Rogers Centre

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Rogers Centre
SkyDome
Location	1 Blue Jays Way Toronto, Ontario M5V 1J3
Broke ground	October 3, 1986
Opened	June 3, 1989
Owner	Rogers Communications
Operator	Rogers Communications
Surface	AstroTurf (1989-2004) FieldTurf (2005-present)
Construction cost	$570 million
Architect	Rod Robbie, Michael Allen
Former names
SkyDome (1989-2005)
Tenants
Toronto Blue Jays (AL) (1989-present) Toronto Argonauts (CFL) (1989-present) Toronto Raptors (NBA) (1995-1999)
Capacity
50,598 (2006 Baseball) 45,000 (2006 Toronto Argonauts Football) 53,506 (2007 Grey Cup) 28,708 Basketball 10,000-55,000 (2005 Concert)
Dimensions
Left Field Line - 328 ft (100 m) Left-Centre Power Alley - 375 ft (114 m) Centre Field - 404 ft (122 m) Right-Centre Power Alley - 375 ft (114 m) Right Field Line - 328 ft (100 m) Backstop - 60 ft (18 m)

Rogers Centre, formerly known as SkyDome,^[1] is a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, situated next to the CN Tower near the shores of Lake Ontario. It is home to the American League'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 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Background 1.2 Stadium construction 1.3 Stadium financing 1.4 SkyDome opening 1.5 Financial problems and fallout 1.6 Recent developments 1.7 Future developments 2 Etymology 3 Stadium features 3.1 JumboTron 4 Stadium usage 4.1 Sports 4.2 Concerts 4.3 Other Uses 5 Facts and figures 5.1 Stadium related 5.2 Sports related 6 Timeline 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

Rogers Centre 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.

[edit] Background

A cold, rain-soaked November 1982 Grey Cup, 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". 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 feasiblity 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.^{[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 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 centres.

[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 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 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 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 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 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 centre like TD Centre" (citation will follow soon).

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.

[edit] 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 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 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 (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 Sky Dome in their native costumes."
• Act V - "Open up the Dome" - "Liberty Silver and Tommy Ambrose 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 will re-introduce the performers and will join in a final celebration of the Opening of SkyDome."

(source: Opening night programme, published by the Toronto Sun)

[edit] 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 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 stadium's two sports teams resulted in a massive decrease in the amount companies are willing to pay for the Skybox. In addition, the Air Canada Centre was under-construction just down the road, and selling highly desired boxes for the civic favourite 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.

[edit] 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 Centre.^[1]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 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 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.

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.

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

[edit] 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)^[2]

[edit] 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 Centre, Rogers himself does not refer to it as such.^[3]

[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.

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 (CDN) of artwork was commissioned in 1989.

• The Audience - By Michael Snow is a collection of larger then life depictions of fans located aboved the northeast and northwest enterences. Painted gold, the sculptures show fans in various acts of celebration.
• A Tribute to Baseball - by Lutz Haufschild - located above the Southeast and Southwest enterences 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 to the South East enterence; it's a large fountain that has various stainless steel salmon cutouts.
• Spiral Fountain - by Judith Schwarz.

[edit] JumboTron

The JumboTron was the largest video display board in the world. Designed by Sony the screen is 3 stories high and nine stories wide (108 feet), taking up the space of 1/12th of an acre. The panel is made up of modular light units that can be replaced unit by unit. 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. 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 by Daktronics.

[edit] Stadium usage

[edit] Sports

Besides baseball and Canadian football, Rogers Centre 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 Centre. The centre has also hosted exhibition soccer, cricket, gaelic football and two NFL American Bowl games. In June 1997, Rogers Centre featured a well-publicized 150 metre 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 Centre 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 Centre, on the state of the art video board by Daktronics.

In January 2007, Rogers Centre 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 Centre, 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.

[edit] Concerts

Soon after the Rogers Centre 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 Centre. 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.

[edit] Other Uses

The 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 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 Opening Ceremonies of the XVI International AIDS Conference were held at the Rogers Centre on August 13, 2006.

The centre 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.

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 Jays and the Toronto Argonauts both have their office headquarters located in the building, and it is the home of the head offices of Ticketmaster Canada.

The 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 Cafe, and Windows Restaurant. Starting in 2006, the Hard Rock Cafe will only be open when there is a performance in the building. There are three box offices: Ticketmaster is located at Gate 7, the Blue Jays and Argonauts have their own box office at Gate 9, and Rogers Centre Tours runs a box office at Gate 2. On non-event days, there are daily tours of the Rogers Centre. There are two gift shops that sell Rogers Centre and both Argonauts and Blue Jays merchandise - one at Gate 2, and one inside the Rogers Plus Store at Gate 8.

