Rogers Centre, formerly known as
SkyDome, is a multi-purpose
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, situated next to the
CN TowerThe CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world...
near the shores of
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
. Originally opened in 1989, it is home to the
American LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league...
's
Toronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League.The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name...
, the
Canadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located entirely in Canada.Its eight teams, which are located in eight cities, are divided into two divisions of four teams each . The league's nineteen-week regular season runs from mid-June to early November. Each team plays...
's
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, they are one of the oldest extant professional sports teams in North America. The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup championship a record fifteen times, most recently in 2004...
, the site of the annual
International BowlThe International Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto. It is the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States, and the first since the Bacardi Bowl, played in Cuba on January 1, 1937...
American college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
bowl gameIn the United States, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
, and as of 2008, the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
's
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
' second playing venue in the
Bills Toronto SeriesBeginning in 2008, the Buffalo Bills, a National Football League AFC East team, will play a series of eight “home” games over five seasons at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This series includes the first regular-season NFL game ever played in Canada...
. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large-scale events such as
conventionsA convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
,
trade fairA trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent trends and opportunities...
s, concerts,
funfairA funfair or simply fair is a small to medium sized traveling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
s, and
monster truck showsA monster truck is an automobile, typically styled after pickup trucks, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension. They are used for competition and popular Sports Entertainment and in some cases they are featured alongside Motocross races, mud bogging, tractor pulls...
. The stadium was renamed "Rogers Centre" following the purchase of the stadium by
Rogers CommunicationsRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications and cable television, with additional telecommunications and mass media assets. It is headquartered in the Rogers Building in Toronto, Ontario.The company considers...
in 2005.
The venue was noted for being the first stadium to have a
fully-retractable motorized roofA retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some "retracted" or "open" position into a "closed" or "extended" position that completely covers the field of play and spectator...
, as well as for the 348-room
hotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
attached to it, with 70 rooms overlooking the field. It is also the most recent
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n major-league stadium built to accommodate both
footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played almost exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide , attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, as well as
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, although some of the newer baseball parks have been known to host the occasional
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
game, such as
AT&T ParkAT&T Park is an open-air baseball park, home to the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball and starting in 2009 will be the home of the California Redwoods of the United Football League. The park also hosts the Emerald Bowl, a college football bowl game, every year...
,
Chase FieldChase Field is a baseball stadium located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. It opened in just in time for the Diamondbacks' first game after coming to Arizona as an expansion team...
, and
Safeco FieldSafeco Field, sometimes referred to as Safeco, is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball club, seating 47,116 for baseball...
.
History
Rogers Centre was designed by
Rod RobbieRoderick George Robbie, O.C., LL.D., F.R.A.I.C. is a Canadian architect. He is known for his design of the Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 and Toronto's Rogers Centre....
& Michael Allen and was constructed by the EllisDon Construction company of
London, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the 2006 Canadian census....
. The stadium's construction lasted about two and a half years, from October 1986 to May 1989. The approximate cost of construction was $600 million (
CADThe Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents...
) which was paid for by the
federal governmentThe government of Canada is established as a constitutional monarchy, with the powers and structure of the federal government established by the Constitution of Canada, which includes the written part, the decisions of courts, and unwritten conventions developed over time.-Usage:In Canadian...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
provincial governmentThe Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
, the City of Toronto, and a large
consortiumA consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
of corporations.
Background
The idea for building an enclosed sports venue came following the
Grey CupThe 70th Grey Cup, also known as the "Rain Bowl", was the 1982 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 32-16 on the Eskimos' way to their fifth straight Grey Cup...
game in November 1982, held at the outdoor
Exhibition StadiumCanadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
. The game was plagued by terrible weather that affected the patrons, who were viewing from stands that were not sheltered. Thousand spend most of the game in the concession section of the stadium, the crowd was drenched, and the washrooms were overflowing, which was an all around bad experience for all the fans. In attendance that day was then-Ontario
PremierThe Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet.Although sometimes referred to as the Prime...
Bill DavisWilliam Grenville "Bill" Davis, PC, CC, O.Ont., QC was the Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985.-Youth:Davis was politically active from a young age...
, and the poor conditions were seen by over 7,862,000 television viewers in Canada (at the time the largest TV audience ever in Canada ). The following day, at a rally at
Toronto City HallThe City Hall of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is one of the most distinctive landmarks of the city. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell , landscape architect Richard Strong, and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in 1965; its modernist architecture still impresses today...
, tens of thousands of people who were there to see the Grey Cup winners began to chant, "We want a dome! We want a dome!" So too did others who began to discuss the possibility of an all-purpose, all-weather stadium.
Seven months later, in June 1983, Premier Davis formally announced that a three-person committee would look into the feasibility of building a domed stadium at
Exhibition PlaceExhibition Place is a mixed-use property on the Toronto shore of Lake Ontario, a few kilometres west of the central business district. The 197–acre area features expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial, and...
. The committee consisted of
Paul GodfreyPaul Victor Godfrey, CM is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the Toronto Sun and head of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was instrumental in bring the Toronto Blue Jays to Toronto and has campaigned...
,
Larry GrossmanLawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman was a politician in Ontario, Canada.-Early years:Born in Toronto, Grossman was the son of Allan Grossman, who had represented a downtown Toronto riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for twenty years after defeating Ontario's last Communist Member of...
and former Ontario Hydro chairman Hugh Macaulay.
