No Canada: Blue Jays not allowed to play games in Toronto
The Blue Jays won't play their home games in Toronto this year because Canada's government doesn't think it's safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino on Saturday said the federal government had denied the Blue Jays' request to play at Rogers Centre.
"Unlike preseason training, regular-season games would require repeated cross-border travel of Blue Jays players and staff, as well as opponent teams into and out of Canada," Mendicino said. "Of particular concern, the Toronto Blue Jays would be required to play in locations where the risk of virus transmission remains high.
"Based on the best-available public health advice, we have concluded the cross-border travel required for MLB regular-season play would not adequately protect Canadians' health and safety. As a result, Canada will not be issuing a National Interest Exemption for the MLB's regular season at this time.''
The other 29 Major League Baseball teams plan to play in their home ballparks, without spectators, when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins on July 23.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start the season July 24 at Tampa Bay. Their home opener was set for July 29 against Washington.
The team, which was informed of the decision via a phone call and had previously been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play at Rogers Centre, issued a statement saying it "completely respects" the decision.
"The safety of the broader community -- our fans -- and the team remained the priority of everyone involved, and with that, the club completely respects the federal government's decision," Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Though our team will not be playing home games at Rogers Centre this summer, our players will take the field for the 2020 season with the same pride and passion representative of an entire nation. We cannot wait until the day comes that we can play in front of our fans again on Canadian soil."
Mendicino said the federal government is "open to considering future restart plans for the postseason should the risk of virus transmission diminish."
The Blue Jays said they are finalizing plans for an alternative site for regular-season home games. -- possibilities include their training facility in Dunedin, Florida, or the home of their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York. Both sites, however, pose issues.
Shapiro said player health is a concern in Florida, which is one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus. He said the team has spent more time examining Buffalo in recent days but said the stadium has infrastructure challenges. A lack of space in the clubhouse makes social distancing difficult, but Shapiro said some players could have their lockers set up in suites. Sahlen Field also needs upgrades to its field lights and its training facilities, he said.
"Dunedin is the only one that is 100% seamless right now and ready to go. That from a player health standpoint has some challenges," Shapiro said. "Buffalo is certainly one that we've spent an increasing amount of time on in the past few weeks. That is not done. There are some infrastructure and player-facility challenges to get that up to major league standards. And then we have other alternatives that are real that we continue to work through that may be better for us.''
He declined to say what other sites they are considering. He said they would look to improve batting cages, weight rooms and training rooms in Buffalo if it is picked.
"Buffalo is the place we've spent the most time on in the last 10 days,'' Shapiro said. "There is a lot we have to do. Some of it might get done after we start playing but I'm confident Buffalo is a viable alternative. With the amount of resources that we would marshal if we focused solely on Buffalo we can make it what it needs to be for us in time to play games.''
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said he'd love to see the Blue Jays play in his city.
MLB needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least Aug. 21.
COVID-19 cases are surging in the United States, while Canada has flattened the epidemic curve.
"In Canada you've seen us flatten the curve. You've seen that cases have decreased significantly and that is largely attributable to the sacrifices Canadians have made," Mendicino told The Associated Press. "We can ill afford a step back.
"We think this is the right call and it is backed by the evidence and advice of our health experts. And fans who still would like to see baseball will still be able to watch the broadcast, just from a different location."
The NHL has received an exemption for its restart to the season, but that was a far simpler case because the games are restricted to two hubs -- Edmonton and Toronto.
The Blue Jays received an exemption for summer camp, during which the players agreed to isolate in the hotel attached to Rogers Centre and create a quarantine environment. Players are not allowed to leave the stadium or hotel and violators face fines of up to $750,000 Canadian ($551,000 U.S.) and up to six months in jail.
Prior to Saturday's announcement, there had been discussions between the Blue Jays and players about the team paying off apartment leases, housing players at the Rogers Centre Marriott and giving hardship pay of $20,000 or more, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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