Toronto's Rogers Stadium welcomes Coldplay with crowd control 'adjustments'

CBC

6 hours ago

Thousands of fans are flooding through the gates of Rogers Stadium for the first of four shows by British rock band Coldplay, as organizers say they are "making adjustments" to improve crowd control at Toronto's newest outdoor music venue.
Transit and venue staff were directing fans getting off the subway at nearby Downsview Park station, as long lines formed in front of the stadium gates where a busker performed Coldplay's hits.
After the venue's inaugural concert last Sunday, some attendees said it took up to two hours to exit the stadium as the site and transit services seemed ill-equipped to handle the large crowds.
Live Nation Canada, which operates Rogers Stadium in the city's north end, has said it would add more signage, lighting, staff and water stations to improve the fan experience.
Barb Lucas, who arrived from Oshawa, Ont., for the Coldplay show, says she is "terrified" after hearing about the long lines for bathrooms, limited water and swaying grandstands at the stadium's first concert.
Once the Coldplay concert is over, she says she's planning on staying in her seat until the crowds file out to avoid congestion.
"I thought this was at Rogers Centre," she said, referring to the similarly named stadium in downtown Toronto.
"Had I known it was here, we wouldn't have been going."
Fan report long walks, large crowds
Brian Ellis, who drove four hours from Detroit, said he booked his accommodations right beside the Rogers Centre, thinking the concert was at the downtown venue.
Instead of being steps away from the venue as planned, Ellis drove about 25 kilometres to the Sheppard West transit station parking lot and then walked for half an hour to get to the Rogers Stadium gates.
"It's interesting how far you have to walk to get in this place," he said.
But fans such as Emilio DeAngelis, who travelled from Quebec City, said he's embracing the large crowds as part of the experience.
"It's Coldplay. It's normal that there's a lot of people," he said.
Live Nation Canada has said that the stadium's exit routes will be reconfigured to disperse crowds to all three nearby subway stations in order to mitigate crowding at the Downsview Park station, which also serves GO train passengers.
The Toronto Transit Commission has said it will be adding more staff to its Downsview Park and Wilson stations on concert nights, while Metrolinx only said it would "closely monitor" GO train ridership levels for events at the stadium.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster has sent an email to Coldplay ticket holders advising them that cellular reception at Rogers Stadium gates "will be limited as this is a large-capacity venue."