Key Takeaways:
- This season, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays will see their team in a whole new light — literally — at Rogers Centre.
- The Blue Jays believe that the upgraded amenities inside the stadium will improve the viewing experience for fans and those watching on television at home.
- The light arrays now have 532 new LED fixtures, 48 of which are RGBW, allowing game operations to broadcast any color wherever in the venue.
At Rogers Centre, this season, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays will view their club in a whole new light — literally.
Hundreds of new lights have been placed in the stadium in downtown Toronto and a fresh new 8,000 square foot video board with two new lower wings and side ribbons that wrap around the stadium in time for Friday’s home opener against the Texas Rangers.
The Blue Jays feel that the stadium’s new amenities will enhance the viewing experience for those in the stadium as well as those watching on television at home.
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According to Paul Zuschlag, senior manager of facilities maintenance, “makes things pop, it makes things look high definition, even though they’re not.” “Until you see it in person, it’s difficult to understand.”
There are 532 new LED fixtures in the light arrays, 48 of which are RGBW, allowing game operations to project any color wherever in the venue. The new lights, according to Zuschlag, will be especially useful for concerts and special events, such as transforming the stadium into a rainbow for Pride Week or bathing it in red and white for Canada Day.
The LED lights will not be any brighter than the old fixtures during Blue Jays games, but they will be more consistent, with no bright or dark areas on the field.
“This technology is standard; we have it in 16 other ballparks without RGBW right now, and we’re the first in Major League Baseball to have RGBW,” Zuschlag added. “It’s the same system they’ve been using in Houston, New York, and Miami.”
Fans will also be drawn to the new scoreboard, which looms over the center field and wraps around the ballpark’s top deck. It’s “higher than high definition,” said Mike Christiansen, the Blue Jays’ head of technical production, because it uses a 1080p feed with richer colors and resolution than the panel it replaced.
“There’s a lot more square footage as well as real estate for us to put up additional stats on the scoreboard during at-bats,” Christiansen explained. “It allows us to put more items dead center, and it allows you to see the images and typography more clearly since the quality is so high.” “All the time, we’re going to put as much as we can on the scoreboard.”
On the concourse at Rogers Centre, the fan experience will be unique.
The Hangry Canadian burger with bacon & cheese curds will debut at Rogers Centre, while typical ballpark fare such as foot-long hotdogs will remain available. Field of Greens, a new concession stand featuring vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, as well as a Mary Brown’s Fried Chicken, have been added to the stadium’s roster.
At Blue Jays games, beer lovers will have a plethora of new options, with three new brewers at the stadium and a special partnership with Mill Street Brewery dubbed Blue Wave added to the menus.
“It’s a rallying cry in a can for our supporters,” Blue Wave’s head of fan services, Christine Robertson, said. “It’s a cross between a light lager and a luscious IPA.”
A promotion of some sort will be featured in 54 of Toronto’s 81 home games. Bobbleheads of veteran center fielder George Springer, all-star shortstop Bo Bichette — with genuine hair — and Hello Kitty are among the highlights.
The Canadian Press initially published this information on April 6, 2022.
Source: CTV news
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