will pay around $12 -15 and have to walk to the stadium and enter the more traditional way. Depending on who you are it might be worth it to pay a little extra to park in the stadium for the convenience factor. My dad would definitely be a pay $20 and park in the Rogers Centre guy.
You can also take the Go Train to the Jays game. The public transportation drops you off within a few blocks of Rogers Centre, but the cost of a ticket varies depending on where you are coming from. If you are from Toronto, you probably know that. If you are staying in town you may want to keep that in mind when you are weighing whether or not to drive. Here is a fare calculator that may help you decide if it makes more sense to ride or drive to Rogers Centre.
No matter how you decide to travel to the Jays game, leave yourself plenty of time. The gridlock in the heart of downtown gets pretty nasty, so getting in and out can be a mess. If you are from out of town and get lost, just look for the big tower – its near that.
tickets
Blue Jays tickets are not exactly in demand. What that means is you can find great value tickets to games at Rogers Centre. The best crowds will be when the Red Sox and Yankees are in town, but most of the fans will be cheering for the visitor.
You can get an idea from the picture above of what you are going to find in the cheap seats at Rogers Centre. Really the infield upper deck seats aren’t too bad, and for most games they face for under $10. They do have a strange element where there is a metal bar between each row. You may have seen this at places like Shea and the old Yankee Stadium, but I think this is the only place with these bars in every row. I don’t think they will be in your way, it’s just odd and worth noting.
The prices shoot up pretty quickly after that, for over double the price you can sit in the second deck of the outfield. I think out there you feel quite far away from the action. You also lose your view of the big screen in center field. That typically provides a good amount of between inning entertainment and statistics for the players during the game.
Another way to maximize your dollar is to plan ahead. Ideally you should be flexible when you are going to the game. That will allow you to be choosy on finding the best ticket deal. Check Stubhub and Ebay for potential below face value deals. I have found that eBay works best for finding these types of deals, especially auction format.
Here is my advice for ticket buying on eBay; wait until the last minute. I know that sounds crazy, and you would think that closer to the event the prices would shoot up; but that is not the case. I have bought and sold plenty of tickets on eBay and I have found that when I sell them early I get top dollar because there is less competition. As the event gets closer, everybody in America who is selling tickets begins to list them at auction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the market is flooded with supply the price is driven down. I don't know if there are any published numbers to back me up, but I have seen it time and time again. So if buying on eBay, buy late. Here are a couple of auctions ending soon with a current bid under $50.
I personally just wouldn’t pay extra to sit in the infield for a Jay’s game, its not worth it to me. I would only do it if I found a below face value deal like I mentioned above. You will also see plenty of scalpers at the ballpark, and many of them will give tickets for under face. This becomes even easier the closer you get to game time.
You also may know that Rogers Centre has an attached hotel. An interesting way to splurge may be to eat at the restaurant overlooking the stadium. You have to spend $50 a person on game nights, but you can call ahead to reserve a window seat so you get the game action for free. Infield box seats will cost you more than this, and the restaurant option actually includes a nice dinner. Here is a link to the Arriba restaurant so you can check out the menu and make reservations if you would like.
food
You are allowed to take food into a Blue Jays game. The only request from the team is that you have it in some sort of bag or container. I guess they don’t want you tracking a mess into the ballpark. Rogers Centre also permits non alcoholic beverages to be brought in if they are 20 oz or less.
The concession prices at Skydome (for old time’s sake) are about what you’d expect – astronomical. The selection is relatively bland as well, so there is nothing to really look forward to.
Depending on how you arrive at the stadium, you will see plenty of vendors outside and can usually find a better deal on a hot dog or other snack out there. Don’t be afraid to take it in with you to enjoy during the game.