Blue Jay season passes aren’t affordable, fan says

Steve Gamester was shocked to learn that the price of the Toronto Blue Jays frontline passes he regularly buys are up 813% from a year ago.

Gamester, who typically shared passes with two other families, paid $15,000 in 2022 for two 81-game tickets. This year, the price for those same passes is $137,000.

The seats are in the “Action Section” of the Rogers Center, in the first row.

According to Gamester, season ticket holders received an email from Blue Jays staff stating that due to the next phase of Rogers Center renovations, some seats have been removed, meaning there fewer available in this area.

After hearing about the construction of the lower part of the stadium, Gamester expected there would be changes, but he didn’t expect what he saw when he went to buy the lets. -pass this season.

“The price increase was a huge shock,” he told CTV’s Your Morning Thursday. “It’s going to be a really hard thing to let go of.”

Gamester’s family have held season tickets since 1977, so tickets are a tradition. He hoped it was something that could be passed on to the next generation of his family.

“It’s kind of like our family’s special thing… The closest thing I have to a really treasured family heirloom,” Gamester said.

The Blue Jays are the “soundtrack” to his life, he said, explaining he remembered going with his parents. His father, Gamester said, would save up for passes every year, working on a print reporter’s salary.

“What I will miss are the memories: going to games with mum and dad, with friends who have come and gone,” he said.

Big ticket increases come as other events also come under fire for price changes, something an expert says people will have to get used to.

But for Gamester and other Jays fans, it’s a tough pill to swallow.

“Prices are rising everywhere,” he said. “It’s not (the tickets) as important as accommodation, obviously, but it’s the things that are important in life, you know, sporting events, concerts, cultural events… When the price goes up there- on it too, it’s hard, and I think that’s why people are reacting to this story.”

To listen to Gamester’s full interview, click on the video at the top of this article.