The nomadic Blue Jays finally find their baseball stadium in Buffalo

(Reuters) – Major League Baseball’s peripatetic Toronto Blue Jays finally found a home on Friday, announcing they would play the majority of their home schedule at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, the stadium used by the the club’s Triple-A minor league affiliate.

The Blue Jays were hoping to get an exemption from travel quarantine rules that would allow them to play at the Rogers Center.

But with COVID-19 cases increasing in the United States, the federal government has extended the closure of the Canada-U.S. border to non-essential travel until August 21.

Under such restrictions, it would be impossible for the Blue Jays to cross the border into the United States and return home, as well as for opposing teams to enter Canada without observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

“We are extremely grateful to have a home in Buffalo this season, thanks to the openness, creativity and partnership of the Buffalo Bisons, Major League Baseball staff and Blue Jays, who have worked tirelessly to prepare for games at Sahlen Field,” Blue Jays President and CEO Mar Shapiro said in a statement.

“This process has undoubtedly tested the resilience of our team, but our players and staff refuse to make excuses. We are determined to take the field today and in the months to come, with the same intensity and competitiveness that we expect.”

The Blue Jays open their 60-game season in Tampa Bay against the Rays on Friday with their first “home series” scheduled in Washington July 29-30 against the Nationals. Their first game at Sahlen Field is July 31 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sahlen Field had not initially been considered a viable option because inadequate lighting and other facilities did not meet MLB standards.

But after a plan to share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates was rejected due to health and safety concerns related to a surge in COVID-19 cases in southwest Pennsylvania, the team s is left with limited choices.

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto. Editing by Christian Radnedge)