[edit] Facts and figures

[edit] Stadium related

• The stadium roof actually has a patent, preventing its design from being easily copied: U.S. Patent #05167097. Officially registered on December 1st 1992 to dome architects Rob Robbie, and Chris Allen.
• The original mascot of the stadium was a turtle by the name of Domer.
• The McDonald's at SkyDome was the first McDonald's in the world to sell hotdogs.
• When the retractable roof is open, people standing on the glass floor of the observation deck of the nearby CN Tower can look down on the field.
• 50 million people have visited Rogers Centre
• When the roof is open: 91% of the seats and 100% of the field is open to the sky and covers 3.2 hectares (8 acres).
• The roof weighs 11,000 tons and it is held together by 250,000 bolts.
• When the stadium first opened, the TTC was worried about the challenge of moving the large crowds. So 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 Metropasses.
• The stadium's inward-looking hotel rooms have regular two-way windows, yielding instances of what some could consider indecent exposure. When SkyDome first opened, a couple engaging in sexual intercourse was televised on the scoreboard Jumbotron during a baseball game. Days later, a man was caught masturbating during a game in full view of the packed stands. The man, later tracked down by a Sports Illustrated reporter, calmly said, "I thought they were one-way windows."[2] Patrons now have to sign contracts stipulating that they will not perform any lewd acts within view of the stadium.
• 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 is the most expensive stadium in both the CFL and MLB, constructed at a price of 570 million Canadian dollars. But the MLB record expected to be passed by the New Yankee Stadium, scheduled for completion in 2009, at a cost of 800 million US. However if the cost of the SkyDome in 1984 is adjusted for inflation, it would be roughly 1.05 billion CDN (2006), or 911 million USD.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sports related

• Largest Crowds on record at the Rogers Centre:
  • Major League Baseball: The 1991 All-Star Game, played on July 9 attracted 52,383 spectators.
  • Toronto Blue Jays Baseball: A crowd of 52,268 attended Game 5 of the 1992 World Series, which saw Toronto take on the Atlanta Braves.
  • CFL Football: 54,088 packed the Rogers Centre to watch the 1989 Grey Cup Game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
  • Toronto Argonauts Football: The 1991 Eastern Division Final played against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers drew a crowd of 50,386.
  • Toronto Raptors Basketball: A March 24, 1996 game against the Chicago Bulls 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. Surprisingly, the expansion Raptors handed the record-setting Bulls one of their ten defeats that season, winning 109-108.
  • World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania X8 attracted the largest ever paid crowd to the Rogers Centre. The March 17, 2002 event gathered 68,237 fans. WrestleMania VI held the previously record of 67,678 on April 1, 1990.
• Natural grass was installed at SkyDome in July 2004 for the club football games between Liverpool versus Porto on July 30 and A.S. Roma versus Celtic on July 31.
• It is the tallest and most massive stadium used by any Major League Baseball team.
• Fireworks ceased to be ignited celebrating Jays home-runs and victories starting in the 2005 season, so as not to interfere with the new integrated scoring and display systems, and new condoplexes.
• Home to the 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the 1992 and 1993 World Series.
• New rules had to be written for Major League umpires in how to deal with the roof; one rule for example states that once the roof has been closed during the game, it can't be reopened.
• On August 22nd, 2006 a new "Home Run Horn" was installed at the Rogers Centre. It was first heard when on the same night, Vernon Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a home run. It is also used at the end of games when the team has won. The horn sounds similar to a fog horn off of a ship, or a goal horn that would be used by a hockey team. Though not officially the reason for the horn, many people attribute it as a rebuke to former Blue Jays designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand, who infamously wrote "The Ship is Sinking" on the locker room billboard shortly before a standoff between him and manager John Gibbons, resulting in a trade to the San Francisco Giants. During Toronto Argonauts games, this horn is used in conjunction with an animation on the JumboTron to incite the crowd.

