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Exhibition Stadium

Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium and nicknamed The Ex[3]) was a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Originally built for Canadian National Exhibition events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1959 to 1988, the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1989, and the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1979 to 1983.[4][5] The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game 12 times over a 24-year period.

Canadian National Exhibition Stadium
Exhibition Stadium
CNE Stadium
The Ex
Exhibition Stadium in 1988
LocationLake Shore Boulevard West & Ontario Drive
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43°37′55″N 79°25′4″W / 43.63194°N 79.41778°W / 43.63194; -79.41778
Public transit Exhibition
 511  Bathurst
 29  TTC buses
OwnerCity of Toronto
OperatorCity of Toronto
Capacity20,679 (1948)[1]
33,150 (1959–1974 football)
41,890 (1975 football)
54,741 (1976–1988 football)
38,522 (1977 baseball)
43,737 (1978–1989 baseball)
Field sizeLeft Field – 330 ft (101 m)
Left-Centre – 375 ft (114 m)
Centre Field – 400 ft (122 m)
Right-Centre – 375 ft (114 m)
Right Field – 330 ft (101 m)
Backstop – 60 ft (18 m)
SurfaceGrass (1959–1971)
AstroTurf (1972–1989)
Construction
Built1948 (grandstand)
1959 (football bleachers)
1976 (football and baseball seats)
OpenedAugust 5, 1959
Closed1996
DemolishedJanuary 31, 1999
Construction cost$3 million (1948 north grandstand)[1]
$650,000 (1959 south bleachers)[1]
$17.5 million (1976 renovations)[2]
ArchitectMarani and Morris (1948)
Bill Sanford (1976)
Tenants
Toronto Argonauts (CFL) (1959–1988)
Serbian White Eagles (NSL) (1973–1974)
Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) (1977–1989)
Toronto Blizzard (NASL) (1979–1983)

The grandstand (known as CNE Grandstand) was used extensively throughout the summer months for hosting concerts.[6]

In 1999, the stadium was demolished and the site was used for parking until 2006. BMO Field was built on the site in 2007 roughly where the northern end of the covered grandstand once stood.

History edit

CNE Grandstand edit

Exhibition Stadium was the fourth stadium to be built on its site since 1879.[1] When the original grandstand was lost due to a fire in 1906, it was quickly rebuilt.[1] A second fire destroyed the stadium in 1947, which led to the city constructing a covered north-side grandstand (known as CNE Grandstand) for CA$3 million in 1948.[7][8][9][10][11] This part of the stadium's structure stayed even as the stadium underwent various changes to its configuration over the years until its 1999 closure.

Many rock concerts were also held at the stadium, both the grandstand and the whole stadium were used for popular rock and pop acts such as Pink Floyd, The Who, U2, David Bowie, Chicago, New Order, Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, Rush, Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Kim Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, INXS, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Elton John, Whitney Houston and Janis Joplin, New Kids On The Block.[citation needed]

Expansion for CFL football edit

When the Toronto Argonauts moved from Varsity Stadium for the 1959 season, a smaller CA$650,000 bleacher section was added along the south sideline.[1][12][13] In this form the stadium seated 33,150.[14]

 
1959 south side expansion seen during 1971 Argonauts game

The inaugural game at the renovated Exhibition Stadium was an exhibition interleague game between the hometown Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) on August 5, 1959. The game was the first time an NFL team played in Toronto.[15][16] It was also the first NFL–CFL exhibition match held since the establishment of the CFL in 1958, and marked the beginning of a three-year, four game exhibition series between the leagues.

When the 58th Grey Cup was played at the stadium in 1970, Calgary Stampeders coach Jim Duncan described the condition of the natural-grass surface as "a disgrace."[17] In January 1972, Metropolitan Toronto Council voted 15–9 to spend $625,000 to install artificial turf. The vote passed despite five councillors changing their vote to oppose the motion, because the cost had increased from a previous estimate of $400,000.[18] Two months later, contracts totalling CA$475,000 were approved to install the AstroTurf, with work to be completed by June, in time for the start of the Toronto Argonauts' 1972 season.[19]

Reconfiguration for baseball edit

In 1974, in a bid to acquire a Major League Baseball team, the city voted to reconfigure the stadium to make it compatible for baseball,[20] leading to the arrival of Major League Baseball in Toronto in 1977 in the form of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays after a failed attempt to lure the San Francisco Giants to the city.

