Latest news with #DownsviewAirport
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
How to make a shlep to Downsview Park appealing? A good first impression would help
It's the piece of advice almost everyone gets on their way to an important job interview: you only get to make a first impression once. By that folksy logic, Rogers Stadium failed with flying colours. The bleachers swayed. Many attending last week's high-profile show, Coldplay, struggled not only to reach the remote venue — situated at the north end of the main runway at the decommissioned Downsview Airport — but also to get home afterwards, when some transit service had already stopped.
Global News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Global News
Coldplay's Chris Martin says he ‘never criticized' Toronto's Rogers Stadium
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is clarifying the comments he made about Toronto's Rogers Stadium earlier this week. Martin issued the clarification Friday during the third of four concerts at the newly built stadium, which is on the outskirts of the city. When he first took the stage on Monday, Martin thanked the crowd for going through all 'the traffic and the travel and the trains and the waiting' to get to 'this weird stadium in the middle of nowhere.' But now Martin says he 'never criticized' the stadium and only meant to thank fans for making the trek to the former Downsview Airport lands. 'I have never criticized this stadium that was beautifully, kindly built for us to play in. I don't think to say anything mean at all,' Martin told the crowd on Friday. Story continues below advertisement 'I'm so grateful to have somewhere where we can hang out with all of you,' he added. 2:05 Coldplay's Chris Martin calls out Toronto's new venue: 'Weird stadium in the middle of nowhere' Concertgoers had complained about poor crowd control at the 50,000-capacity stadium when it first opened last month, and some said it was a hassle getting out of the venue even after Coldplay's first show. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy As of Wednesday, Rogers spokesman Zac Carreiro said Live Nation has been improving the venue's operations and 'we know they will continue to make enhancements at the stadium.' A Live Nation Canada spokesperson said those adjustments include 'improving crowd flow, easing traffic congestion, enhancing accessibility and comfort to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all guests.' K-Pop group Blackpink is set to take Rogers Stadium next, with two back-to-back shows on July 22 and July 23. Story continues below advertisement — With files from The Canadian Press
CBC
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Coldplay's Chris Martin says he didn't mean to insult Rogers Stadium after calling it 'weird'
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says he didn't mean to insult Toronto's newest concert venue when he called it a "weird stadium in the middle of nowhere." Martin issued the clarification Friday during the third of four concerts at the newly built Rogers Stadium, which is on the outskirts of the city. He says he "never criticized" the stadium and only meant to thank concertgoers for making the trek to the former Downsview Airport lands. When he first took the stage on Monday, he thanked fans for putting up with "the traffic and the travel and the trains and the waiting" to get to the venue. Concertgoers had complained about poor crowd control at the 50,000-capacity stadium when it first opened last month, and some said it was a hassle getting out of the venue even after Coldplay's first show. At Friday's show, Martin said he only meant to thank people for putting up with the hassle of getting to the venue, not to insult the people who built the stadium. "I have never criticized this stadium that was beautifully, kindly built for us to play in. I don't think to say anything mean at all. I'm so grateful to have somewhere where we can hang out with all of you," he said.
Hamilton Spectator
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
I went to Coldplay at Rogers Stadium in Toronto — Here's everything you need to know, from merch to food and tickets for weekend shows
Coldplay has taken over the city of Toronto and its newest concert destination, Rogers Stadium. Located at the former Downsview Airport grounds, and not to be mistaken for the Rogers Centre in the downtown core, the venue experience has been met with a mixed bag of opinions, but here's my take after attending night two of the globally popular tour. Whether you're trekking from out of town or travelling from within the city, there are a number of TTC subway stations that spit you out close to the venue. I would recommend getting off at Downsview Park. From the station, it's only about a 10-minute walk to Rogers Stadium's security checkpoint and ticket scan area, and there's ample amounts of signage and staff to direct you exactly where you need to go. Fans arriving for Coldplay at the main entrance at Rogers Stadium. Before you scan your tickets, you'll notice a sizeable merch stand with an even bigger queue of a lineup, but I would advise getting into the Fan Plaza itself, where there are other opportunities for merchandise. I joined what I thought would be a lengthy wait of a line at the main merchandise hub, but waited only 15 minutes before I got my hands on the shirt that I wanted. To avoid potentially longer wait times as fans continue to pile in, I'd recommend you arrive a couple of hours early to ensure you get the size and merchandise you're hoping for. The