Toronto’s Rogers Stadium Sustains Significant Damage In Storm

Rogers Stadium, Toronto’s semi-permanent 50,000-capacity outdoor concert venue now in its second season, sustained “significant damage” in Wednesday night’s severe storm, leaving a question mark over the last concert scheduled there this year.

The stadium was built to pick up shows that might otherwise go into downtown Rogers Centre, which is often occupied by Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays during their season. The Jays are scheduled to play the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 16, the same day as the next concert scheduled at Rogers Stadium, AC/DC.

Aerial footage showed large sections of bleachers collapsed into a tangled mess of metal and chairs, with debris scattered throughout the grounds. Some of the other temporary structures were also damaged or destroyed. The food and merch kiosks in the fan plaza are shipping container pods.

“As a result of yesterday’s extreme weather, Rogers Stadium sustained significant damage,” a statement from Live Nation reads. “As always, the safety of our employees and on-site contractors is our top priority. Fortunately, no one was injured during the extreme weather event. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage and will provide further information as it becomes available.”

Chris Stapleton played the venue Tuesday night. Nothing was scheduled there Wednesday.

It is not yet known whether the damage will affect the AC/DC concert.

The storm brought heavy rain, hail and wind gusts exceeding 110 km/h. In some areas of the city, it caused flooding, downed trees and power lines and widespread power outages.

Live Nation Canada has leased 55 acres of the 370 acres owned by Northcrest Developments, a subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), for the stadium.

The company behind the construction and creative design of the site is BaAM with construction support from Urbacon.