[edit] Timeline

• 1986 - October 3rd - Official ground breaking on the site.
• 1989 - June 3rd - Stadium officially opens, hosting a live opening night event.
• 1989 - June 5th - Stadium sees its first Blue Jays game.
• 1989 - June 5th - Fred McGriff hits the first home run ever at SkyDome.
• 1989 - June 7th - John Cerutti records the first Blue Jays win at SkyDome.
• 1989 - The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-40 in what many consider to be the greatest Grey Cup of all time.
• 1990 - September 17th - ML baseball attendance record is broken as 49,902 fans watch the Jays beat the Yankees.
• 1990 - ML baseball season attendance record is broken with 58 sellouts and a total crowd of 3,885,284
• 1991 - July 9th - Host of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• 1992 - The Calgary Stampeders defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 80th Grey Cup.
• 1993 - October 23rd - The Blue Jays win their second straight World Championship after Joe Carter hits a walk off home run.
• 1995 - June 22nd, - 2 acoustic panels fall off the inner ceiling in the 7th inning injuring 7 fans.
• 1995 - July 9th - A worker dies when installing lights for a computer show (falling 25 feet)
• 1998 - November - Skydome files for bankruptcy protection
• 1998 - Skydome is bought by Sportsco.
• 2001 - August 3rd - the roof was closed in the 3rd inning of a Toronto Blue Jays game, at the request of home plate ump Tim Welke due to a major infestation of aphids.
• 2005 - February 2nd - Rogers Communications buys the Stadium and renames it Rogers Centre.
• 2007 - November - Rogers Centre plays host to the first Grey Cup in Toronto in 15 years.

[edit] See also

• List of Canadian Football League stadiums
• List of Major League Baseball stadiums
• List of Australian Football League grounds
• Cityplace (Toronto)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rogers Centre - World's Greatest Entertainment Centre
• Ballpark Digest Visit to Rogers Centre
• Google satellite image
• Skydome 3D model on Google Earth

Preceded by Exhibition Stadium 1977–1989	Home of the Toronto Blue Jays 1989–present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by first arena	Home of the Toronto Raptors 1995–1999	Succeeded by Air Canada Centre 1999–present
Preceded by Wrigley Field	Host of the All-Star Game 1991	Succeeded by Jack Murphy Stadium
Preceded by Trump Plaza	Host of WrestleMania VI 1990	Succeeded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Preceded by Reliant Astrodome	Host of WrestleMania X8 2002	Succeeded by Safeco Field

Coordinates: 43°38′28.68″N, 79°23′21.17″W

Current ballparks in Major League Baseball
National League		American League
AT&T Park | Busch Stadium | Chase Field | Citizens Bank Park | Coors Field | Dodger Stadium | Dolphin Stadium | Great American Ball Park | Miller Park | Minute Maid Park | PETCO Park | PNC Park | RFK Stadium | Shea Stadium | Turner Field | Wrigley Field		Angel Stadium | Comerica Park | Fenway Park | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Jacobs Field | Kauffman Stadium | McAfee Coliseum | Oriole Park | Rangers Ballpark | Rogers Centre | Safeco Field | Tropicana Field | U.S. Cellular Field | Yankee Stadium

Current stadiums in the Canadian Football League
Western Division		Eastern Division
BC Place Stadium | Commonwealth Stadium | McMahon Stadium | Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field		Canad Inns Stadium | Ivor Wynne Stadium | Percival Molson Stadium | Rogers Centre | (Olympic Stadium)

Current NCAA Division I-A college football bowl game stadiums

Alamodome (Alamo) • Aloha Stadium (Hawaiʻi, Hula) • Amon G. Carter Stadium (Armed Forces) • AT&T Park (Emerald) • Bank of America Stadium (Meineke) • Bronco Stadium (MPC Computers) • Cotton Bowl (Cotton) • Dolphin Stadium (Orange) • Florida Citrus Bowl (Champs Sports, Capital One) • Ford Field (Motor City) • Galena Park ISD Stadium (North-South Classic) • Georgia Dome (Chick-fil-A) • Independence Stadium (Independence) • Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (Gator)• LP Field (Music City) • Ladd Peebles Stadium (GMAC, Senior) • Legion Field (Papajohns.com) • Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Liberty) • Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, Sugar) • Qualcomm Stadium (Poinsettia, Holiday) • Raymond James Stadium (Outback) • Reliant Stadium (Texas, East-West Shrine) • Rogers Centre (International) • Rose Bowl (Rose) • Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas, All-American) • Sun Bowl Stadium (Sun, Texas v. Nation) • Sun Devil Stadium (Insight) • University Stadium (New Mexico) • University of Phoenix Stadium (Fiesta, BCS Nat'l Champ.)

WrestleMania venues
Allstate Arena • Boardwalk Hall • Caesars Palace • Citrus Bowl • Ford Field • Hartford Civic Center • Honda Center • Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena • Madison Square Garden • Nassau Coliseum • Pontiac Silverdome • RCA Dome • Reliant Astrodome • Rogers Centre • Safeco Field • Staples Center • TD Banknorth Garden • Wachovia Center