Toronto Hotel Unveils Room With Unique View Of Blue Jays Games

The only hotel inside a major-league stadium has added a special suite to make game-watching memorable.

The Rawlings Room, designed in cooperation with the Missouri-based equipment maker, is a two-level suite in the Toronto Marriott City Centre, originally known as The Skydome Hotel.

According to hotel general manager Ryan Soderberg, a long-time fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, guests in the Rawlings Room will feel like they’re part of the game.

Baseball Amenities

Amenities include a bedroom inspired by a major-league clubhouse, a headboard and side tables that simulate a wooden dugout bench, and even a mural made up of 300 balls that spells out the date 1977, when the Jays began play as an American League expansion team.

There’s also a television screen that looks like a major-league scoreboard, a closet that resembles a player’s locker, and a baseball-shaped chair made out of the same leather used in Rawlings baseball gloves.

“The room is special because you’re not just listening to the roar of the crowd – you’re part of the crowd,” Soderberg explained. “It has floor to ceiling windows that open. You don’t have to worry about crowds, lines at concession stands, or fighting traffic after the game.”

He added that Rawlings provided gloves, bats, helmets, and a replica Gold Glove award for the room, one of 55 Field View suites in the 368-room property.

“It’s a very exciting place to work,” Soderberg said. “We partnered with Rawlings to provide us with great paraphernalia that provides a great experience. Somebody said this could be a kid’s dream but we think it will appeal to baseball fans of all ages.”

Earning Upgrades

From now until May 1, guests who book any of those suites will be eligible for a “draft” that will enable them to spend a night in the Rawlings Room. After that, the special room will be available to rent for a typical price of $965 per night, though such special dates as Opening Day could jack the rate to $1500 Canadian.

“We tried to be as detailed as possible,” Soderberg said. “It might take somebody 45-50 minutes to walk around the room and see all the different amenities.

“Even the washroom has them. The mirror is quite cool; it’s designed to give the guest a personalized baseball card.”

He’s especially fond of the chair. “You can sit down and read a book til the game starts, then open the window and there you go. It smells nice and fresh and helps with the ambiance and authenticity of the room.”

The room sleeps four but accommodate eight for watch parties because of extra chairs and stools.

Prices Drop

Prices are lower when the Jays are on the road or during the baseball off-season from November through March. But prices vary when the stadium hosts special events or concerts (Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, and Madonna have all performed there).

The $570 million hotel, which opened in June of 1989, is located at the base of the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium. Most fans arrive via mass transit, including subway and streetcar lines.

Former Toronto stars Roger Clemens and Roberto Alomar were hotel guests, the GM said, but would neither confirm nor deny that other players – including visiting teams – have stayed there.

“It’s not unusual to spot well-known people because the hotel is such a well-known attraction,” he said. “But I can tell you that if you’re a baseball fan and want to stay someplace truly different, this is your bucket list experience.

“We have a lot of fans from visiting teams who travel with their favorites. We get people from Cleveland, Detroit, and of course New York. So it’s not uncommon to see people wearing Yankees jerseys in the lobby.”

Fans in baseball regalia also watch games from the hotel’s SportsNet Grill. “You can book tables along the window on Open Table,” Soderberg suggested. “You can hear the excitement of the game as you’re checking in. You see fans walk up with kids and the first time they see the stadium through the window, you should see the unexpected look on their faces.”

Soderberg said many hotel employees became baseball fans only after they were hired. “There’s so much excitement generated in the hotel during baseball season so people can’t help but get involved,” he said. “Last year, when we lost the World Series by an inch after a great run, the whole country was involved. I heard from friends not only in Montreal but as far away as Vancouver and Calgary.

“I know exactly where I was both years the Jays won the World Series (1992 and 1993).”

The full-service hotel, which converted from Renaissance to Marriott in 2016, includes a gym, indoor pool, hot tub, valet parking, and meeting space. Breakfast is included in some of the packages it offers.

Return Guests

“We get tons of return guests,” Soderberg noted. “Couples who stayed in the Skydome want to come back with their children. The Rawlings Room makes that connection even more memorable. Once they’re in it, they will never forget it.”

In addition to the suites that face the domed stadium, the Marriott has City View Suites that offer skyline views of downtown Toronto. They are the rooms that can be seen from outside the Rogers Centre, the name given the complex after Rogers Communications purchased the property.

It took two-and-a-half years to build the massive complex on old industrial property used by the Canadian National Railway. A roundhouse and switching yard were relocated after the site was chosen.

More than two-dozen Canadian companies were part of a public and private partnership that funded the stadium, the first in the major leagues to have a retractable roof. During construction, excavators found numerous historical artifacts, including a 200-year-old French cannon and cannonballs.

The roof was needed to protect players and fans from the harsh Ontario climate, especially in the spring and fall. The Jays previously played at Exhibition Stadium, not far from the lakefront.

Beyond its creation of the Rawlings Room, the American sporting goods company has just published a book called A History of Baseball Through 50 Iconic Gloves. The lavishly-illustrated hardcover features highlights of special plays and players who use Rawlings equipment.

Rawlings is the official Major League Baseball provider of gloves, helmets, face guards, and bases. It was founded in 1887, just 11 years after the major leagues began with the advent of the National League.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com