 
A Toronto Blue Jays game during the 1977 season

Originally planned to cost CA$15 million[20] before growing to CA$17.5 million ($79.7 million in 2021 dollars)[21], the renovations, which were funded by the city and province, added seating opposite to the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side.[1][2][22][23][24] Football capacity was increased from 33,150 before the renovations to 41,890 initially, then finally to 54,741 after work was completed.[20] Although the stadium was expanded to accommodate baseball, the new seats were first used for football and allowed the 64th Grey Cup in November 1976 to be watched by a then-Grey Cup record crowd of 53,467. For baseball, the stadium originally seated 38,522; however, by the Blue Jays' second season this increased to 43,739,[25] although only about 33,000 seats were usually made available (see below).

Even in its new, expanded form, Exhibition Stadium was problematic for hosting both baseball and football. Blue Jays' President Paul Beeston noted Exhibition Stadium "wasn't just the worst stadium in baseball, it was the worst stadium in sports."[26]

Baseball problems edit

 
The stadium exterior in 1992

Like most multi-purpose stadiums, the lower boxes were set further back than comparable seats at baseball-only stadiums to accommodate the wider football field. Compared to U.S. stadiums, this was magnified by the fact Canadian football fields are almost 34% larger than American football fields.[note 1] Many of the seats down the right-field line and in right-centre were extremely far from the infield; they actually faced each other rather than the action. Some seats were as far as 820 feet (250 m) from home plate — the greatest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the major leagues.[25] The Blue Jays realized early on that these seats were too far from the field to be of any use during the regular season. As such, they were only sold when necessitated by demand during the 1985 and 1987 pennant races. As the original grandstand was used for the outfield seats, these were the cheapest seats but were the only ones which offered some protection from the elements;[27] the Blue Jays were the only MLB team using a stadium with such a configuration.

Football problems edit

Because the full length of the third-base line had to be fitted between the north stand (the original grandstand) and the new south stand, they could no longer be parallel to each other. As a compromise between placements suitable for the two stands, the football field was rotated anticlockwise away from the north stand.[28] Thus, the only seats as close to the field as before were those near the eastern end zone, and no seats had as good a view of the whole field as the centre-field seats before the conversion.

Although the Argonauts recorded average attendances of above 40,000 fans per game in the first few seasons following the stadium's expansion, by the mid-1980s average attendance had fallen to fewer than 30,000 fans per game.

Problems with the wind and cold edit

Being situated relatively close to Lake Ontario, the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the baseball season (and the end of the football 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. The Blue Jays had to borrow Maple Leaf Gardens' Zamboni to clear off the field. 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 -- in Weaver's opinion -- he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players. This garnered a win by forfeit for the Jays – the only time in major league baseball history since 1914 that a team deliberately forfeited a game (as opposed to having an umpire call a forfeiture).[29]

An April 30, 1984, game against the Texas Rangers was postponed due to 60 mph (97 km/h) winds. Before the game, Rangers manager Doug Rader named Jim Bibby as his starting pitcher, stating "he's the heaviest man in the world, and thus will be unaffected by the wind." However, Bibby would never make it to the mound. Two Rangers batters complained about dirt swirling in their eyes, and Blue Jays starting 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.[30]

The stadium also occasionally had problems with fog, once causing a bizarre inside-the-park home run for Kelly Gruber in 1986, when an otherwise routine pop up was lost by the outfielders in the thick fog.[31]

 
Original architectural model of the fourth Exhibition Stadium's grandstand, from 1948

As a popular feeding ground for seagulls edit

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 warm-up exercises in the 5th inning and threw a ball to the ball boy, striking a seagull in the head. The seagull died, and some claimed that Winfield hit the bird on purpose, which prompted Yankees manager Billy Martin to state "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.

