Blue Jays discussing playing 2020 season at Pirates PNC Park

The Toronto Blue Jays will not be playing the 2020 baseball season in Toronto, and they have begun the process of finding a new short-term home. Dunedin, Florida and Buffalo, New York were viewed as front-runners, but now Pittsburgh is a possibility.

The Canadian government denied the Blue Jays and MLB’s request for an exemption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government was concerned about all the travel back-and-forth to the United States, and in particular the travel to noted Covid-19 hot spots. The government had let the Blue Jays run summer camp in Canada, but once broader travel was required, the government was not having it.

The Blue Jays are now working with Major League Baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates to potentially play some portion of their 2020 schedule at PNC Park. There are also some rumblings about playing at the University of Pittsburgh, but the team and MLB would prefer it be an major league stadium. The Pirates released a statement confirming the news.

The Blue Jays have a spring training facility in Florida, but that has turned into a Covid-19 hot spot. The team could also drive two hours to Buffalo and play in the stadium of the Triple-A Bisons, but there is concern about the replay technology and the stadium lighting being up to par for a major league facility