The city councillor who represents the Rogers Centre site doesn’t want the Toronto Blue Jays moving out, and says the owners gave him no indication their ballpark plans include that.

Councillor Joe Cressy said he accepted an invitation last month to meet with officials from the Blue Jays, team and site owner Rogers Communications, and real estate giant Brookfield Asset Management to chat “in broad terms” about their plans for the 30-year-old domed stadium.

“I shared with them that it’s my belief that having a ballpark and a revitalized stadium on those lands is important,” said Cressy (Ward 10 Spadina-Fort York). “We should continue to have a stadium helping to anchor downtown and anchor the city as a whole.

“And, if there is any ambition to do anything other than that, it needs to adhere to good planning principles and a good public process. It’s an iconic site; think of the view from the lake, with the CN Tower and the ballpark beside it.”

Cressy says he also told the partners any refurbishment must be done with private money.

“We should not be using public dollars to subsidize private ballparks in downtown Toronto,” he said.

“They didn’t have a proposal to share,” said Cressy, who added that any major changes to the Front St. site would require city approvals and he would lead a public process to evaluate them.

“My understanding is that the Blue Jays and Rogers are firmly committed to not only have the Jays stay in town, of course, but to continue to play out of the (city) core,” he said.

“I’ll let them speak to their emerging details as they’re working them through, but I was not led to believe that they were looking to relocate a stadium.”

Brookfield, a Toronto-based investor in some of the world’s biggest real estate developments, did not respond to a request for information about its role in plans for the Rogers Centres plans that are believed to rely on private financing.

Rogers spokesperson Bill Killorn said his company is “exploring options for Rogers Centre,” including preliminary discussions, but planning is in “early days” and there are no details to share.

Some have speculated a new stadium could be built at Ontario Place. The Premier Doug Ford government’s call for redevelopment proposals for that site envision “potential landmarks such as sports and entertainment attractions, and retail.”

Mayor John Tory, a former Rogers chief executive who remains on the Rogers family trust, sparked speculation in early July when he told a radio host Rogers must decide whether to “reinvest in the building or build something new.” He predicted Toronto will “see some action on it.”

Tory, who later said he was speculating, not speaking from inside knowledge, on Friday announced that, because of his Rogers ties, he will stay out of discussions of “future plans for the Rogers Centre, the surrounding area, and City’s leasehold interest in the subject site.”

The mayor, who, at city council has declared past potential conflicts on Rogers-related items, said he notified the city integrity commissioner that neither he nor his staff will take part in any talks.

The former SkyDome, once hailed as a beacon of modern technology for its fully retractable roof, has required extensive repairs over the past decade, leading some to question its sustainability and value as a sports arena.

Blue Jays chief executive Mark Shapiro, who in the past has noted some of the ballpark’s deficiencies for fans, on Thursday called the site “one of the most unique, if not the best, locations in major league baseball for a stadium.

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“That, combined with the age of the facility, creates a dilemma as how do you best attack what is a large-scale project, and becoming a larger-scale project in consideration,” Shapiro told reporters.

Changes already completed or under way include refreshing the stadium’s 100 level, adding a Ticketmaster Club and installing a new roof, he said. He added that future options being explored by Rogers are “bigger than I initially considered.”

—with files from Laura Armstrong and Jacob Lorinc

David Rider is the Star's City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering Toronto politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider

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