Over the next few years various tangible projects emerged, including a large indoor stadium at Exhibition Place with an air-supported dome, similar to BC Place in Vancouver. In 1985 an international design competition was launched to design a new stadium, along with selection of a site for the stadium. Some of the proposed sites included Exhibition Place,
Downsview AirportDownsview Airport or Toronto/Downsview Airport, , is located in Toronto, Ontario and has been exclusively owned and used as a testing facility by Bombardier Aerospace since 1994....
, and
York UniversityYork University is a university located in Toronto, Ontario. It is Canada's third-largest university and has produced several of the country's top leaders across the humanities and in sciences such as chemistry, meteorology and space science....
. The final site was located at the base of the
CN TowerThe CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world...
not far from
Union StationUnion Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto.The station is located on Front Street West and occupies the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district...
, a major railway and transit hub. The land was a major
Canadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway is a Canadian Class I railway operated by the Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec....
rail switching yard encompassing the
CNR Spadina RoundhouseThe CNR Spadina Roundhouse was owned by the Canadian National Railway, built in 1928 . The purpose of Spadina Roundhouse, was to pre-trip inspection, service and repair the motive power of passenger trains, including locomotives and Budd Rail Diesel Cars terminating, or originating at Toronto Union...
(the desolate downtown lands were part of a master plan for revitalizing the area which includes
CityPlaceCityPlace is the name given to a large section of former railway land in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been redeveloped for multi-use purpose. The term has been more recently used for a large multi-tower condo development in the Harbourfront district. When completed, this area will be...
). The price would be $150 million. Ultimately the Robbie/Allen concept won because it provided the largest roof opening of all the finalists, and it was the most technically sound.
Stadium construction
Construction was done by lead contractor EllisDon. Several factors complicated the construction: The lands housed a functioning water pumping station that needed to be relocated, the soil was contaminated from a century of industrial use, railway buildings needed to be torn down or moved, and the site was rich with archaeological finds. One of the most complex issues was moving the John St. pumping station across the street to its new home south of the stadium. Foundations to the stadium were being poured even as the facility (located in the infield area) continued to function, as construction on its new location had yet to be completed.
Because the stadium was the first of its kind in the world, the architects and engineers kept the design simple (by using a sturdy dome shape) and used proven technologies to move the roof. It was important that the design would work and be reliable as to avoid the various problems that plagued Montreal's
Olympic StadiumThe Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams...
. The 31-storey roof consists of four panels; one is fixed in place and the other three are moved by electrically driven 'train' engines, that run on standard railway rails. The roof, which takes 20 minutes to open, was made out of steel trusses covered by corrugated steel cladding, which in turn is covered by a single-ply PVC membrane.
Stadium financing
The stadium was funded by a public/private partnership, with the government paying the largest percentage of the tab. The initial cost was greatly underestimated, with the final tab coming in at $570 million
(all dollar figures used are in Canadian funds and have not been adjusted for inflation). All three levels of government (
Metro TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was the senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
, Provincial, Federal) initially contributed $30 million. This does not include the actual value of the land the stadium sits on (as it was part of a deal with the Crown agency – CN Rail). Canada's three main breweries (Labatt's, Molsons, and
Carling O'KeefeCarling O'Keefe originated as Canadian Breweries Limited which was the first brewing conglomerate in Canada and is now owned by Molson Coors Brewing Company.-History:...
) each paid $5 million to help fund the stadium. In addition 28 Canadian corporations (selected by invitation only – no tendering of contract) contributed $5 million, for which they received one of the 161 Skyboxes with four parking spaces (for ten years, with an opportunity for renewal) and a 99 year exclusive option on stadium advertising. Skyboxes initially leased for $150,000 up to $225,000 a year in 1989 – plus the cost of tickets for all events.
But the financing was not without controversy. First of all there was no public tender for supplies and equipment. Secondly, companies that paid the $5 million fee received 100% stadium exclusivity for the life of their contract that could be extended up to 99 years. Some of the companies that signed on included
Coca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants and vending machines internationally. The Coca-Cola Company claims that the beverage is sold in more than 200 countries...
,
TSNThe Sports Network, commonly abbrieviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the second group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
and CIBC. This exclusivity even extended to advertising. This was most notable when Pepsi-Cola was banned from raising promotional banners during a Madonna concert performance. Many companies signed on without the contracts being bid on. Pepsi stated at the time that had they known the terms of the contract they would have paid far more than $5 million for the rights. Local media like
NOW MagazineNow is a free weekly publication in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein, along with several former members of the Socialist League such as Wayne Roberts, the former editor of Forward. Now was not intended as a socialist paper, but as an...
called the amount charged "scandalously low" (Now Dec 3-9, 1998).
In a
CBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Overview:CBC Television provides a complete 24-hour network schedule of news, sports, entertainment and children's programming, in most cases feeding the same programming at the same local times...
interview in the days before the stadium, a member of the general public goes on to ponder "It will be interesting to see five years from now whose stadium it will be, Toronto's dome or a business centre like TD Centre". The stadium was completed two months late, having been planned to open for the first regular season Toronto Blue Jays game. Because of its location south of major railway corridor, new pedestrian connections had to be built; the infrastructure was part of the reason for the high cost of the stadium.
Skywalk is a (1/2 km – est.) enclosed walkway that leads from the base of the CN Tower and via a bridge connects to Union Station (and is part of the
PATHPATH is a network of pedestrian tunnels beneath the office towers of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. According to Guinness World Records, PATH is the largest underground shopping complex in the world with 371,600 m² PATH is a network of pedestrian tunnels beneath the office towers of downtown...
network). The John St. bridge was built to provide North/South passage over the rail tracks linking Front Street with the stadium.
