$140Gs grant to Toronto baseball park in rundown over branding

A baseball association says a city councillor is holding up the funding because it would come with signs featuring TD Bank’s logo. The councillor says that provision breaks city hall’s rules

Published Jul 28, 2026  •  Last updated 49 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

A green TD Bank patch is seen on the arm of Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk in March 2024. That logo has proved to be a sticking point for the City of Toronto after a local baseball organization secured a $140,000 grant from the Jays’ charity foundation. Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images files

That little green square is working like a big red light.

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The Annette Baseball Association says a city councillor is holding up a $140,000 grant from the Jays Care Foundation, which would pay for some much-needed improvements at a High Park ball diamond, because it would come with signs that include the boxy green logo of a sponsor, TD Bank.

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But Gord Perks, the soon-to-retire councillor for Parkdale-High Park ward, says that’s “not exactly right.”

He said when he was approached, he checked in with city hall to see if the grant would “conform to our policies – and the answer is no, it does not.” Toronto could use the money, Perks said, but that doesn’t mean “a donor can demand all kinds of concessions.”

“That’s a matter of council policy and the public service following the rules, not a matter of me intervening,” Perks told the Toronto Sun.

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One sticking point: City council just last month accepted a similar grant from the foundation – the charity arm of the Toronto Blue Jays – to improve a park in East York, approving a motion from local councillor Brad Bradford.

The would-be grant recipients are frustrated that Perks doesn’t have a similar motion for this week’s meeting, the last of his long career as a Toronto city councillor.

“I’ll be blunt with you: Some councillors – like me – believe that we should have a uniform set of rules that are fair and transparent so people can understand what they can and can’t do, and some councillors bend and break those rules to do favours,” Perks said. “I don’t think that it’s right for politicians to hand out favours.”

“If Councillor Bradford bent the rules,” he added, “that’s on him, that’s not on me.”

Jack Wilson field at High Park is overdue for lighting upgrades. Some of the issues: One of the old light fixtures, top left, is leaning; There’s no lighting in centre field, top right; and two of the posts are on the playing field, in foul territory, bottom left and right. Photo by Annette Baseball Association

Field ‘in such a terrible state’

Dan Condie is the vice-president of the Annette association. His group applied for the money to modernize the lighting at one of their regular diamonds, the Jack Wilson field at High Park.

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That money wouldn’t just get brighter, better LEDs above the field. They finally would get two hulking old light poles out of foul territory, so kids no longer have to dodge them during games while they field fly balls – a setup Condie called “just ludicrous.”

“Jack Wilson field is in such a terrible state of disrepair,” Condie said.

Condie said it’s just another case of Perks not going to bat for the Annette ballplayers. Hosting games at Jack Wilson is bad enough with cars largely banned from High Park, he said, forcing bewildered out-of-town opponents to park far away and lug their equipment to the field.

But Perks said he wants the city to accept the grant – just without a donor logo involved.

“It’s not just the lighting that needs upgrades there,” Perks said. “There’s all kinds of issues.”

A Jays Care Foundation spokesman told the Sun there is “absolutely no risk” of the grant being revoked. Condie said it’s his understanding that the grant can’t be accepted without agreeing to display the logo at High Park, although Perks said city hall is trying to work something out.

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It’s also not clear if rejecting the grant would mean the work won’t happen, or if it still would but with city taxpayers footing the bill. The City of Toronto said it wasn’t able to say one way or the other in time for publication.

Toronto city councillor Gord Perks is seen at an executive committee meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland/Toronto Sun files

‘Benefit the kids’

In an emailed statement, Bradford said he had been “happy” to put forth his June motion, which had been “drafted by city staff,” to accept $100,000 for improvements at Stan Wadlow Park.

“This investment will benefit the kids who play there every summer, and I, for one, appreciate having partners who want to join us in investing in our recreation facilities,” he added.

“City hall should look for ways to say yes to partnerships like this, not reasons to say no, because that’s how we build stronger communities.”

While the next councillor for Parkdale-High Park could potentially bring in a similar motion, Condie said he fears whoever wins the ward in October’s election may just “stand on” Perks’ decision.

Even if the next councillor approves of the grant, it would likely be months into the new council term, perhaps December or even 2027, before a motion can be put forward.

“The 140 grand is just going to go unclaimed, it seems,” Condie said, “despite all the work that we’ve done, despite the lengthy interactions with city employees, despite what is really, really needed at the park.”

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