Tonight will mark the first game played at Rogers Centre by the Toronto Blue Jays since Sept. 29, 2019, as the wandering team can finally return home.
The Blue Jays received an national interest exemption from the Canadian federal government earlier in July, allowing the team to begin play at Roger Centre on July 30 under certainly conditions, including all players, including Blue Jays, be allowed north of the border, but sequestered to their hotels and the ballpark.
The team will welcome 15,000 fans per game to Rogers Centre to begin the 2021 home schedule, combining traditional seating and socially distanced pod seating: a combination of standard ballpark seating (two-thirds of bowl tickets) and physically distanced pods of up to four seats (one-third of bowl tickets) for the first 10 home games from July 30 to August 8. The upper deck will not be opened, as only the 100L and 200L will be open for bowl seating; the 500L will not be available for the first homestand. According to the team, TD Executive Suites, TD Clubhouse, and Ticketmaster Lounge will also be open at limited capacity.
The return of the Jays certainly led to some festivities in Toronto and across Canada, with CN Tower illuminated with Blue Jays colors and flags raised from New Brunswick to Yellowknife. We’ll also see an array of emotional tributes an festivities before the game, featuring the likes of community all-stars and COVID survivors. And, of course, one of the four dignitaries throwing out a first pitch: Home Plate Lady.
Homeplatelady is there, Geddy is not there #BlueJays #HomePlateLady #Geddy pic.twitter.com/I3Yw7e9zl7
— Home Plate Lady (@BJHomePlateLady) July 23, 2018
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