Here’s an early look at Sahlen Field in Buffalo decked out in Blue Jays colours

After a long, gruelling two-and-a-half-week road trip, the Blue Jays will finally play their home opener on Tuesday.

This home opener, of course, will be different than usual, as it’ll be the first time in 105 years that a Major League game (that wasn’t an exhibition) gets played in Buffalo. You have to go all the way back to 1915 when the Federal League’s Buffalo Blues hosted the Baltimore Terrapins to find Buffalo’s last big-league game.

But, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Canadian government’s reluctance to allow MLB teams to travel in and out of the country, here we are. Buffalo might not have been the Blue Jays’ first choice given the fact Sahlen Field doesn’t have the same bells and whistles of a Major League-calibre facility, but, after making some renovations and upgrades, it’ll be just fine for this strange season.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Blue Jays have upgraded the park’s lighting, made improvements to the field (surely it’s better than the turf!), expanded the clubhouse and dugouts, and have built temporary training facilities and workout areas. Here’s an early look at Sahlen Field’s Blue Jays facelift!

From HERD Chronicles, here’s a look at the expanded dugouts in the stands, which will give players a place to sit and watch the game while remaining socially distant…

Here are new batting cages, also courtesy of HERD Chronicles, which were built in the concourses…

From Harry Scull Jr, here’s a look at the field getting some improvements…

And, from the Blue Jays, here’s some kind of TD Comfort Zone type thing, I imagine for visiting players or for those who are on the Taxi Squad and aren’t playing in a game…

Here are the fans who will be watching from behind the plate in the form of characters from Paper Mario…

And, finally, here’s a look at the whole thing, courtesy of the Blue Jays’ Twitter account…

For as bad of a rap as Buffalo gets largely due to its terrible winters, this looks like an absolutely gorgeous place to watch a baseball game on a nice summer night. Toronto could really, really use an outdoor stadium like this.