Toronto Blue Jays tickets

BILLED AS THE WORLD'S Greatest Entertainment Center, Toronto's Skydome boasts an elaborate hotel and several restaurants, including the ubiquitous Hard Rock Cafe and numerous McDonald's scattered throughout the huge building. With its glitz and vast facilities, this is indeed no ordinary ballpark.

Like most domed stadiums, Skydome has the usual non pastoral character¬istics such as bright green artificial turf and a roof. However, this roof retracts, and unlike its cousin in Montreal, it really works, albeit not as quickly as the roof at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. About a half hour before game time on days when the weather cooperates, the dome begins to open, folding into itself in several sections in less than twenty minutes. The contrast between closed and open is striking. Batting practice takes place in the artificially lit gloom, punctuated by the odd plink of the - ball off the wooden bats, with the air's still¬ness creating a ware-house effect. Then the roof opens to create an outdoor ballpark, with the sense of spaciousness, the sky above, the unique sound of horsehide meeting ash, the sound dispersing rather than echoing off the dome.

The sight lines at Skydome are not among the best in baseball: It is difficult to see the batter, the wild pitches, or foul pops behind the catcher from the first dozen or so rows above home plate. The upper deck is one of the highest of any stadium. And field-level seats are not without problems, particularly in the out-field, where the rows are narrow, seats are crammed together, and the shallow incline makes it difficult to watch the action.
During the early nineties the Blue Jays sold out virtually every game here, and became the first franchise to draw more than 4 million fans in a season. But Toronto has not fielded a strong contender since winning two World Championships, in 1992 and 1993, and attendance has dropped commensurately. But at least there have been no cries for a new ballpark.

JOHN OLERUD "The first big-league stadium that I was at as a player was the Skydome. And that was also a pretty big deal at the time, with the retractable roof and everything. When I signed with the Blue Jays and was there in Toronto, it was a big thrill because this is something that I'd been working for ever since I was a kid and always hoped to make it, but never really knew for sure if I would make it or not."

MICHAEL KAY (BROADCASTER) "Skydome is underrated, I think, because of all the retro ballparks. It has everything you would want as a fan. The con-cessions are great; it's great working conditions, good clubhouses, and great press box. It was the first retractable-roof stadium. I always refer to it as 'Base-ball and the Jetsons.'"

MEL STOTTLEMYRE "When it was built, it was one of the completely different domes. It was full most of the time. They're suffering a little bit now attendance-wise. The field itself is very fast, and when the roof is closed you do get that feeling that you are in an enclosed stadium. I think most of the visiting teams prefer the roof to be open."

PAT GILLICK (GENERAL MANAGER) "A fall afternoon at Skydome in 1992, after a victory parade through the streets of Toronto, the team players, their families, and forty-five thousand plus fans gathered inside the stadium. An electricity emanated from each person on the field and in the stands: It was excite¬ment, pride, joy over the first World Series win in the history of that franchise."