Roy Halladay won’t be going back to Toronto afterall. Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston announced on Tuesday that the series between Toronto and Philadelphia on June 25-27 has been moved from Rogers Centre to Citizens Bank Park, due to the G20 summit being held literally next door to the Rogers Centre on the same weekend. Rumors have been swirling about the possible schedule change for month, and now that it has become official, it has become the number one sports story in the city.

Due to the security level surrounding the summit, several streets will be closed, detours will plague downtown Toronto, and parking will be limited; not to mention those who will show up to protest the event. The Blue Jays were expecting as many as 90,000 people to attend the series, many of which to get one more look at their former ace. All comers would have had to face several inconveniences in getting to the stadium, and the Blue Jays and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig thought it best to move the series to Philadelphia instead.

The series, while being in a National League park, will play by American League rules. The Blue Jays will bat last and a DH will be in both teams’ lineups. The two clubs have also agreed to split revenues from the series. Before deciding on moving to Philly, other options included playing a double-header, adjusting off-days, and playing in neutral sites like Detroit, Cleveland, Montreal, and even Ottawa. Ultimately, Philadelphia made the most sense, both practically and financially.

The decision to move the series is probably the right one, but why it took until mid-May to make the announcement is perplexing. The Jays have known about the G20 summit for half a year, and have known that this series would be among the most-anticipated since the announcement of Halladay’s trade in December. Fans who bought tickets well in advance are understandably disappointed; even angry, that this news is coming on such short notice. Refunds and a voucher for a ticket to another game is small consolation when it comes to appreciating the old adage “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” Now Blue Jay fans will have to wait at least one more year before they can show Halladay one more time what he means to them.