70th Grey Cup and replacement edit

Exhibition Stadium's fate was sealed during the 70th Grey Cup in 1982, popularly known as "the Rain Bowl" because it was played in a driving rainstorm that left most of the crowd drenched. Many of the seats were completely exposed to the elements, forcing thousands of fans to watch the game in the concession section. To make matters worse, the washrooms overflowed. In attendance that day was then-Ontario Premier Bill Davis, and the poor conditions were seen by over 7.862 million television viewers in Canada (at the time the largest TV audience ever in Canada).[32] The following day, at a rally at Toronto City Hall, tens of thousands of people who were there to see the Toronto Argonauts began to chant, "We want a dome! We want a dome!" So too did others who began to discuss the possibility of an all-purpose, all-weather stadium.[33]

Seven months later, in June 1983, Premier Davis formally announced that a three-person committee would look into the feasibility of building a domed stadium at Exhibition Place. The committee consisted of Paul Godfrey, Larry Grossman and former Ontario Hydro chairman Hugh Macaulay.[34] That same year, the city also studied a number of potential sites for the new domed stadium, and in April 1984, CN agreed to donate 7 acres (2.8 ha) of land near the CN Tower for the stadium; groundbreaking began in October 1986, and the stadium, which would take on the name SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), opened in June 1989.[35]

Life following the opening of SkyDome and demolition edit

 
 
Demolition of the stadium in January 1999.

Exhibition Stadium mostly stayed inactive over the decade following the opening of SkyDome (being used sometimes as a racetrack or a parking lot), except for the occasional concert or minor sporting event. The World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), needing a new venue after a decision to discontinue events at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995, held one card at the stadium on August 24, 1996, for a crowd of 21,211. The main event was Shawn Michaels vs. Goldust in a ladder match.[36] A series of CASCAR races were held at the track during the 1990s, with the stadium being reconfigured for such races.

The stadium was demolished in 1999 and the site is now the location of BMO Field and a parking lot. A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to Ontario Place's main entrance. As is common with stadium demolitions, a number of the remaining seats were sold to fans and collectors. The original locations of all bases and home plate are marked in the parking lot south of BMO Field.

The "Mistake by the Lake" edit

Although not widely used while the stadium was in operation (given the well known references to Cleveland's Municipal Stadium), the term "Mistake by the Lake" has been used more recently in reflection by Toronto media to refer to the now-demolished venue.[37]

New stadium edit

On October 26, 2005, the City of Toronto approved CA$69 million to build BMO Field, 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 CA$35 million, with the city paying CA$9.8 million, 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 also held the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup along with other cities in Canada.

BMO Field was initially built as a soccer-specific stadium with field dimensions that were too small to accommodate a Canadian football field and was operated as such until 2015 when MLSE owners Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Canada agreed to purchase the Toronto Argonauts. As part of the agreement, BMO Field was renovated to allow the Argonauts to move back to the site in time for the 2016 CFL season. The stadium also hosted the 104th Grey Cup in 2016 and MLS Cups in 2010, 2016, and 2017, along with the outdoor NHL Centennial Classic game within a 35-day period.

Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre edit

For the 2015 Pan American Games and Parapan American Games, the old stadium footprint (parking lot) became the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre. The temporary venue had bleachers and a playing area filled with 3,000 metric tonnes of sand.[38] After the Pan American Games, the venue was torn down to allow for setup of rides and restore parking spaces for the 2015 Canadian National Exhibition opening on August 21 of the same year.

Facts and figures edit

Grey Cups at Exhibition Stadium
Game Date Winning team Score Losing team Attendance Lore
47th November 28, 1959 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21–7 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 34,426
49th December 2, 1961 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21–14 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36,592
50th December 1–2,[A] 1962 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28–27 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32,655 "The Fog Bowl"
52nd November 28, 1964 BC Lions 34–24 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32,655
53rd November 27, 1965 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 22–16 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32,655 "The Wind Bowl"
56th November 30, 1968 Ottawa Rough Riders 24–21 Calgary Stampeders 33,185
58th November 28, 1970 Montreal Alouettes 23–10 Calgary Stampeders 32,669
61st November 25, 1973 Ottawa Rough Riders 22–18 Edmonton Eskimos 36,475
64th November 28, 1976 Ottawa Rough Riders 23–20 Saskatchewan Roughriders 53,389 "The Catch"
66th November 26, 1978 Edmonton Eskimos 20–13 Montreal Alouettes 54,695
68th November 23, 1980 Edmonton Eskimos 48–10 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 54,661
70th November 28, 1982 Edmonton Eskimos 32–16 Toronto Argonauts 54,741 "The Rain Bowl"

^ A. Game was suspended with 9:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to extremely dense fog, and completed the next day.

