Skydome

Rogers Center, formerly known as (and often still unofficially called) SkyDome, is a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, situated next to the CN Tower near the shores of Lake Ontario. It is home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. While it is primarily a sports venue, Rogers Center also hosts other large-scale events such as conventions, trade fairs, and concerts.

Rogers Center is also noted for being the first stadium to have a fully-retractable motorized roof, as well as a 348-room hotel attached to it, with 70 rooms overlooking the field. It is also the most recent North American major-league stadium built to accommodate both football and baseball, although some of the newer baseball parks have been known to host the occasional college football game.

History

Rogers Center was designed by Rod Robbie and Michael Allen and was constructed by Ellis-Don Construction of London, Ontario. The stadium's construction lasted just over three years, from April 1986 to May 1989. The approximate cost of construction was $600 million (CAD) which was paid for by the Canadian federal government, Ontario provincial government, the City of Toronto, and a large consortium of corporations. Though nominally a multi-purpose stadium, the primary impetus for its construction was the need for a new baseball stadium for the Blue Jays, who until 1989 played at Exhibition Stadium, which was seen as substandard due to a layout originally designed for football and exposure to cold weather.

A cold, rain-soaked November 1982 CFL Grey Cup game, held at the outdoor Exhibition Stadium, spurred the process of looking for a new stadium. The game was tormented by cold weather and rains, the washrooms overflowed, and spectators were exposed to the harsh weather. In attendance was Ontario Premier Bill Davis, and the misery of that day was 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 Hall tens of thousands of people who were there to see the Grey Cup winners began to chant "We want a dome". So too did others who began to discuss the possibility of an all-purpose, all-weather stadium. Seven months later (June 1983) the Premier announced formally that a 3 person committee would look into the feasibility of building a domed stadium at Exhibition Place. (As a point of interest the 1983 Grey Cup Game was played at the newly-opened BC Place domed stadium in Vancouver).

Over the next few years various tangible projects emerged, including a large indoor stadium at Exhibition Place with an air supported dome - similar to Vancouver's BC Place. 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 sites included Exhibition Place, Downsview Airport and York University. The final site was located at the base of the CN Tower not far from Union Station, a major railway and transit hub. The land was a major CN rail switching yard (The desolate downtown lands were part of a masterplan for revitalizing the area which includes Cityplace). The price would be $150 million dollars. Ultimately the Robbie/Allen concept won because it provided the largest roof opening of all the finalists, and it was the most technically sound. Others stadium designs included one that was like a bow tie, which cast a shadow over the field.

The choice of both the stadium design and its location were chosen specifically to avoid any chance of repeating the problems suffered in Montreal with their Olympic Stadium (nicknamed the "Big Owe"). That stadium suffered from a poorly designed retractable roof (which never really worked), along with a poorly located site far from transportation hubs and population centers.

Construction was done by lead contractor EllisDon. Several factors helped to complicate the construction, including the fact that 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 archeological 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. Also a locomotive watering tower was moved across the street as to be saved and to be incorporated into a new railway museum.

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 Stadium. The 31-story roof consists of 4 panels; one is fixed in place and the other 3 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 CAD $570 million (all dollar figures used are in Canadian funds and have not been adjusted for inflation) . All three levels (Metro Toronto, Provincial, Federal) initially contributed $30 million. This doesn't 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 possibly Sleeman) 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 4 parking spaces (for 10 years, with an opportunity for renewal) and a 99 year exclusive option on in stadium advertising. (Skyboxes initially leased for $150,000 up to $225,000 a year in 1989 - plus the cost of tickets for all events). The Toronto Blue Jays, who enjoyed the greatest financial benefit from the construction of the new stadium, contributed $5 million invested in the stadium.

But the financing wasn't 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-Cola, TSN and the CIBC. This exclusivity even extended to advertising. This was most notable when Pepsi cola was banned from raising promotional banners during a concert. Many companies signed on without the contracts being bid on. Pepsi stated at the time that had they known the terms of the contract that they would have paid far more than $5 million for the rights. Local media like Now Magazine called the amount charged "scandalously low" (Now Dec 3-9, 1998). The media also complained about the McDonald's contract which the company paid a low yearly fee, yet charged high prices for its concession fare.

In a CBC television 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 center like TD Center"

The stadium was completed 2 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 PATH (Toronto) 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 3rd, 1989 and hosted an official grand opening show: "The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration". It was broadcast on the CBC television network the following evening hosted by Brian Williams. With a crowd of over 50,000 in attendance it was the first test of the new facility.[citation needed] The event was a showcase of Canadian talent and included performances from a wide variety of acts. Included were Oscar Peterson, Andrea Martin of SCTV, impersonator André-Philippe Gagnon and rock band Glass Tiger. The closed roofed was opened with the Premier of the Province, David Peterson pointing a laser pen at the ceiling to officially 'open' the roof. The roof opened, exposing the crowd to a downpour of rain. This while a crowd of famous Canadians sang on stage a song 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 military parachutist 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 under the overhangs of the various parts of the structure.

Financial problems and fallout

The stadium would later become the thorn in the side of David Peterson's Ontario Liberal government for its overspending in the venture. An election in 1990 saw the party lose power. A review by the new Bob Rae Government in October 1990 would reveal 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 CDN$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. The further rush to finish the stadium also tacked on further unplanned costs.

As the Province slipped into a recession, Bob Rae appointed U of T professor Bruce Kidd and Bob White (then president of the Canadian Auto Workers) to the Stadco board as to help deal with the stadiums growing debt. But by this time it was too late to reverse the costs. The completed stadium started life with a $165 million debt, which would balloon up 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 claimed 'White elephant'. In March 1994 the Rae 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 - Interbrew).

