In July 1991, the SkyDome was the centre of the baseball universe. At the peak of the multi-purpose stadium craze, baseball fans from all over the world feasted their eyes upon the modern marvel that was the Blue Jays’ new home.

It’s been 35 years since the Toronto Blue Jays hosted MLB’s All-Star Game, and it still looks like it may not happen anytime soon.

The Philadelphia Phillies will host their fourth Midsummer Classic this week, although it’s the first to be played at Citizens Bank Park, since the Phils last hosted at Veterans Stadium in 1996.

The Athletics have the longest All-Star Game streak going in the majors, with 39 years since the last festivities, but with their home ballpark in limbo as they construct a new stadium in Las Vegas, the absolute earliest the A’s would move to Vegas would be for the 2028 season.

After Philadelphia, Chicago is next on deck to host MLB’s All-Star Game in 2027. With a potential lockout looming and a collective bargaining agreement yet to be signed between the owners and players, there’s a chance there may not be a 2027 season at all, let alone an All-Star Game.

And yet, here are the Blue Jays, with a fresh coat of paint on their newly renovated stadium, $400 million poured into the ballpark over several years, patiently waiting for Major League Baseball to give them some sign that they’re next on deck to host an All-Star Game.

The last word from MLB came earlier this year, when the Blue Jays were told “they aren’t on the immediate list for an All-Star Game,” via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

If not now, then when? Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro also cited the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as another roadblock for Toronto, but the fact that the Blue Jays have received no word of confidence from commissioner Rob Manfred is slightly concerning.

In August 2025, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reported the Blue Jays had been having an open dialogue with Major League Baseball about the All-Star Game, and they were hoping for clarity in six to eight months. Those months came and went, and the only clarity the Blue Jays received was that they weren’t on the short list to host an All-Star Game in the near future.

The Blue Jays don’t have it as bad as the Tampa Bay Rays, who have yet to lay claim to an All-Star Game, but considering the quality of Tropicana Field, it’s no wonder MLB isn’t clamouring to showcase its game to the world inside a stadium whose biggest features are catwalks dangling above the outfield and a tank with stingrays.

At this point, everyone has had their turn. The Chicago Cubs were the next logical choice for the 2027 Midsummer Classic, considering they last hosted in 1990, the year before the Blue Jays. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the next season and beyond, but why haven’t the Blue Jays been assured they’re next in line?

Here’s a list of teams that have hosted two All-Star Games since the Blue Jays last got a shot in 1991: the Cleveland Guardians, the Atlanta Braves, the Texas Rangers, the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres, and the Colorado Rockies.

Perhaps most egregious of all, the Seattle Mariners came in as an expansion team the same year as the Blue Jays in 1977, and the Mariners have hosted three All-Star Games. Three! Sure, T-Mobile Park is one of the most beautiful ballparks in the league, but they get three All-Star Games and the Blue Jays have only gotten one?

During the early 2000s, there was no case to be made by the Blue Jays to host a jewel event like the All-Star Game at Rogers Centre. It was one of the most outdated facilities in the league, as MLB distanced itself from the multi-purpose stadium model, instead focusing on the retro-ballpark style popularized by Camden Yards in Baltimore.

But the Blue Jays organization has done everything it can to transform Rogers Centre from a stadium into a ballpark. They replaced all the seats in the entire stadium; they opened up the concourses; they installed new outfield districts in the 500 level, like Park Social and the Corona Rooftop Patio.

At long last, the stadium is leaning into the historical aspect of the franchise, with new displays around the concourse, a new Hall of Excellence to be unveiled at the end of August, and a long-overdue statue of Joe Carter celebration happening later this week.

There’s only so much that can be done to a 37-year-old stadium, and Rogers Centre isn’t going to look any better than it does in 2026. Eventually, the team will need to find a new home, but that could be a decade-plus down the line.

If you’re MLB, why not strike while the iron is hot and show off Rogers Centre now before it suffers the same fate as SkyDome before it? The longer this song and dance drags on, the more remote the possibility seems of Toronto being a host city for the All-Star Game.

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