entrance to the main merchandise hub at Rogers Stadium. Coldplay's 'Music of the Spheres' tour has an extensive selection of merchandise, from tour T-shirts (including a Toronto-specific event shirt), to hoodies, hats, tote bags, water bottles and posters. Any of the wide selection of tour T-shirts will cost you $60, while a tour hoodie is priced at $120, before taxes. If you're looking for a Toronto specific poster, it's priced at $45, while hats are $50, tote bags are $15 and refillable Coldplay bottles are $45. A look into pricing of merchandise for Coldplay's tour at Rogers Stadium. In the Fan Plaza, you'll find a generous amount of vendors scattered throughout the stadium grounds, with anything from burgers, to poutines, tacos, hot dogs and sausages. Prices range anywhere from $8.50 for a hot dog or veggie dog, to $18 for chicken tenders and fries. Full disclosure, there was almost no availability for anything we wanted to eat from the vendors themselves, and we arrived three hours before showtime. Other on-site food options include the Night Market, where you'll find Pan Asian quick bites, pressed paninis or a selection of Bavarian bites, which is relative in pricing and readily available. We ended up going to the food trucks by the DJ stage, where you'll find Halibut House for fish and chips (although it's on the pricier end), EsauParrilla for smash burgers and poutines, and Kongs Hot Tacos for tacos and Asian-style poutines. A selection of food truck options at Rogers Stadium. A sit-down dining lounge sponsored by Birkenstock is also available, serving anything from appetizers like spicy Korean cauliflower bites for $14, coconut shrimp for $16, charcuterie boards for $24.50 and chicken schnitzel for $26. You can also order beer, wine by the glass and bottle and cocktails, if you're looking for more of a dining experience pre-show. A dine-in lounge offered at Rogers Stadium with alternative food and drink options like appetizers, main courses, and wine by the bottle. If you're feeling snacky, a bag of chips will cost you $4.50 and a bag of candy (Twizzlers) will cost you $6.50. A can of pop ranges from $7.50 to $9, and water bottles are $7. Canned beer is also available at vendors throughout, ranging from $14.75 for a tall can to $19.50 for a king-size can. All of this can be enjoyed among the many seating areas, lounges and high-top tables scattered around the stadium grounds. A number of seating areas are available at Rogers Stadium to enjoy your food and beverages. There are a number of ways to enjoy your time before the show, whether you're looking for a more premium dining experience at the American Express Lounge, jamming to a DJ set at the Sirius XM Stage, or want to take a spin on the ferris wheel, which is available free of charge. The ferris wheel is quite the hot commodity among the fans, with long lineups up until showtime. A Coldplay-themed ferris wheel at Rogers Park on the stadium grounds. Of course, you'll want to keep in mind the timing of it all when you're enjoying any of the pre-show experiences at Rogers Stadium. Starting at 5 p.m., you can get access to your seats, whether you're at the general admission floor area or any of the stands. The first opening act, Elyanna, takes the stage at 6:35 p.m., followed by Ayra Starr, who performs at 7:30 p.m. The main event, Coldplay, is scheduled for an 8:45 p.m. start, and while they showed up a tad late on opening night, they were right on time for the second night. If you aren't seated in the floor and general admission area, I would recommend you wear comfortable shoes as the stairs are plentiful to get to the stands themselves, regardless what row you're seated at. Generally speaking, a lot of the stadium ground level area is gravel and rocky, so sandals and flip flops aren't optimal. I sat in the west stand, which luckily is not facing the sunset, but if you happen to be seated in the east stand, sunglasses and sunblock would come in handy. In the stands themselves, you'll notice quite an alarming sway when the show begins and the crowd gets into it, but it levels out once people settle into the show. A view from the seats at the west stand, with the lenses provided to fans that add hearts and stars to the setting. Who could forget what everyone really came for — Coldplay — and it was one of the most visually appealing, energetic, crowd-engaging concert experiences I have ever been a part of. The set list takes you across all of their different eras, and the production level and sound at the venue is outstanding. Lead singer Chris Martin performs during night two of Coldplay at Roger's Stadium in Toronto. Each fan receives a wristband that lights up different colours throughout the night, along with 3D-style glasses that make the setting appear with stars and hearts. People of all ages were featured on the screen at different points, so be ready to bring the energy, and you may even get a chance to appear on the big screen yourself. A number of lucky fans even got the opportunity to hop onto the stage and dance with lead singer Chris Martin, who also selected a lucky individual from the floor area to take a seat with him at the piano and request a song. Without spoiling too much of the show itself for future concertgoers, be prepared for a truly breathtaking evening, in what was an overall successful concert experience at Toronto's newest entertainment venue. While the first show was met with some backlash in terms of crowd congestion and the amount of time it took people to exit the stadium grounds, I'd say Live Nation and Rogers Stadium took the