Vanier Cups at Exhibition Stadium
Game Date Winning team Score Losing team Attendance
9th November 24, 1973 Saint Mary's Huskies 14–6 McGill Redmen 17,000
10th November 22, 1974 Western Ontario Mustangs 19–15 Toronto Varsity Blues 24,777
11th November 21, 1975 Ottawa Gee-Gees 14–9 Calgary Dinos 17,841
Major League Baseball Postseason Games at Exhibition Stadium
1985 American League Championship Series
Game Date Winning team Score Losing team Time Attendance
1 October 8, 1985 Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 Kansas City Royals 2:24 39,115[39]
2 October 9, 1985 Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 Kansas City Royals 3:39 34,029[40]
6 October 15, 1985 Kansas City Royals 5-3 Toronto Blue Jays 3:12 37,557[41]
7 October 16, 1985 Kansas City Royals 6-2 Toronto Blue Jays 2:49 32,084[42]
Kansas City won the series, 4–3

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Until the size of the CFL endzones were reduced from 25 yards to 20 in 1986, the Canadian field was 40 yards (37 m) longer and 35 feet (11 m) wider.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Brehl, Robert (May 23, 1989). "The noteworthy and not-so-worthy Ex Stadium has survived fires, storms and seagulls". Toronto Star.
  2. ^ a b Brehl, Robert (May 23, 1989). "Those were the days? Exhibition Stadium had it all: cold and rain and shivering fans. "Enough's enough", declared two sports nuts, vowing to build a dome". Toronto Star.
  3. ^ Lott, John, and McGrath, Kaitlyn (May 8, 2020). "Inside the Ex: Tales from the Blue Jays' ugly, quirky, yet lovable first home". The Athletic. Retrieved November 6, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Beard, Randy (April 25, 1979). "Blizzard Hope Revenge Snowballs The Rowdies". Evening Independent. p. 1C. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Beard, Randy (May 4, 1984). "Down 3 more teams, but NASL is stronger". Evening Independent. p. 6C. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  6. ^ . Cnearchives.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  7. ^ "'To Cost Over 4 Million,' Asks Grandstand Probe". The Globe and Mail. September 21, 1948.
  8. ^ "Fireworks Over CNE: Council Would Let Ex Boss Grandstand, Field; Fiery Aldermen Object". The Globe and Mail. November 2, 1948.
  9. ^ Coleman, Jim (September 29, 1948). "By Jim Coleman". The Globe and Mail.
  10. ^ Tumpane, Frank (December 7, 1949). "Sweet reason". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ "Spring Rehabilitation: Offer to Improve CNE Sports Field For 1950 Grey Cup". The Globe and Mail. December 7, 1949.
  12. ^ Westall, Stanley (August 5, 1960). "With $450,000 Stake the City couldn't lose, it was said, but it did". The Globe and Mail.
  13. ^ "CNE Stadium Muddle". The Globe and Mail. November 24, 1959.
  14. ^ Toronto Argonauts 1959 Fact Book, inside front cover.
  15. ^ Teitel, Jay (1983). The Argo Bounce. Toronto, Ontario: Lester and Orpen Dennys. pp. 54–55. ISBN 0-88619-033-9.
  16. ^ "Argos Smothered By Cardinals And Lose Norm Stoneburgh". Canadian Press. August 6, 1959. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  17. ^ . Canadian Football League website. Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  18. ^ "Sports to boom at CNE stadium with mod sod". Toronto Star. January 26, 1972. p. 14.
  19. ^ "Estimate was $625,000: CNE artificial sod to cost $475,000". Toronto Star. March 29, 1972. p. 45.
  20. ^ a b c Simpson, Jeff (February 27, 1974). "Work could start this fall: Metro votes 23 to 6 to enlarge the CNE Stadium". The Globe and Mail.
  21. ^ 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  22. ^ MacCarl, Neil (June 5, 1976). "CNE Stadium: $17.8 million home for baseball". Toronto Star.
  23. ^ Best, Michael (July 18, 1977). "Blue Jays score in millions for Metro". Toronto Star.
  24. ^ Kirkland, Bruce (July 2, 1977). "Forum music, CNE noise: Will they ever co-exist?". Toronto Star.
  25. ^ a b Lowry, Phillip (2005). Green Cathedrals. New York City: Walker & Company. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
  26. ^ Macleod, Robert (September 25, 2015). "Paul Beeston heads for the bench". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  27. ^ Smith, Curt (2001). Storied Stadiums. New York City: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1187-6.
  28. ^ Illustration at: "Exhibition Stadium". Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  29. ^ "Remembering the game that Earl Weaver forfeited at Exhibition Stadium". January 23, 2013.
  30. ^ Bradbeer, Janice (March 31, 2016). "Once Upon A City: Mistake by the Lake's troubled place in Toronto history | The Star". The Toronto Star.
  31. ^ "Tigers in a Fog as Blue Jays romp to win". Montreal Gazette. Canadian Press. June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  32. ^ Canadian Football League, Canada.
  33. ^ Paikin, Steve (October 22, 2016). Paikin on Ontario's Premiers 2-Book Bundle: Bill Davis / Paikin and the Premiers. Dundurn. p. 785. ISBN 978-1-4597-3833-1.
  34. ^ Miller, David (October 7, 1984). Battle Is On for Right to Build Our Domed Stadium. Toronto Star. pg A1, A13.
  35. ^ "Historicist: The Road to SkyDome". Torontoist. June 13, 2009.
  36. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 5, 2019). "WWF Xperience 1996". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  37. ^ Woolsey, Garth (May 30, 2009). "Toronto's dome turns 20". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  38. ^ . Archived from the original on April 27, 2014.
  39. ^ "1985 ALCS Game 1 - Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  40. ^ "1985 ALCS Game 2 - Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  41. ^ "1985 ALCS Game 6 - Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  42. ^ "1985 ALCS Game 7 - Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

