PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan)- The Blue Jays have essentially been kicked out of Toronto to play their home games in 2020. Border restrictions and the uncertainty in traveling to cities across the United States has Canada shutting out its lone MLB team.
"It sounds like what they're looking at in Pittsburgh at PNC could be where they end up going. Another strong option for them would be their AAA park in Buffalo. But, their preference and definitely the preference of the players is to be at a Major League park just to limit the disadvantage. Now, of course there's going to be some scheduling overlaps and some things they would need to work through. But, the team is certainly encourages by the Pirates support with the statement that came out yesterday (from president Travis Williams).
Everybody would love to play at PNC. That's a park that everyone loves to go to so that helps as well. But, fitting in that sort of hybrid model where the Blue Jays are sharing a ballpark and whether they will get all 30 home games we'll see or just 25 and they'll need to find a home for the other five. A lot up in the air for the Blue Jays right now, it's not an ideal situation and they could use some help."
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Another factor for why Pittsburgh makes sense? Space.
"That's an issue with an option like Buffalo. Do you have to use the concourse? Do you have to build another dugout up into the stands? Are you using suites for players to get ready in? It's a re-imagining of space as team president Mark Shapiro called it and that takes a lot of work. So if they can find a building like PNC, where the space is there and the actual infrastructure is there, that's the big issue. Having the weight rooms, the clubhouses that are big enough, I think that's what the Jays are targeting."
Matheson also said that the wiring within the stadium, set up and ready to go for a quality, Major League broadcast is another reason why Toronto is eyeing up PNC Park.