SkyDome opening
The stadium officially opened on June 3, 1989 and hosted an official grand opening show: "The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration". It was broadcast on CBC television the following evening hosted by
Brian WilliamsBrian Williams is a Canadian sportscaster who is best known for his coverage of the Olympic Games.-Biography:...
. With a crowd of over 50,000 in attendance, it was the first test of the new facility. The event was a showcase of Canadian talent, and included performances from a wide variety of acts. The celebrities consisted of
Oscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends, and was a member of jazz royalty. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards...
,
Andrea MartinAndrea Louise Martin is an American actress and comedienne.-Life and career:Martin, the oldest of three children, was born in Portland, Maine, of Armenian heritage, in 1947. Her father owned Martins, a grocery store. Her early success was found in Canada...
of
SCTV Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
, impersonator
André-Philippe GagnonAndré-Philippe Gagnon is a Canadian comedian and impressionist. He has been married to Marie-Claude Chantale since 1980....
and rock band
Glass TigerGlass Tiger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1983, in Newmarket, Ontario.-Biography:Originally named 'Tokyo', the band produced several hit singles in Canada and placed two songs on Billboard magazine's top 10: "Don't Forget Me " and "Someday," both of which came from their debut album, The Thin...
. The roof was opened by the Premier of the Province,
David PetersonDavid Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the twentieth Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
, who pointed a laser pen at the ceiling to officially 'open' it. The roof opened, exposing the crowd to a downpour of rain. This while a crowd of famous Canadians sang a song on stage that was written specifically for the opening, with the lyrics:
"Open up, Open up the Dome". Yet as the crowd got increasingly wet, they could be heard chanting
"Close the roof". But Stadco president Chuck Magwood insisted that the roof fully open. And once open, a group of civilian skydivers flew into the now soaked stadium often skidding across the concrete floor to the cheers of the audience. By the time the roof had opened, most of the crowd had sought refuge in the concourse areas and beneath the overhangs of the various parts of the structure.
The event was broken down into the following acts:
The Opening of SkyDome – A Celebration
- Act I – "Prelude to Forever" – "Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends, and was a member of jazz royalty. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards...
will perform this original composition with the Toronto Symphony."
- Act II – A Tribute to the Builders of SkyDome – "An Olympic-style entrance of those who represent the thousands of people responsible for the building of SkyDome."
- Act III – The Way We Were – "Featuring Theresa Pitt, the lead in Toronto’s company of Cats
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It introduced the song standard "Memory."...
(the musical)."
- Act IV – "We are Toronto" – "From a small settlement and a few hundred settlers, Toronto has become a true window to the world. The people of Toronto representing sixty-eight nations will celebrate the Opening of SkyDome in their native costumes."
- Act V – "Open up the Dome" – "Liberty Silver
Liberty Silver is a Canadian singer, based in Toronto, Ontario.She won two 1985 Juno Awards, one for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and the other for Best Reggae/Calypso Recording .The American-born Silver was adopted into an Ontario family, where she spent her...
and Tommy AmbroseTommy Ambrose is a Canadian singer-songwriter.He was a gospel music singer in his youth, performing on radio stations such as CFRB and CKEY and at Youth for Christ events...
will perform this very special celebration number and will be joined by our 3,500 volunteer performers."
- Act VI – "Open up the Dome" Finale – "Our host Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains....
will re-introduce the performers and will join in a final celebration of the Opening of SkyDome."
Financial problems and fallout
The stadium would later become a thorn in the side of
David PetersonDavid Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the twentieth Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
's
Ontario LiberalThe Ontario Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally...
government for its overspending in the venture. The Ontario Liberal Party was defeated by the
Ontario New Democratic PartyThe Ontario New Democratic Party, formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a section of the federal New Democratic Party.-Origins:...
in the
1990 Ontario electionThe Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
. A review by the new
Bob RaeRobert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal opposition's foreign affairs critic....
government in October 1990 revealed that the stadium was so in debt that it would have to be booked 600 days a year to turn a profit. The stadium had only made $17 million in its first year of operations, while servicing the debt was costing $40 million. It was determined that the abrupt late inclusion by Stadco of a luxurious hotel and health club added an additional $112 million to the cost of the building.
As the Province slipped into a recession, Bob Rae appointed
University of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...
professor
Bruce KiddBruce Kidd, OC is a Canadian academic, author, and athlete.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was a member of the University of Toronto track and field team. He won 18 national senior championships in Canada, the United States, and Britain...
and Bob White (then president of the
Canadian Auto WorkersThe Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile trade unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
) to the Stadco board to help deal with the stadium's growing debt. But by this time it was too late to reverse the costs. The completed stadium started life with a $165 million debt that ballooned to $400 million by 1993. The stadium became a huge liability to the Provincial Government, and as the economy soured, so did public support for the so-called "
white elephantA white elephant is a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth.-Background:...
". In March 1994, Bob Rae's Ontario NDP government paid off all outstanding debts from the Provincial treasury, and sold the stadium for the massively discounted price of $151 million to a private consortium (including Labatt's parent company –
InterbrewInterbrew was a large Belgium-based brewing company which owned many internationally known beers, as well as some smaller local beers. In 2004 Interbrew merged with Brazilian brewer AmBev to form InBev, which is the now largest brewer in the world by volume, with a 13% global market share now...
).
In November 1998, the stadium filed for bankruptcy protection. One of the main reasons was that most of the Skybox contracts were up for renewal. Most of the 161 Skybox tenants had signed on for 10 year leases; this oversight in business planning, and a marked decrease in interest in the stadium's two sports teams, resulted in a massive decrease in the amount companies were willing to pay for the Skybox. In addition, the
Air Canada CentreThe Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League...
was under construction just down the road, and selling highly desired boxes for the civic favourite
Toronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and new upstart
Toronto RaptorsThe Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion...
