Live Nation’s Wayne Zronik Talks Newly Named RBC Amphitheatre, Upcoming Renovations At Popular Toronto Shed

An amphitheatre by any other name would still sound as sweet and now Toronto’s Budweiser Stage is called RBC Amphitheatre, it was announced this week at a press conference.

Canada’s largest financial institution bought the naming rights and are key private investors in the massive renovation that will redesign the 30-year-old outdoor venue to an adaptable year-round facility. 

Labatt Breweries of Canada had held the naming rights since 2017 after the venue originally carried the name Molson Amphitheatre since it opened in 1995.

As previously announced in 2021, the lakefront amphitheatre which is situated on the 155-acre grounds of the Province-owned Ontario Place, itself undergoing a huge development — the amphitheatre will undergo a significant renovation to turn the seasonal outdoor venue into a four-season concert destination.

The current capacity of 16,000 (including 7,000 on the lawn) will increase to approximately 20,000 from May to October. The indoor capacity from fall to early spring will be 9,000 seats.

A diverse range of acts have played the venue over the past three decades, from Rush to Celine Dion, David Bowie to Whitney Houston, The Tragically Hip to Andrea Bocelli, with Canada’s own Blue Rodeo holding the record for the most headlining shows, more than 25. 

RBC Amphitheatre is expected to close for the first phase of build in the fall of 2027 and reopen in summer 2029 for outdoor concerts, with the rest of the renovations completed by summer 2030. 

RBC has long positioned itself as a supporter of the Canadian music industry with its RBCxMusic platform and up-and-coming artists via RBCxMusic First Up and the RBC Emerging Musician’s Program with Canada’s Walk of Fame. 

RBC President and CEO Dave McKay said at the press conference. “This partnership with Live Nation Canada is an investment in that belief. We’re incredibly proud to help transform RBC Amphitheatre to attract even more top performers and bring exceptional new music and entertainment experience to fans. 

“As we further become a world-class, year-round live music destination, this will create hundreds of new jobs, join thousands of visitors, and boost local businesses across the region. With every performance at RBC Amphitheatre, Canada’s reputation as a great music powerhouse will continue to build.”

Concerts have already been announced for next summer, including Cake (May 28), bbno$ (June 5), MGK (June 14), Bailey Zimmerman (June 18) and 5 Seconds of Summer (Aug. 5). RBC will have on-site fan activation spaces, including opportunities for ticket upgrades and giveaways.

Pollstar spoke with Live Nation Canada’s President, business operations Wayne Zronik about the challenges, the architects, the sound and other considerations for this big undertaking.

Pollstar: Who is the architect on this project?
Wayne Zronik: We went through a process to select architects. One of our priorities was making sure that we worked with somebody local who knew the city, who had a feel for it. We selected Partisans, Alex Josephson and his team, along with Gensler supporting them. Partisans is driving the ship and creating a vision that integrated into what Ontario Place has been. We were really happy with the vision they came up with. So, you’ll see that there’s a nod to the the pods and the Cinesphere [the lakefront defining triodetic-domed IMAX theatre] and the design of the new space frame canopy. It’s really meant to fit in place and be a bit of a nod to the history of Ontario Place, while also being a future oriented venue.

What is the biggest issue in taking an existing outdoor venue and making it year-round? 
On an island, by the lake. Yeah, all kinds of challenges.  One of our goals was balancing the outdoor feel in the lawn, and its history as an outdoor venue, with the capability of closing it in on a year-round basis. That’s been the challenge that Partisans and the architecture team had to wrestle with. And we think they’ve done a really great job.

What about the materials for a venue build on a lake in our frozen winters?
The space frame is like a geodesic dome space frame and that has a steel shell on it. We needed to rebuild the canopy because the existing one wasn’t capable of holding the weight of the panel enclosure system that will ultimately make up the seasonal enclosure that allows us to operate year-round. And so that was a big piece of it.

But, we’re trying to reuse a bunch of the facility, like the stage house. We’re going to maintain the structure of that while renovating around it. We’ll use what we can.

What about sound engineering, having great sound both outdoors and indoors?
Aercoustics are our acoustic consultants. We also have the capability of taking that new space frame and designing it and acoustically engineering it so that the sound is maximized in the pavilion, so that you’re actually in an acoustically tuned room now, instead of what is currently just some metal sheets that go over top of your head. 

