Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos (left) shakes hands with President and CEO Paul Beeston.CP/FileFRANK GUNN/The Canadian Press
The Group of 20 summit to be held in Toronto in June may be a boon to the city's hospitality sector but it could be a major headache for the local baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
The American League team has been advised to "be aware" that the gathering of the G20 developed and developing nations, slated to take place in Toronto on June 26 and 27, could force the Jays to reschedule one or more of their games.
The Blue Jays are slated to play an interleague weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre, beginning June 25.
The three-game set will mark the return to Toronto for the first time of star pitcher Roy Halladay since he was traded to the defending National League champions in a blockbuster trade last December.
Now the Blue Jays are concerned their plans to honour Halladay's return to Toronto might be disrupted should they have to reschedule one of the games over security issues associated with the G20 summit.
"It's too early to say what will happen," Blue Jays president Paul Beeston said. "There's a possibility that we might have to move a game, there's no question about that. There's a possibility we might have to move none of the games."
Although exact details of the summit, which is expected to involve tens of thousands of people, have yet to be confirmed, it is anticipated the Metro Toronto Convention Centre will play host to the event.
The Rogers Centre is located right next door, the reason they may be required to reschedule one of the games.
Organizers of Toronto's Gay Pride Parade, normally held on the final Sunday in June, have already decided to push back the event by one week because of the G20 Summit.
Beeston suggested one resolution to the problem would be for the Blue Jays to invite the members of the G20 Summit to attend one the baseball games.
"That's exactly what we were thinking of doing," he said.