. Many companies could not justify owning box suites at both stadiums. That same month, the Blue Jays re-signed on for an additional ten years in the facility.
In late 1998, Sportsco International LP bought the stadium out of bankruptcy protection for $85 million.
Purchase by Rogers Communications and renaming to Rogers Centre
In 2004,
Rogers CommunicationsRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications and cable television, with additional telecommunications and mass media assets. It is headquartered in the Rogers Building in Toronto, Ontario.The company considers...
, parent company of the Blue Jays, acquired SkyDome from Sportsco for about $25 million – about 4% of the cost of construction.
On February 2, 2005, Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, announced that his company would significantly increase the team payroll upwards of $210 million over the next three seasons, beginning in the 2005 season, and announced a three-year corporate contract to change the name of SkyDome to the Rogers Centre. After the purchase (for only $25 million), Rogers refurbished the stadium by, among other things, replacing the once state-of-the-art
JumbotronA JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
with a
DaktronicsDaktronics Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
ProStar screen, and erecting other new monitors, including several built into the outfield wall. They also installed a new artificial playing surface called
FieldTurfFieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Peachtree City, Georgia. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
. (The Blue Jays were thus the last MLB team to play on
AstroTurfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Though the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf...
, as
Tropicana FieldTropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since 1998. It has also served as the host stadium for the St. Petersburg Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college football bowl game since December 2008.-1980s:After Tampa was...
had replaced its AstroTurf surface with FieldTurf in 2000, and the
Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, often simply called The Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The field was renamed Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in October 2009...
had converted to FieldTurf in 2004.)
In May 2005, the
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, they are one of the oldest extant professional sports teams in North America. The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup championship a record fifteen times, most recently in 2004...
agreed to three five-year leases at Rogers Centre, which could see the Argonauts playing out of Rogers Centre up to and including 2019. The team has the option to leave at the end of each of the three lease agreements. The Argos also announced that they will not move into a new stadium that was being planned at York University, a project which York subsequently cancelled.
In November 2005, Rogers Centre received a complete makeover in the 100 level concourse, making it larger. This required some seats to be removed, which lowered its capacity size. They also renovated 43 luxury boxes and converted some of them into larger party suites that can accommodate as many as 150 people.
The Blue Jays had planned for renovations in the winter of 2006 to the Blue Jays' clubhouse and weight room, and possibly the visitors' clubhouse; president Paul Godfrey also mentioned a potential long term project to add a façade to the exterior of the stadium, whose concrete exterior has been criticized for appearing "cold" and imposing.
In April 2006, the Rogers Centre became one of the first buildings of its size to adopt a completely smoke-free policy in Canada. The Rogers Centre made this decision in advance of an act of provincial legislature that required all Ontario public places to go smoke-free by June 1, 2006. Designated smoking rooms, or "puffers" as they were known, will no longer be available to patrons. As a result, smokers will no longer be able to smoke during events due to the pre-existing no pass-out policy, which does not allow for readmittance to the facility after exiting.
The Rogers Centre was dry on April 7, 2009, as the province of Ontario imposed the first of a three-day alcohol suspension at the stadium, for "infractions (that) took place at certain past events," according to the press release.
Etymology
The name "SkyDome" was coined by Kellie Watson, a private citizen of the town of
Wallaceburg, OntarioWallaceburg is a community located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber and boat building industries and strategic location along the banks of the scenic Sydenham River...
, who entered a province-wide "name the stadium" contest in 1987. Sponsored by the
Toronto SunThe Toronto Sun is an English language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily "Sunshine Girl" feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
, ballots were offered for people to submit their suggested name. Over 150,000 entries were received with 12,897 different names. The selection committee narrowed it down to four choices: "Towerdome", Harbourdome, SkyDome, and simply "the Dome". The judges' final selection was SkyDome. Over 2,000 people proposed SkyDome, and as a result a winning name was drawn from all the similar entries. Premier
David PetersonDavid Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the twentieth Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
chose a name from a lottery barrel. The selected winner won lifetime seats to any event at SkyDome (including concerts). The two seats are located just behind home plate. (In a 2005 newspaper article that appeared after the stadium's renaming, Watson said that she had "hardly used" the tickets.) In the press conference announcing the name, Chuck Magwood (president of the Stadium Corporation of Ontario) commented: "The sky is a huge part of the whole roof process. The name has a sense of the infinite and that's what this is all about".
(Before being officially named, the stadium was reported in the media as simply "the dome"
)
Stadium features
The venue was the first major team sports arena in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
to sport a functional, fully
retractable roofA retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some "retracted" or "open" position into a "closed" or "extended" position that completely covers the field of play and spectator...
(Montreal's
Olympic StadiumThe Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams...
also had a retractable roof, but due to operational issues, it was replaced with a permanent roof). The roof is composed of four panels and covers an area of . The two middle panels slide laterally to stack over the north semi-circular panel, and then the south semi-circular panel rotates around the stadium and nests inside the stack. It takes 20 minutes for the roof to open or close.
Even though the retractable roof would technically permit the use of natural grass, the stadium has always used artificial turf; initially
AstroTurfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Though the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf...
, and
FieldTurfFieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Peachtree City, Georgia. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
since 2005. The Rogers Centre is one of three remaining venues in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
using artificial turf (the other two are
Tropicana FieldTropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since 1998. It has also served as the host stadium for the St. Petersburg Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college football bowl game since December 2008.-1980s:After Tampa was...
and
Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, often simply called The Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The field was renamed Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in October 2009...
).