necessary measures to ensure it's a smoother experience going forward. One trick I noticed among attendees is slowly heading toward aisles and section exits during the encore and watching from there in an attempt to beat the rush before the concert officially ends. I decided to stay until the very last song and fireworks show, and while it was crowded, I am pleased to say I was out of there and on my way to the nearest subway station in about 10 minutes. A good bulk of the crowd walked back toward Downsview Park station and toward Wilson and the rideshare area, so to avoid crowd congestion, you may want to walk to Sheppard West instead. Lighting and signage was provided throughout, so it was fairly easy to navigate. Fortunately, following the announcement by Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow, transit fare is free up to 90 minutes after the show from any of these stations. Coldplay are set to perform two more shows at Rogers Stadium, on Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12. If you're looking for tickets on Ticketmaster for Friday, tickets are going anywhere from $658 to $1,785. For the Saturday show, which is the final show of the tour here in Toronto, the cheapest seat will cost you $644, and it goes up to $1,725. You may come across tickets for slightly cheaper on StubHub, with the cheapest ticket currently going for $552 for Friday.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Concertgoers at new Rogers Stadium sound off on washrooms, water, crowd control
Some concertgoers who trekked to the new Rogers Stadium on Sunday evening are calling for changes following complaints about washrooms, water access and crowds. After K-pop superstars Stray Kids performed the inaugural concert at the temporary music venue to 50,000 adoring fans, several attendees shared their negative experiences on social media. The range of issues facing concert promoter and host Live Nation, which built the stadium at the former Downsview Airport location in North York, includes inadequate washroom facilities, few water stations and massive crowds leaving the area. 'They're having us crowd around and not letting people leave except in batches,' one concertgoer wrote on the X platform, giving the venue a zero out of 10. In a subsequent post, the fan shared a short clip of a very large crowd standing outside the TTC's Downsview Station at midnight. 'Clearly they didn't consider ridership and transit capacity when building the Rogers Stadium,' she wrote. A second video uploaded minutes later showed the concertgoer getting closer to the subway entrance. 'Hey @Rogers_Stadium! You're going to have to fix this issue before the Coldplay concerts, especially since it's forecasted to be warmer,' she wrote. 'The exit strategy is atrocious. People got sick and fainted. Some people missed the last GO train. This was a DANGEROUS situation.' A friend of hers who also attended the concert called the crowding 'insane.' 'Way too scary,' the friend added. 'I was praying a stampede wouldn't happen.' Another concertgoer shared their views of the venue to Reddit, calling the situation following the show a 'nightmare' and worse than leaving Budweiser Stage at the city's waterfront. They said the logistics were 'horrible' and advised future attendees to 'wear your comfiest shoes or seek accommodations' as it is a bit of a hike to get to the Downsview subway stop and GO trains. 'The worse part was leaving the venue because it was dark and I saw several people falling,' they wrote. 'There's 51k people trying to leave but there's little to no signage of where to go. There were staff near the exits holding traffic wands and telling people to head left if they were going to the rideshare area.' The concertgoer added that water stations were not located on the venue map and no signage pointed them out. The stadium asked fans just before the end of the concert to 'please stay safe, follow directions from event staff and look out for each other,' while reminding attendees that transit was free after the show. Councillor James Pasternak, who represents Ward 6 York Centre where the venue is located, said a high-level meeting will take place Wednesday morning with city staff, TTC, GO Transit, Live Nation and other stakeholders to sort out the challenges. 'We have to do a reset,' Pasternak said. 'We have to look at the exit plan, we have to look at how they're moving this large number of people out of the stadium at the same time and make sure the TTC and GO Transit are providing frequency that we need to move people as quickly as possible.' Homicides, carjackings and break-ins down in York Region: Cops CRIME SCENE: Nobleton residents on alert after coyotes bites 12-year-old boy Paramedic shouldn't have been fired over Israel comments: Union, law experts He said other issues that will be an easier fix are providing more water stations throughout the stadium and additional portable washrooms that are closer to the seating after attendees endured long lineups at far-away facilities. 'We have to look at this as a teaching moment to look at the things that went well,' Pasternak said. 'From all indications, people had an amazing time at this concert. They love the music, they love the atmosphere. It was a perfect night for an outdoor venue. 'But at the same time, there were issues. When you're trying to manage and accommodate a crowd of that size, you need to put certain things in place to make sure that it's an enjoyable concert experience and that it's safe.' British rock band Coldplay is set to play four shows at the venue beginning next Monday.
