Toronto Blue Jays could play home games in a stadium named after Dunkin' Donuts
The Toronto Blue Jays are struggling to find a place to play home games and, with their home opener looming, time is running out.
Thankfully, one American city has offered up their stadium for the resumption of the season, and it's a ballpark named after Dunkin' Donuts.
Following the news that the Jays would not be allowed to play home games at Rogers Centre, rumours spread that they would likely be using PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania instead.
But when the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Wednesday that it would not allow them to play their shortened 2020 season at the park, it seemed the Jays were running out of options.
Wednesday afternoon, however, Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin tweeted out an offer.
"Hey @BlueJays — #Hartford's ready," he wrote. "And CT is just a better place to be."
Hey @BlueJays — #Hartford’s ready. And CT is just a better place to be.
— Luke Bronin (@MayorBronin) July 22, 2020
Cc @GoYardGoats https://t.co/o6hQMKKBgc
The Blue Jays are set to play their first game of the season against the Washington Nationals on July 29, and they'll have a total of 30 home and away games at multiple locations as part of an amended 60-game regular-season schedule.
Unlike the NBA and NHL, which have resumed practices and gameplay this season using a bubble/hub city model, the MLB season will include far more travel between cities as well as across the U.S./Canada border, which is why Toronto and Pittsburgh weren't on board with having them play in their respective stadiums.
But Hartford might just work, since Connecticut is in a decent situation in terms of its COVID-19 outbreak and is located in between Boston and New York.
And while Dunkin' Donuts Park isn't quite a major league ballpark, it does have the facilities to accommodate the team as well as lighting fit for television.
But wherever they end up playing, one thing's for sure: Toronto fans simply can't wait to watch Canada's baseball team play once again.
