Formerly: SkyDome Built: 1986-1989 Cost: CAN$500,000,000.00 Designed by: Rod Robbie and Michael Allen Type: Entertainment Venue Maximum Height: 282 feet / 86 meters Location: One Blue Jay Way, Toronto, Canada
T his stadium's claim to fame is that it was the first to have a fully retractable roof. These days retractable roof stadia are becoming more and more common. But the design of the The Rogers Centre remains unique. Like others, it has two pieces that move on a linear track. But the twist is the end cap. It rotates 180 degrees to tuck itself in under the other panels. This unique configuration gives the The Rogers Centre something similar structures lack -- an unobstructed view out of three sides of the stadium. It is unlikely this will be copied anytime soon, as the architects have patented their method. Another innovation involves the stadium seats. They are on tracks and can be moved around when needed. This allows the The Rogers Centre to go from a baseball field to a concert venue to a football field within hours, instead of days like at other stadia. When closed, the The Rogers Centre encloses a space of two million square feet and a volume of 56,500,000 cubic feet. The roof is 310 feet high -- enough to built a 30-story building inside. While the The Rogers Centre has a stated capacity of 53,000 it has exceeded that number on several occasions. The largest event was Wrestlemania VI when 67,678 people filled the seats. For smaller events when acoustics are important, the crew brings out the SkyTent which divides the stadium and improves the sound. While the dome appears to have little trouble attracting people to the cheap seats, it is the skyboxes that make the most money for any stadium. With the opening of the Air Canada Centre, the The Rogers Centre started having trouble renting out its 161 luxury suites. Consequently, the owners have reduced the price of a skybox lease to become more competitive.
The roof is 674 feet wide and 282 feet high.
The roof moves at a rate of 71 feet per minute.
It takes 20 minutes to retract the roof, exposing 91% of the seats and 100% of the field to the sky.
The roof weighs 11,000 tons and is held together by 250,000 bolts.
There are 1,280 toilets in the SkyDome.
June 20, 1995: Seven people were hurt when wooden panels fell from an upper deck onto the crowd below.
1999: This building is sold for US$79,000,000.
November, 2004: This building is sold for CAN$25,000,000 (US$21,000,000).
Fabio Covello
Saturday, February 11th, 2006 @ 6:15pm
Rating: Five stars. I saw the blue jays baseball team play here vs. the hated yankees... i loved toronto with all my heart.. wished i never had to leave... ti amo toronto.
d.j.
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 @ 6:12pm
Rating: Three stars. It was an incredible building at the time it was built. Only 16 years later it is dated. I like it for football, but it sucks for baseball. It is not a ballpark.
Jean Cretien
Monday, August 8th, 2005 @ 9:46pm
Rating: Five stars. The interior is vast, with a roof high enough for a fair sized apartment building inside. I've been invited to the luxury boxes for many events, and I enjoy the sightlines immensely. My favourite event is when the annual Golf Show sets up inside the dome for just under a week each winter.
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Fabio Covello
Five stars.
d.j.
Three stars.