Exhibition Stadium: Difference between revisions
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→Discussions begin over replacing Exhibition Stadium: The description of the problems with the retractable roof in Montreal could be misread to be referring to the SkyDome |
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===Discussions begin over replacing Exhibition Stadium=== |
===Discussions begin over replacing Exhibition Stadium=== |
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By 1983, officials with [[Metro Toronto]], the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a [[dome]]d stadium could be built closer to Toronto's downtown. The decision to build a [[retractable roof]] stadium – the second in [[North America]], and the first with rigid roof panels – along with engineering and cost questions meant that SkyDome (now [[Rogers Centre]]) was not completed until {{by|1989}}. If not delayed, it would have been the ''first'' retractable roof in North America; [[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Le Stade Olympique]] in [[Montreal]] finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988. However, |
By 1983, officials with [[Metro Toronto]], the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a [[dome]]d stadium could be built closer to Toronto's downtown. The decision to build a [[retractable roof]] stadium – the second in [[North America]], and the first with rigid roof panels – along with engineering and cost questions meant that SkyDome (now [[Rogers Centre]]) was not completed until {{by|1989}}. If not delayed, it would have been the ''first'' retractable roof in North America; [[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Le Stade Olympique]] in [[Montreal]] finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988. However, the Montreal design was problematic — soon after it was put into use it ripped on several occasions. In the months that followed, it was plagued by further rips and even leaks whenever it rained, bringing water down into the stadium. It was shut down for good in 1989, and replaced by a fixed roof in 1992. For this reason, SkyDome is sometimes said to have been the first ''fully-functioning'' retractable roof in North America. |
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====Life following the opening of SkyDome==== |
====Life following the opening of SkyDome==== |
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Revision as of 15:28, 27 August 2009
Template:Infobox Baseball Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (more commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian football, the Canadian National Exhibition and other events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team from 1977-1989. It also served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts Canadian Football League team from 1959-1988. The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game twelve times over a 24-year period.
Exhibition Stadium was actually the fourth stadium to be built on the site since 1879. The covered north-side grandstand was constructed in 1948, followed by a south bleacher section for football in 1959. When converted for football in 1959, the stadium seated 33,150.[1] The stadium was reconfigured again in the mid-1970s to allow the expansion Toronto Blue Jays to play there, with additional seating opposite the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side. It was the only major league stadium where the bleachers were covered but the main grandstand was not.
In 1999, the stadium was demolished, with the site being used for parking until 2006. BMO Field, a soccer-specific stadium for Toronto FC, was built on the site and opened in 2007.
History
Problems with hosting baseball
Exhibition Stadium was problematic for hosting baseball. Like most multi-purpose stadiums, the outfield seats were far from the field. This was magnified by the fact that Canadian football fields are 30 yards longer, and considerably wider, than American football fields. Combined with the vaguely horseshoe-shape of the stadium, this resulted in many of the seats down the right field line and in the bleachers in right-centre being extremely far from the infield; they actually faced each other rather than the action. In fact, some seats were as far as 820 feet from home plate — the farthest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the majors.
The best seats for baseball were the left-field bleachers, which offered the best view of the game.[citation needed] They were also the only section that offered protection from the elements. Ironically, they were the cheapest seats. The only other seats that offered a decent view of the game were directly behind the plate. Most other seats looked away from the field. Several bleacher seats in left-centre and several permanent seats down the right-field line were so far from the field that the Blue Jays didn't even sell them during the regular season.
Problems with the wind and cold
Relatively close to Lake Ontario, the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the season. The first Blue Jays game played there on April 7, 1977 was the only major league game ever played with the field covered entirely by snow. Conditions at the stadium led to another odd incident that first year. On September 15, Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver pulled his team off the field because he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players. This garnered a win by forfeit for the Jays. It remains the last time in major league baseball history that a team deliberately forfeited a game (as opposed to having an umpire call a forefiture due to unruly fan behaviour).
