3:27 pm: The Canadian federal government has not yet authorized the Blue Jays to play in Toronto, Mitchell tweets. The city of Toronto and the province of Ontario have, on the other hand, but the Blue Jays will also need federal approval, according to Mitchell, who adds that a decision should come within a few days.
3:15 pm: Despite MacLeod’s statement, this is not yet a deal, according to reports by TSN’s Scott Mitchell, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and CBC’s David Cochrane.
3:02 pm: The Blue Jays have received authorization from relevant authorities to organize regular 2020 season contests at the Rogers Center, revealed by Ontario Minister of Heritage, Sports, Tourism and Culture Lisa MacLeod on TSN 1200 (Twitter link).
The organization had previously received authorization only to organize summer camp activities in Toronto. That’s a much more limited task, as it involved taking players and staff to the stadium complex (which includes a hotel) only once, after coronavirus testing in the United States was completed.
Hosting home games in Toronto, while traveling to other venues for away-from-home contests, will present a quite different logistical challenge when it comes to limiting possible COVID-19 broadcast. There is currently a mutual ban on non-essential travel between neighboring nations. Canadian authorities are undoubtedly concerned with the numbers of cases shooting up from many cities in the United States (including some that host MLB teams).
Obviously, it is good news for the Jays that they will have a relatively normal experience throughout the season. That doesn’t mean there is high hope of paying fans. But setting up a completely separate operation elsewhere could have been an expensive and challenging undertaking.