You put $10 million (CAD) into upgrades in 2019 [opened post-pandemic, the members-only rooftop restaurant/bar Lake House, 150-capacity Lookout platform on the lawn, the 87-cap. Skyline Lounge and the 800-cap. lakeside gastropub River Bar]. What will you be keeping?
Things like the Lake House that are relatively new, we’ll try to retain, but we want to invest in the artist areas. We’re going to expand the stage house a little bit so that we can provide a better experience for artists and tours and crews that come through. That’s been one of the drawbacks [of what we have now]; there’s not a lot of space back there. And as you know, modern touring has gotten more complicated and sophisticated and you need more space, so we’re also going to do that. We’ll retain what should be retained because it’s great and things that need to be upgraded, we’ll upgrade those. 

Audience expectations are getting higher and higher, especially with spectacular builds like Sphere [in Vegas]. Will you have more capabilities in the indoor adaption like ceiling and wall LED?
You see in the renderings, the space frame is very cool. It looks much more architecturally interesting.  But yeah, you’re right, we have to deliver an incredible experience for fans, whether they just want to be on the lawn or whether they want to go to the premium clubs, and everything in between. What we’ve done is provide new hospitality options, new food and beverage options, new access points, greater accessibility. 

In recent years, you added a big food truck area on the grounds but there have always been concessions on either side of the venue with the basics, beer, pizza etcetera.  Will they now be enclosed?
Yeah, there’ll be some permanent concessions on either side of the building that’ll be enclosed by a translucent panel system. So that creates a pavilion that can be closed in, in the winter.

What about the view of our city? The people with the “cheap” tickets on the lawn can see a spectacular view of the CN Tower-spiked downtown skyline and Lake Ontario. Will more ticketholders see that?
Well, our side panels in the bowl will be glass. I don’t know if you’ll be high enough to see the city, but one of the priorities was maintaining and enhancing that city view. 

 When is this all starting? What will we see when it opens next May? 
You’ll see new signage, obviously with RBC Amphitheatre and we’ll continue to make slight improvements to the existing facility. We’re going to operate in ‘26 and ‘27 as RBC Amphitheatre, then after the 27th season, that’s when the work will really begin in earnest, and redevelopment again for the 28th season. And then our goal is to get back for the ‘29 summer season and by the time 2030 rolls around, we’ve got a completely convertible full year-round facility.

If you have to lose the 2028 season, that’s a lot of shows. Where can you put 16,000 capacity shows in addition to Scotiabank Arena?
We’re working on that right now. We don’t have anything specifically right now, but we’re certainly looking at things where we can host those shows. It might not be as conveniently located right in the core of the city, but we’re going to try to find a way to continue to deliver those shows in some sort of temporary or interim basis, but we don’t have the exact plans.

When RBC Amphitheatre opens as an indoor venue, the capacity will be 9,000. Does Toronto have any competition for that size? 
No, not really. Small arenas, but,  no, not really. It’s a unique size. It’s a seated bowl. So, it’ll be a great experience that way. It’ll open the doors for a new show experience for fans in Toronto. 

Did you talk to many corporations about naming rights before doing the deal with RBC?
We have been great partners with RBC for nine years. 

You’ve been great partners with Budweiser too.
Yeah, we’re going to continue to be partners with them. They’re going to continue to be our partners as we go forward. They’re just won’t have their name on the building anymore, but we love Labatt [a subsidiary of AB InBev] and we love the Budweiser folks and they’ll continue to be around. RBC has always been keen in being part of the redevelopment story. And as you can imagine, building something like this is expensive and requires the support of partners like RBC. 

There was no one from the government at the press conference but it’s provincial land you’re leasing. What department are you communicating with? 
It’s Infrastructure Ontario, who is running the redevelopment process. So, coordinating our project with the overall project. We work closely with Minister [Stan] Cho and the Tourism Ministry, and the Premier [Doug Ford] and, they have a vision for Ontario Place. We’re just very happy that the site’s going to be animated. We’re the only game in town down there, so it’ll be nice to have something that has people around us and a nice space around us. 

Is the design rendering accurate? The iconic Cinesphere will still be there?
Cinesphere and pods will be there. They’re staying. They’re in the process of renovating.

The pods are staying, the Cinesphere is staying, so there’s that element of history. The Ontario Science Centre tends to use those spaces. That’s why,  if you look at our new shell, with the pods and the Cinesphere, it all hangs together quite nicely. 

Our winters are harsh, and people are cozy at home with Netflix. Have you thought of anything to entice people down like a skating rink, an outdoor fire pit?
There’s going to be the whole park. It’s part of the Ontario Place redevelopment. There’s a big park on the on our east side, that I believe they plan on animating. But look, Canadians and Ontarians, Torontonians, they go out to shows in the winter. They’ve trudged out to Scotiabank Arena. And now with the enhanced transit options and the ability to get there in the enclosure, we know they’ll come out to the new venue. 

You’ll have more transit? 
Yes, the Ontario line [subway] is scheduled to come to Ontario Place by 2030. So hopefully right around the same time we’re finishing.