Here's an intriguing idea for sports fans: why not have the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays play one series a year at B.C. Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver?

FOXSports baseball writer Jon Paul Morosi floated this proposal in today's column, which appeared as the two teams are about to square off for a three-game series in Seattle.

"Just think of the buzz it would generate: Jays rookie Brett Lawrie, a 21-year-old from the Vancouver suburb of Langley, is a sensation in the North," Morosi writes. "He has an OPS of 1.104 after nine big-league games, and Canadians would surely turn out in droves to see their native son."

The stadium renovations won't be completed in time for this year's season. But Morosi has suggested that the teams play one series a year in Vancouver beginning in 2012, with each splitting the gate receipts.

Former Blue Jays assistant general manager Bart Given, a Vancouver resident, told Morosi that the series would attract 40,000 or more fans if Lawrie was on a tear.

Long gone are the days when Maple Ridge's Larry Walker was the only local boy in the majors. B.C. natives Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Jeff Francis, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden are all making their mark in the big leagues.

When I was much younger, I used to travel with my family to Seattle to watch the Mariners play. There were few things as pleasurable as standing in the bleachers with a baseball globe during batting practice, hoping to catch a souvenir ball hit over the fence.

There's a chance to create similar memories for kids coming across the border in the opposite direction from Bellingham or Blaine. All it might take is some effort by local tourism officials, perhaps with a boost from some high-profile politicians.

And I'm sure Jose Bautista would keep the crowds happy by batting at least a few practice balls over the left-field wall.

internet site reference: http://www.straight.com/article-424716/vancouver/bring-blue-jays-and-mariners-vancouver