The centre also has an on-site fitness club and
Hard Rock CaféHard Rock Cafe is a chain of Theme Restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. The first location opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, England. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock 'n' roll ephemera, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In...
, which would not renew its contract for 2010 and later, due to the recession. The
RenaissanceRenaissance Hotels is a worldwide brand of hotels and resorts. The brand is owned by Marriott International and many Renaissance Hotels are managed by Marriott, however some are operated under a franchise license....
Toronto Hotel is also located within Rogers Centre, with some of the hotel rooms overlooking the field.
- Artwork – over $5 million of artwork was commissioned in 1989.
- The Audience – by Michael Snow
Michael Snow, CC is a Canadian artist working in painting, sculpture, video, films, photography, holography, drawing, books and music.-Life:...
is a collection of larger than life depictions of fans located above the northeast and northwest entrances. Painted gold, the sculptures show fans in various acts of celebration.
- A Tribute to Baseball – by Lutz Haufschild – located above the Southeast and Southwest entrances of Gate 5.
- The Art of the Possible – by Mimi Gellman – located inside along the north side of the concourse on Level 100. The glass and steel sculpture incorporates the signatures of 2000 builders of SkyDome, and is a tribute to their work. Some of the artifacts found during excavation such as musket balls and pottery have also been included. The brightly illuminated sculpture became an issue to baseball players when the stadium first opened. The bright lights were considered a distraction to batters.
- Salmon Run – by Susan Schelle, located outside by the South East entrance; it is a large fountain that has various stainless steel salmon cutouts.
- Spiral Fountain – by Judith Schwarz.
Rogers Centre videoboard
The main video screen in the Rogers Centre is called the Rogers Centre videoboard and is also known during Blue Jays games as "JaysVision". Designed by
DaktronicsDaktronics Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
, the screen is high and across. The panel is made up of modular
LEDA light-emitting diode , is an electronic light source. The first LED was built in the 1920s by Oleg Vladimirovich Losev, a radio technician who noticed that diodes used in radio receivers emitted light when current was passed through them...
units that can be replaced unit by unit, and can be repaired immediately should it be damaged during an event. Originally, this screen was a Sony
JumboTronA JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
before it was replaced. For a time, it was the largest of its kind in the world.
The videoboard and the stadium played host to several television events, including the series finales for
CheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
and
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Created about 21 years after the original Star Trek, and set in the 24th century about 80 years after the orginal series, the program features a new crew and a new...
, along with live coverage of the funeral of Princess Diana. Soccer fans were able to watch the
2006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000...
final on July 9, 2006 at Rogers Centre on the state of the art video board.
Sports
Besides baseball and Canadian football, Rogers Centre was the original home of the
National Basketball Association'sThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
Toronto RaptorsThe Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion...
, who played at the venue from November 1995 to February 1999, while the
Air Canada CentreThe Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League...
was being built. It proved to be somewhat problematic as a basketball venue, even considering that it was only a temporary facility. Many fans in the upper level could only see the game on the replay boards because they were so far from the court.
Rogers Centre has also hosted exhibition soccer,
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
,
Gaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "Football" , "Gaelic" or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
,
Australian Rules FootballAustralian football, also commonly referred to as Australian rules football, football, or Aussie rules, colloquially as footy, and historically as Australasian football or Victorian football, is a variant of football played between two teams of 18 players, plus four interchange players, outdoors on...
and three NCAA
International BowlThe International Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto. It is the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States, and the first since the Bacardi Bowl, played in Cuba on January 1, 1937...
games. The
1992 World SeriesThe 1992 World Series was the first Series ever with games played outside the United States of America. It pitted the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays against the National League champion Atlanta Braves...
and
1993 World SeriesThe 1993 World Series was the second Series in a row with games played in Canada as well as the second Series to be won by a Canadian team.It pitted the defending champion Toronto Blue Jays of the American League against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies...
were played at Rogers Centre. The
World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
hosted
WrestleMania VIWrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
and
WrestleMania X8WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name. The event was the second...
at Rogers Centre in 1990 and 2002.
On May 31st, 1997, the venue hosted a post Olympic track and field event that pitted Olympic track champions
Donovan BaileyDonovan Bailey is a retired Canadian sprinter who once held the world record for the 100 metre race following his gold medal performance in the 1996 Olympic Games...
and
Michael JohnsonMichael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and was crowned world champion eight times. Johnson currently holds the world record in the 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay and formerly held the world record in the 200 m and Indoor 400 m...
, in a 150m race that was billed as a competition for the title of the "World's Fastest Man". Bailey won the race, completing it in a time of 15 seconds and winning the 1.5 million dollar prize. Johnson pulled up lame at the 110m mark claiming a quadricep injury.
Soccer matches have been regularly held in recent years; they had been rarely played at the venue when its
AstroturfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Though the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf...
surface had been in place.
Rogers Centre is the site of several major
high schoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
and collegiate sporting competitions including the Prentice Cup for baseball and, from 1989 to 2003, the
Vanier CupThe Vanier Cup is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl...
championship of
Canadian Interuniversity SportCanadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...
football (then SkyDome).
In January 2007, Rogers Centre played host to the first ever
International BowlThe International Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto. It is the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States, and the first since the Bacardi Bowl, played in Cuba on January 1, 1937...
, an NCAA
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
game between Western Michigan University and the University of Cincinnati. In 2008, Rutgers played Ball State in the second International Bowl. The
University at Buffalo BullsThe Buffalo Bulls football team is the football team representing the University at Buffalo. The Bulls play in the Mid-American Conference, and are coached by Turner Gill.-History:UB offered football until 1970, and then reintroduced the sport in 1977...
and the
University of Connecticut HuskiesThe Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut in the United States. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference for all sports except Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Ice...
played in the third International Bowl on January 3, 2009. In November 2007, it hosted the
95th Grey CupThe 95th Grey Cup was held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on November 25, 2007. The Grey Cup, first awarded in 1909, is the championship game of the Canadian Football League. It was played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with the Roughriders winning 23-19...
