Rogers Communications wants to tear down the Rogers Centre, formerly known as the SkyDome, to build a newer, smaller stadium in the same location according to The Globe and Mail. The telecoms giant played down the reports, issuing a statement hours later saying it did previously have plans for the Rogers Centre, but that those plans got put on hold because of the pandemic. (The Globe and Mail, CBC News)
Talking point: Rogers is reportedly planning to partner with the real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management to cut the Rogers Centre in half—the southern end of the current structure would be turned into a new baseball stadium while the northern end would be converted to residential, office and retail space. If the project doesn’t work on that site, they are reportedly considering Toronto’s Quayside waterfront district, the former site of Sidewalk Labs’ smart-city project, which the Google affiliate abandoned in May. The renovation would cost billions, and be privately funded by Brookfield and Rogers, pending numerous levels of government approval because the land on which the stadium sits is owned by the federal government. The Rogers-Brookfield partnership could see Rogers put up its lease on the stadium—which it purchased for $25 million in 2004—and Brookfield foot development costs.