External links edit

  • Overhead photo of Exhibition Stadium March 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  • BallparksOfBaseball.com
  • Ballparks.com
  • Baseball field diagram
  • Football configuration
  • Video about Exhibition Stadium (YouTube)
  • The Governor General's Foot Guards Band with the band of the Royal Regiment of Canada at the Toronto Exhibition Stadium in 1984
  • Exhibition Stadium NASCAR's race results at Racing-Reference
Events and tenants
Preceded by
first ballpark
Home of the
Toronto Blue Jays

1977–1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by Home of the
Toronto Argonauts

1959–1988
Succeeded by

exhibition, stadium, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, . For other uses see Exhibition Stadium disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Exhibition Stadium news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Canadian National Exhibition Stadium commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium and nicknamed The Ex 3 was a multi purpose stadium in Toronto Ontario Canada on the grounds of Exhibition Place Originally built for Canadian National Exhibition events the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League CFL from 1959 to 1988 the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball MLB from 1977 to 1989 and the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League NASL from 1979 to 1983 4 5 The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game 12 times over a 24 year period Canadian National Exhibition StadiumExhibition Stadium CNE StadiumThe ExExhibition Stadium in 1988LocationLake Shore Boulevard West amp Ontario DriveToronto Ontario CanadaCoordinates43 37 55 N 79 25 4 W 43 63194 N 79 41778 W 43 63194 79 41778Public transitExhibition 511 Bathurst 29 TTC busesOwnerCity of TorontoOperatorCity of TorontoCapacity20 679 1948 1 33 150 1959 1974 football 41 890 1975 football 54 741 1976 1988 football 38 522 1977 baseball 43 737 1978 1989 baseball Field sizeLeft Field 330 ft 101 m Left Centre 375 ft 114 m Centre Field 400 ft 122 m Right Centre 375 ft 114 m Right Field 330 ft 101 m Backstop 60 ft 18 m SurfaceGrass 1959 1971 AstroTurf 1972 1989 ConstructionBuilt1948 grandstand 1959 football bleachers 1976 football and baseball seats OpenedAugust 5 1959Closed1996DemolishedJanuary 31 1999Construction cost 3 million 1948 north grandstand 1 650 000 1959 south bleachers 1 17 5 million 1976 renovations 2 ArchitectMarani and Morris 1948 Bill Sanford 1976 TenantsToronto Argonauts CFL 1959 1988 Serbian White Eagles NSL 1973 1974 Toronto Blue Jays MLB 1977 1989 Toronto Blizzard NASL 1979 1983 The grandstand known as CNE Grandstand was used extensively throughout the summer months for hosting concerts 6 In 1999 the stadium was demolished and the site was used for parking until 2006 BMO Field was built on the site in 2007 roughly where the northern end of the covered grandstand once stood Contents 1 History 1 1 CNE Grandstand 1 2 Expansion for CFL football 1 3 Reconfiguration for baseball 1 3 1 Baseball problems 1 3 2 Football problems 1 4 Problems with the wind and cold 1 5 As a popular feeding ground for seagulls 1 6 70th Grey Cup and replacement 1 6 1 Life following the opening of SkyDome and demolition 