, its first since 1992 and third all-time. It was also the venue for the 2007 Desjardins
Vanier CupThe Vanier Cup is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl...
on Friday November 23, just two days before Grey Cup Sunday. It was the 16th Vanier Cup hosted at SkyDome/Rogers Centre, returning after a three year absence in which it was hosted by
Hamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
(2004 and 2005) and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (2006). It was the 56th Grey Cup hosted by the city of Toronto since the championship's inception in 1909, and the 40th Vanier Cup hosted by the Toronto since that championship's inception in 1965.
The
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
's
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
announced its intentions to play five "home" games (and three pre-season games) in Rogers Centre in October 2007; the first of these regular-season games took place on December 7 of the
2008 NFL seasonThe 2008 NFL Season was the 89th season of the National Football League, the major professional American football league in the United States, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1,...
versus the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
. It marked the first time an NFL team has established a "home" stadium outside the United States. The Bills played a preseason game against the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
at the Rogers Centre on August 14, 2008. (See
Bills Toronto SeriesBeginning in 2008, the Buffalo Bills, a National Football League AFC East team, will play a series of eight “home” games over five seasons at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This series includes the first regular-season NFL game ever played in Canada...
for more information regarding this.)
Games in the first round of the
2009 World Baseball ClassicThe 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
were played at the Rogers Centre.
In 2007,
Bruce PowerBruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several corporations. It exists as a partnership between Cameco Corporation , TransCanada Corporation , BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust , the Power Workers Union and The Society of Energy Professionals...
, Canada's largest private nuclear operating company, struck a deal with the
Toronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League.The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name...
that would allow the energy producing company to power the Rogers Centre with emissions-free electricity.
Concerts
Soon after its opening, the stadium became a popular venue for large scale rock concerts and is the largest indoor concert venue in Toronto; it has hosted many international acts including
MetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk...
,
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
,
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
,
Depeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic band who formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
,
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
,
The Three TenorsThe Three Tenors is a name given to the Spanish singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and the Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti who sang in concert under this banner during the 1990s and early 2000s. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla, in...
,
RadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their first single, "Creep", in 1992...
, Simon & Garfunkel,
Garth BrooksTroyal Garth Brooks is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989; it peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart...
,
Backstreet BoysThe Backstreet Boys are a Grammy-nominated American vocal group. They were launched by boy band producer Lou Pearlman, and have been together since April 20, 1993...
,
Roger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English rock musician. He is best known as the bass player and one of the main songwriters and lead singers in the English rock band Pink Floyd from 1964 to 1985...
,
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
,
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock and are considered pioneers of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as "rock and roll".AC/DC underwent several line-up...
,
Limp BizkitLimp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band achieved success with over 30 million albums sold worldwide. The members of the band include vocalist Fred Durst, guitarist Wes Borland, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto and DJ Lethal...
,
EminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album...
,
Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
,
Avril LavigneAvril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. Lavigne has sold more than 30 million copies of her albums worldwide. She is currently one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the United States, with over 10.25 million copies certified by the...
,
Jonas BrothersThe Jonas Brothers are an American pop rock boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From Wyckoff, New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
, and
CherCher is an American pop singer-songwriter, actor, director and record producer. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a People's Choice Award for her work in film, music and television.Cher began her career at the age of seventeen and came to...
, the latter for the Halloween extravaganza in 2003.
Michael W. SmithMichael W. Smith is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian Music, and he has achieved considerable success in the mainstream music industry as well...
and N'Sync also performed in the Rogers Centre. The stadium has several concert configurations, including smaller
Theatre (capacity 5,000 to 7,000) and
Concert Hall (formerly
SkyTent; capacity 10,000-25,000). Due to the design of the stadium and building materials used, the acoustics have been known to be rather poor, and the loudness/quality can vary greatly around the stadium. Its popularity with artists and fans has diminished over the years, with most stadium concerts now taking place at the
Air Canada CentreThe Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League...
. The
SkyTent, a group of acoustical curtain sails that is hoisted on rigging above the floor, is used to help reduce sound distortion and improve sound quality by dampening reverberations around the stadium. The dome has been open for only three concerts:
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
's show in 2003, and U2's two concerts in 2009 as part of its
360° tourThe U2 360° Tour is an ongoing worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour will visit stadiums from 2009 through 2010, whereas the previous two tours, the Elevation Tour and the Vertigo Tour, featured indoor arenas...
.
One of the more notable concerts was the 1990
Blond Ambition TourThe Blond Ambition World Tour is the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Madonna. The tour supported her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, and the soundtrack, I'm Breathless. The tour reached Japan, North America, and Europe. It was a highly controversial tour, mainly for its...
by
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
. The touring show had become extremely controversial due to the risqué visuals and performances. When the concert arrived in Toronto, police were alerted that the show might violate local obscenity laws. The police were on site for the concert and threatened charges without changes. The show went on as planned, but no charges were laid. The incident is shown in the Madonna documentary
Truth or DareTruth or Dare is a documentary chronicling the life of American singer-songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour...
.
Other uses
Rogers Centre contains 143,000 square feet (13,000 m²) of exhibition space, allowing it to host a variety of events year-round.