An April 30, 1984 game against the Texas Rangers was postponed due to 60 mph winds. Two Rangers batters complained about dirt swirling in their eyes, and Blue Jays pitcher Jim Clancy was blown off balance several times. The umpires stopped the game after only six pitches. After a 30-minute delay, the game was called off.
Because of the variable climate and the stadium's multiple tenants, the stadium's surface was AstroTurf instead of natural grass.
As a popular feeding ground for seagulls
Due to its position next to the lake, and the food disposed by baseball and football fans, the stadium was a popular feeding ground for seagulls. New York Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield was arrested on August 4, 1983 for killing a seagull with a baseball. Winfield had just finished his warmups in the 5th inning and threw a ball to the ball boy. The seagull was hit in the head and died. Some claimed that Winfield hit the bird on purpose, which prompted Yankees manager Billy Martin to quip, "They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man." The charges were later dropped. Winfield would later play for the Blue Jays, winning a World Series with the club in 1992.
Discussions begin over replacing Exhibition Stadium
By 1983, officials with Metro Toronto, the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a domed stadium could be built closer to Toronto's downtown. The decision to build a retractable roof stadium – the second in North America, and the first with rigid roof panels – along with engineering and cost questions meant that SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) was not completed until 1989. If not delayed, it would have been the first retractable roof in North America; Le Stade Olympique in Montreal finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988. However, the Montreal design was problematic — soon after it was put into use it ripped on several occasions. In the months that followed, it was plagued by further rips and even leaks whenever it rained, bringing water down into the stadium. It was shut down for good in 1989, and replaced by a fixed roof in 1992. For this reason, SkyDome is sometimes said to have been the first fully-functioning retractable roof in North America.
Life following the opening of SkyDome
Exhibition Stadium lay mostly dormant over the decade following the opening of SkyDome, except for the occasional concert or minor sporting event. It was demolished in 1999 and the site became a parking lot. A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to cross over to Ontario Place's main entrance. The remaining chairs were sold off to collectors during the dismantling of the stadium.
The "Mistake by the Lake"
Although not widely used while the stadium was in operation (given the well known Cleveland references), the term has been used more recently in reflection by local Canadian media to refer to the now-demolished venue.[2][3]
New stadium
On October 26, 2005, the City of Toronto approved $69 million CAD to build a new 20,000 seat stadium in almost the same spot where the old Stadium once was. The governments of Canada and Ontario combined for $35 million CAD, with the city paying $9.8 million CAD, and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment paying the rest, including any runoff costs. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment got the naming rights of the new stadium, and has a Major League Soccer team in the new stadium, named Toronto FC. The stadium, called BMO Field, also held the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup along with other cities in Canada.
Facts and figures
- The stadium was featured on a Season 4 Route 66 episode titled "A Long Way from St. Louie" which first aired on December 6, 1963. While on a helicopter tour over downtown Toronto, Tod Stiles and Linc Case (Martin Milner and Glenn Corbett, respectively) spot a quintet of girl musicians (two were played by Lynda Day and Jessica Walter), who were stranded in the city, sleeping on the benches in the covered north grandstand.
- In 1982, the 70th Grey Cup game held at the stadium had the largest number of television viewers in Canadian history, with 7,862,000. The record has since been broken.
- In 1985, the first Game 7 in the history of the American League Championship Series was played at the stadium. The Blue Jays lost to the Kansas City Royals, 6–2.
- On August 28, 1986, the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) held a live show at the stadium known as The Big Event. A then record crowd of 61,470 fans saw Hulk Hogan defeat "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff by disqualification in the main event to retain the WWF Championship.
See also
References
- ^ Toronto Argonauts 1959 Fact Book, inside front cover.
- ^ 'Mistake by the lake' no more, CBC. Accessed on August 5, 2009.
- ^ Toronto's dome turns 20, Toronto Star. Accessed on August 5, 2009.