M Posted April 29, 2003 Report Share Posted April 29, 2003 $1 Blue Jays Game - Tues. April 29 Jays announce strategic strike against SARS ***By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com Click here to buy tickets TORONTO -- In the hopes of making a symbolic show of strength to America and the rest of the world, the Blue Jays announced a strategic strike against SARS on Sunday. Rogers Communications, the company that owns the team, purchased all unsold tickets for Tuesday's game and is reselling them at a special price of $1 apiece. Why did they do that? Paul Godfrey, the team's president and CEO, said that a packed house at SkyDome will go a long way towards proving to the world that all is well in Toronto. Contrary to the World Health Organization's recent travel advisory, the city is not locked in the grip of an infectious disease. Since the Blue Jays are one of the most visible pieces of Toronto's community, this is a chance to send that message to the global community. "This is an opportunity to show that Toronto is a vibrant, healthy and active city that's safe to go to," Godfrey said. "We know that there are so many Torontonians that are scratching their heads, wondering how the world can say this is an unsafe place. Nobody's hiding behind a closed door, and the people of Toronto understand that. Now it's their opportunity to demonstrate that. We've tried to make it as easy as possible for them to come out." The WHO's advisory, which warned people to cancel trips to Toronto unless they were absolutely necessary, has done a lot of damage to the city's financial core. Godfrey said that it's impossible to calculate exactly how much it's affected various industries, but he said it's obvious that business is down across the board. "We're a small part in a larger Toronto economy. This has impacted hotels and restaurants and people who rent automobiles -- every aspect in the tourism industry," Godfrey said. "When you take an economic blow, jobs are put in jeopardy. You're impacting the lives of people who thought everything was fine and still think everything is fine. When something like that happens, the leaders of the community have to come forward and make changes." Ted Rogers, the CEO and namesake of Rogers Communications, stepped into that void. He called Godfrey and they put their heads together on how they could make a difference. "He said, 'Look, we've got to be part of the recovery. It's incumbent upon us, as citizens of the community, to take a leadership role.' I totally agree with that and I'm very thankful," Godfrey said. "We hope that people will take advantage of this, and we hope other businesses can help promote tourism in this city. We have a long way to come back. You don't recover from a body blow that's been put on us by the World Health Organization and make an instant recovery. That just doesn't happen. "When something negative takes place in your city, it takes a while before you can recover. This is just the first step, and we hope other businesses will seek ways of joining in. This is a very serious thing that's taken place." Fans have a wide variety of options to take advantage of this opportunity. They can purchase tickets via the Internet at Bluejays.com or visit the Blue Jays' box office at SkyDome. They can also obtain them at select Rogers Video outlets and at all Discover Communications Wireless stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberHippie Posted April 29, 2003 Report Share Posted April 29, 2003 My friend was telling me about that today. I think I'm going. What the hell, baseball for a buck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted April 29, 2003 Report Share Posted April 29, 2003 FYI guys, apparently it's totally sold out! http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam030429/mlb_tor1-sun.html Peace, Mr. M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted April 29, 2003 Report Share Posted April 29, 2003 I caught BT on CityTV this morning, and they had a bit about a neat deal some Toronto hotels (including downtown and 4-star ones) are offering: for $99/night, you get a 7am check-in time, a 6pm check-out time, free overnight parking, and breakfast for 2 adults and 2 kids. What they're hoping to do is attract people in Toronto, who want to "get away" for the weekend in their own city. Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weirdness Posted April 30, 2003 Report Share Posted April 30, 2003 Funny shit for sure. A buck and free parking would be more like it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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