It is home to several annual
auto showAn auto show, or motorshow, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is commonly attended by automobile manufacturers. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year...
s, with the
Canadian International AutoShowThe Canadian International AutoShow is the largest auto show in Canada. This event has been held in Toronto, Ontario since 1974 and is currently located in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It is a major tourist attraction and is extremely popular in Ontario, bringing in an average of 300,000...
in February and Importfest in October. Travelling shows like
World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(which has used the facility to host two
WrestleManiaWrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by World Wrestling Entertainment . It is considered the flagship event of WWE, as it is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in the world...
events),
Disney on IceDisney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
,
Monster JamMonster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States...
and circuses also have used the venue. The Opening Ceremonies of the XVI International AIDS Conference were held at Rogers Centre on August 13, 2006.
It has also hosted many
public speakerA public speaker is a person who makes speeches in public settings. A speaker may address a large assembly of people or small gatherings. For large assemblies, the speaker will usually speak with the aid of a public address system or microphone and loudspeaker.The objectives of a public speaker's...
s, including appearances by the Dalai Lama,
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
EvangelistEvangelism is the practice of attempting to convert people to a religion. The term is used most often in reference to Christianity's religions, since they mandate that their followers make efforts to recruit as many people as possible into their faith...
Billy Graham,
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
, and
J. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Murray, OBE , better known under the pen name J. K. Rowling , is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990...
, for a book reading.
In addition to being a venue that hosts sports, concerts and other events, the Rogers Centre also houses the head offices of a number of businesses. The
Toronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League.The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name...
has its office headquarters located in the building and until 2008, the
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, they are one of the oldest extant professional sports teams in North America. The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup championship a record fifteen times, most recently in 2004...
did as well. It is also the home of the head offices of
TicketmasterTicketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is a ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. All US ticket sales for US venues are fulfilled at the Ticketmaster sole fulfillment center located in Charleston, West Virginia...
Canada.
Rogers Centre is the home of the main Ticketmaster outlet (ticket centre) for eastern Canada, located at the south end of the building beside Gate 7. As well, the building contains the Toronto Renaissance Hotel, a Premier Fitness/Health Club, a Rogers Plus store, a
Hard Rock CafeHard Rock Cafe is a chain of Theme Restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. The first location opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, England. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock 'n' roll ephemera, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In...
, and Windows Restaurant. Starting in 2006, the
Hard Rock CafeHard Rock Cafe is a chain of Theme Restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. The first location opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, England. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock 'n' roll ephemera, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In...
will only be open when there is a performance in the building. On non-event days, there are daily tours of the Rogers Centre.
Attendance records
- World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's WrestleMania X8WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name. The event was the second...
attracted the largest ever paid crowd to SkyDome. The March 17, 2002 event gathered 68,237 fans. WrestleMania VIWrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
held the previous record of 67,678 on April 1, 1990.
- Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
: The 1991 All-Star Game on July 9 attracted 52,383 spectators.
- Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League.The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name...
: A crowd of 52,268 attended Game 5 of the 1992 World SeriesThe 1992 World Series was the first Series ever with games played outside the United States of America. It pitted the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays against the National League champion Atlanta Braves...
, which Toronto lost 7-2 to the Atlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field....
. The smallest crowd for a Jays game occurred on September 9, 2009, when 11,159 watched Toronto lose 4-1 against the Minnesota Twins.
- Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located entirely in Canada.Its eight teams, which are located in eight cities, are divided into two divisions of four teams each . The league's nineteen-week regular season runs from mid-June to early November. Each team plays...
: 54,088 packed SkyDome to watch the 1989 Grey Cup Game between the Saskatchewan RoughridersThe Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1910. They play their home games at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. The team draws fans from across Saskatchewan and Canada who are affectionately known as the "Rider Nation"...
and the Hamilton Tiger-CatsThe Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Flying Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
.
- Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, they are one of the oldest extant professional sports teams in North America. The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup championship a record fifteen times, most recently in 2004...
: The 1991 Eastern Division Final played against the Winnipeg Blue BombersThe Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian Football League team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers have won the league's Grey Cup championship ten times, most recently in 1990. They were also the first team not located in Ontario or Quebec to win a championship...
drew a crowd of 50,386.
- Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion...
: A March 24, 1996 game against the Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
drew a crowd of 36,131. For this game, the basketball venue was reconfigured to accommodate more fans due to the popularity of the visiting team, which basketball superstar Michael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed...
played for during this time. Surprisingly, the expansion Raptors handed the record-setting Bulls one of their ten defeats that season, winning 109-108.
- Soccer: A July 31, 2004 soccer game between Celtic FC and AS Roma drew 50,158.
Timeline
- 1986 – October 3 – Official ground breaking on the site.
- 1987 – June 3 – The stadium is named "SkyDome"
- 1989 – June 3 – Stadium officially opens, hosting a live opening night gala.
- 1989 – June 5 – Stadium plays host to its first Blue Jays game.
- 1989 – June 5 – Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley "Crime Dog" McGriff is a former left-handed Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in , the first player since the dead-ball era...
hits the first home run ever at SkyDome.
- 1989 – June 7 – John Cerutti
John Joseph Cerutti was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, and later a broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays....
records the first Blue Jays win at SkyDome.
- 1989 – June 8 – Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer and songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English lineage....
performs the first concert at SkyDome.
- 1989 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1910. They play their home games at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. The team draws fans from across Saskatchewan and Canada who are affectionately known as the "Rider Nation"...
defeat the Hamilton Tiger-CatsThe Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Flying Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
43-40 in the 77th Grey CupThe 77th Grey Cup was the 1989 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at SkyDome in Toronto, ON...
.
