Demolition of Rogers Centre lower bowl complete as second phase of renovations begins

TORONTO — Rogers Centre is unrecognizable after extensive renovations began on the downtown Toronto ballpark last month.

The Toronto Blue Jays released photos of the demolition of most of the stadium's lower bowl on Tuesday. Photos and video show that the field and all the seats on the 100 level have been torn out.

The Major League Baseball team says that 29.5 million pounds of materials were removed from the stadium Oct. 13 to 26. That amount includes 26.5 million pounds of concrete and three million pounds of steel

A temporary bridge was installed over the site of the former seating bowl, according to the Blue Jays. At the peak of demolition and excavation work, 10 excavators were on site with 344 trucks cycling in and out of Rogers Centre over the temporary bridge in one day.

It's the second phase of renovations at Rogers Centre, which will become the sixth-oldest active MLB ballpark once the Athletics complete their move from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas.

Rogers Centre's upper bowl underwent significant changes last off-season.

For the new phase of demolition an average of 350 workers have been on site daily, more than three times the number of workers compared to phase one's demolition.

Formwork for the new build began and the first new concrete was poured on the same day demolition was completed. The Blue Jays say that 500 truckloads worth of concrete are expected to be poured to complete the project.

The first structural steel column was put up on Nov. 13. A total of 2.4 million pounds of structural steel has been fabricated offsite and will be installed at Rogers Centre to complete the project.

The team says that the second phase of Rogers Centre's renovations will be complete for the home opener on April 8.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2023.