Rogers Centre
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Rogers Centre, formerly known as (and often still 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 Centre also hosts other large-scale events such as conventions, trade fairs, and concerts.
Rogers Centre is also noted for being the first stadium to have a fully retractable motorized roof and as a stadium to have hotel rooms attached to it , with 70 rooms overlooking the field. It is also the last North American major-league stadium built to accommodate both football and baseball. Since 1989, all the newer major-league stadia in Canada and the United States have been built specifically for one sport or the other (although some of the newer baseball parks have been known to host the occasional college football game.)
[edit] History
SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) was designed by Rod Robbie & Michael Allen and was constructed by the EllisDon 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 federal government, Ontario provincial government, the City of Toronto, and a large consortium of corporations.
[edit] Background
A cold, rain-soaked Grey Cup game in November 1982, 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 [1]). 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! 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 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 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 Canadian National Railway rail switching yard (the desolate downtown lands were part of a master plan for revitalizing the area which includes Cityplace). 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. Others stadium designs included one that was like a bow tie, which cast a shadow over the field. [citation needed]
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 O"). 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 centres.
SkyDome would have been Canada's first working retractable-roof stadium if they did not get Olympic Stadium's roof to finally work in 1988. With the latter's roof finally failing for good and being replaced by a permanent roof in 1992, SkyDome now stands as Canada's only retractable-roof stadium.
[edit] Stadium Construction
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 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. 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 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 construction and management was overseen by Chuck Magwood who was president of the Government established management company: Stadco..
[edit] 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 (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 Carling O'Keefe) 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 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 centre like TD Centre" (citation will follow soon).
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 PATH network). The John St. bridge was built to provide North/South passage over the rail tracks linking Front Street with the stadium.
[edit] 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.
Even though the retractable roof would technically permit the use of natural grass, the stadium has always used artificial turf; initially AstroTurf, and FieldTurf since 2005.
The centre also has an on-site fitness club, and Hard Rock Café. The Renaissance 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 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 by the South East entrance; it's a large fountain that has various stainless steel salmon cutouts.
- Spiral Fountain - by Judith Schwarz.
[edit] 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 Daktronics, the screen is 33 feet high and 110 feet across. The panel is made up of modular light units that can be replaced unit by unit, and can be repaired immediately should it be damaged during an event. 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 Cheers and Star Trek: The Next Generation, along with live coverage of the funeral of Princess Diana. Soccer fans were able to watch the 2006 FIFA World Cup final on July 9 2006 final at Rogers Centre on the state of the art video board.
[edit] Picture Gallery
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