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 Toronto Blue Jays resulted in a massive decrease in the amount companies are willing to pay for the Skybox. In addition, the Air Canada Center was under-construction just down the road, and selling highly desired boxes for the civic favorite Toronto Maple Leafs and new upstart Toronto Raptors teams. Many companies couldn't justify owning box suites at both stadiums. That same month the Blue Jays resigned on for an additional ten years in the facility.

In late 1998, Sportsco International LP bought the stadium out of bankruptcy protection for CAD$85 million. In 2004, Rogers Communications, parent company of the Blue Jays, would agree to acquire SkyDome from Sportco for about $25 million CAD - about 4% of the cost of construction.

Recent developments

On February 2, 2005 Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, which also owns the Blue Jays, announced that his company would significantly increase the team payroll upwards of $210 million over the next three seasons, starting in 2005 and announced a three-year corporate contract to change the name of SkyDome to the Rogers Center. After the purchase, Rogers refurbished the stadium by, among other things, replacing the once state of the art Jumbotron with a Daktronics ProStar, and erecting other new monitors including several built into the outfield wall. They also installed a new artificial playing surface called FieldTurf.

In May 2005, the Toronto Argonauts agreed to three five-year leases at Rogers Center, which could see the Argonauts playing out of Rogers Center 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 April 2006, the Rogers Center became one of the first buildings of its size to adopt a completely smoke-free policy in Canada. The Rogers Center 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.

In November 2005 Rogers Center 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.

A new Rogers Plus store was opened in the south end of the stadium on April 4, 2006.

Future developments

Next on the agenda is a complete makeover of the Blue Jays', Argonauts' and visitors' locker rooms.

Another project involves adding some type of facade to the exterior of the stadium, which has often been criticized for appearing "cold" and imposing. (the exterior material is concrete)

Etymology

The name SkyDome was coined by a private citizen Kellie Watson who entered a Province-wide name the stadium contest in 1987. Sponsored by the Toronto Sun, 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 Peterson choose 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 the press conference announcing the name Chuck Magwood (president of the Stadium Corporation of Ontario) stated about the choice as being: "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")

On December 18, 2006, when Rogers Communications Inc. and the Toronto Blue Jays held a press conference announcing the contract extension of Vernon Wells, President and CEO Ted Rogers stated that he and his wife held a party for the Blue Jays organization at "the Dome". This shows that even though the media is told to refer to the building as Rogers Center, Rogers himself does not refer to it as such.

Stadium features

SkyDome, as it was then called, was the first major team sports arena in North America to sport a functional, fully retractable roof; Montreal's Olympic Stadium also had a retractable roof, but it was a total failure. The roof is composed of four panels and covers an area of 345,000 square feet. 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.

The venue was originally also well known for its enormous Jumbotron television, at 33 by 110 feet (10 m x 34 m). For a time, it was the largest of its kind in the world. The Jumbotron and the stadium played host to several television events, including the series finales for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Cheers along with live coverage of the funeral of Princess Diana.

The center also has an on-site fitness club, and Hard Rock Café. The Renaissance Toronto Hotel is also located within Rogers Center, with some of the hotel rooms overlooking the field.

Artwork - Over $5 million (CDN) of artwork was commissioned in 1989.

Stadium usage

Besides baseball and Canadian football, Rogers Center was the original home of the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors, who played at the venue from November 1995 - February 1999 until moving to the Air Canada Center. The center has also hosted exhibition soccer, cricket, Gaelic football and two NFL American Bowl games. In June 1997, Rogers Center featured a well-publicized 150 meter race between sprinters Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson. Soccer matches have been regularly held in recent years; they had been rarely played at the venue when its Astroturf surface had been in place.

Rogers Center is the site of several major high school and collegiate sporting competitions including the Prentice Cup for baseball and, from 1989 to 2003, the Vanier Cup championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football.

Soccer fans were able to watch the 2006 FIFA World Cup final on July 9, 2006 final at Rogers Center, on the state of the art video board by Daktronics.

In January 2007, Rogers Center played host to the first ever International Bowl, an NCAA college football game between Western Michigan University and the University of Cincinnati.

In November 2007, it will host the 95th Grey Cup, its first since 1992 and third all-time. It will also host the 2007 Desjardins Vanier Cup on Friday November 23, just two days before Grey Cup Sunday. It will be the 16th Vanier Cup hosted at SkyDome/Rogers Center, returning after a three year absence in which it was hosted by Hamilton, Ontario (2004 and 2005) and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (2006). It will be 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.

Concerts

Soon after the Rogers Center 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 Madonna, U2, The Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Garth Brooks, Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, and N'Sync. 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 Center. Designers did develop the SkyTent as to help reduce sound distortion and improve sound quality. The tent is a group of acoustical curtain sails that is hoisted on rigging above the floor, to help dampen reverb of the music around the open stadium.

One of the more notable concerts was the 1990 Blond Ambition Tour by Madonna. The touring show had become extremely controversial due to the risque 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 Dare.

Other Uses

The Rogers Center 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 shows, with the Canadian International AutoShow in February and Importfest in October. Travelling shows like World Wrestling Entertainment (which has used the facility to host two WrestleMania events), Disney on Ice, Monster Jam and circuses also have used the venue.

The center has also hosted many public speakers, including appearances by the Dalai Lama, Christian Evangelist Billy Graham, Nelson Mandela, and J. K. Rowling, for a book reading.