- 1990 – ML baseball season attendance record is broken with 58 sellouts and a total crowd of 3,885,284
- 1991 – July 9 – Host of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- 1992 – The Calgary Stampeders defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 80th Grey Cup
The 80th Grey Cup was the 1992 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Toronto's SkyDome...
.
- 1993 – October 23 – The Blue Jays win their second straight World Series championship after Joe Carter
Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to , most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series, with the Toronto Blue Jays trailing 6–5 to the Philadelphia Phillies, just two outs away from a seventh...
hits a walk off home run.
- 1995 – June 22 – 2 acoustic panels fall off the inner ceiling in the 7th inning injuring 7 fans.
- 1995 – July 9 – A worker dies when installing lights for a computer show (falling 25 feet)
- 1998 - November - Several dignitaries, including Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government of Canada. The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the...
Jean ChrétienJoseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , is a Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003, and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 2003.-Early life:Chrétien was born on January 11, 1934 in Shawinigan, Quebec, as the 18th of 19...
, honour South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n presidentThe President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
.
- 1998 – November – SkyDome files for bankruptcy protection
- 1998 – SkyDome is bought by Sportsco.
- 2001 – August 3 – the roof was closed in the 3rd inning of a Toronto Blue Jays game, at the request of home plate umpire Tim Welke
Timothy James Welke is an umpire in Major League Baseball who was named to the American League staff prior to the 1984 season, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. He has been a crew chief since 2000, and currently wears uniform number 3...
due to a major infestation of aphidAphids, also known as plant lice , are small plant-eating insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
s.
- 2002 - March 17 - WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name. The event was the second...
sets Skydome attendance record of 68,237.
- 2005 – February 2 – Rogers Communications buys the Stadium and renames it Rogers Centre.
- 2007 – November 25 – Rogers Centre plays host to the 95th Grey Cup
The 95th Grey Cup was held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on November 25, 2007. The Grey Cup, first awarded in 1909, is the championship game of the Canadian Football League. It was played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with the Roughriders winning 23-19...
, the first in Toronto in 15 years. The Saskatchewan RoughridersThe Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1910. They play their home games at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. The team draws fans from across Saskatchewan and Canada who are affectionately known as the "Rider Nation"...
defeat the Winnipeg Blue BombersThe Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian Football League team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers have won the league's Grey Cup championship ten times, most recently in 1990. They were also the first team not located in Ontario or Quebec to win a championship...
23-19 in the game.
- 2008 - August 14 - Rogers Centre plays host to a pre-season National Football League
The National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
game between the Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
and Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the first of a 5 year lease deal that will see the Bills playing occasional home games in Toronto
Stadium related
- The stadium roof has a patent, preventing its design from being easily copied: U.S. Patent #05167097. Officially registered on December 1, 1992 to dome architects Rob Robbie and Chris Allen.
- The original mascot of the stadium was a turtle by the name of Domer.
- When the retractable roof is open, people standing on the observation deck of the nearby CN Tower
The CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world...
can look down on the field.
- 50 million people have visited SkyDome/Rogers Centre.
- When the roof is open, 91% of the seats and 100% of the field is open to the sky, covering an area of 3.2 hectares (8 acres).
- The roof weighs 11,000 tons, and is held together by 250,000 bolts.
- The stadium's inward-looking hotel rooms have regular two-way window
A window is a transparent opening in a wall that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material...
s, yielding instances of what some could consider indecent exposureIndecent exposure is the deliberate exposure by a person of a portion or portions of his or her own body under circumstances where such an exposure is likely to be seen as contrary to the local commonly accepted standards of decency , and may in fact be a violation of law...
. When SkyDome first opened, a couple engaging in sexual intercourseHuman sexuality is how people experience the erotic and express themselves as sexual beings. Frequently driven by the desire for sexual pleasure, human sexuality has biological, physical and emotional aspects...
was televised on the scoreboard Jumbotron during a baseball game. Days later, a man was caught masturbatingMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
during a game in full view of the packed stands. The man, later tracked down by a Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the United States. It was the first magazine with circulation over one...
reporter, calmly said, "I thought they were one-way windows." Patrons now have to sign contracts stipulating that they will not perform any lewd acts within view of the stadium.
- When the stadium first opened, the Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission is a public transport authority that operates buses, streetcars, subways, and rapid transit lines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
was worried about the challenge of moving the large crowds. As a way to streamline the entry to the subway and to encourage public transit use to the stadium, all tickets for the first 30 days also worked as a MetropassToronto Transit Commission fares include:* cash fares, tickets, and tokens* transfers* daily, weekly, and monthly passes- Basic fares :As of November 4, 2007, these are the basic fares paid by users of the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:- Special - Downtown Express...
.
- The stadium corporation has been requested to help in the planning of other venues from the U.S., Netherlands, England, Australia, New Zealand, to Singapore, China and Germany (Source Rogers Centre Press release).
- It was the most expensive stadium in both the CFL
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located entirely in Canada.Its eight teams, which are located in eight cities, are divided into two divisions of four teams each . The league's nineteen-week regular season runs from mid-June to early November. Each team plays...
and Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
, constructed at a price of C$570 million. This record was passed by the New Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and after extensive renovations, from 1976 to 2008. The stadium had a capacity of 57,545 and hosted 6,581...
at a cost of US$1.3 billion. However, if the cost of SkyDome in 1984 is adjusted for inflation, it would be roughly C$1.05 billion (2006). If Montreal's Olympic Stadium (which used to be the home field of the ExposThe Montreal Expos is the name of a Major League Baseball team that was located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until the end of the 2004 season, when the team was moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals....
, now only used for CFL playoff games) were counted, it would take the title, with a cost C$1.6 billion in 1976.
See also
Multimedia
Official websites