1 6 2 The Mistake by the Lake 2 New stadium 3 Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre 4 Facts and figures 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory editCNE Grandstand edit Exhibition Stadium was the fourth stadium to be built on its site since 1879 1 When the original grandstand was lost due to a fire in 1906 it was quickly rebuilt 1 A second fire destroyed the stadium in 1947 which led to the city constructing a covered north side grandstand known as CNE Grandstand for CA 3 million in 1948 7 8 9 10 11 This part of the stadium s structure stayed even as the stadium underwent various changes to its configuration over the years until its 1999 closure Many rock concerts were also held at the stadium both the grandstand and the whole stadium were used for popular rock and pop acts such as Pink Floyd The Who U2 David Bowie Chicago New Order Depeche Mode Iron Maiden Rush Van Halen Guns N Roses Kim Mitchell Bruce Springsteen INXS Bon Jovi AC DC Elton John Whitney Houston and Janis Joplin New Kids On The Block citation needed Expansion for CFL football edit When the Toronto Argonauts moved from Varsity Stadium for the 1959 season a smaller CA 650 000 bleacher section was added along the south sideline 1 12 13 In this form the stadium seated 33 150 14 nbsp 1959 south side expansion seen during 1971 Argonauts gameThe inaugural game at the renovated Exhibition Stadium was an exhibition interleague game between the hometown Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League CFL and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League NFL on August 5 1959 The game was the first time an NFL team played in Toronto 15 16 It was also the first NFL CFL exhibition match held since the establishment of the CFL in 1958 and marked the beginning of a three year four game exhibition series between the leagues When the 58th Grey Cup was played at the stadium in 1970 Calgary Stampeders coach Jim Duncan described the condition of the natural grass surface as a disgrace 17 In January 1972 Metropolitan Toronto Council voted 15 9 to spend 625 000 to install artificial turf The vote passed despite five councillors changing their vote to oppose the motion because the cost had increased from a previous estimate of 400 000 18 Two months later contracts totalling CA 475 000 were approved to install the AstroTurf with work to be completed by June in time for the start of the Toronto Argonauts 1972 season 19 Reconfiguration for baseball edit In 1974 in a bid to acquire a Major League Baseball team the city voted to reconfigure the stadium to make it compatible for baseball 20 leading to the arrival of Major League Baseball in Toronto in 1977 in the form of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays after a failed attempt to lure the San Francisco Giants to the city nbsp A Toronto Blue Jays game during the 1977 seasonOriginally planned to cost CA 15 million 20 before growing to CA 17 5 million 79 7 million in 2021 dollars 21 the renovations which were funded by the city and province added seating opposite to the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side 1 2 22 23 24 Football capacity was increased from 33 150 before the renovations to 41 890 initially then finally to 54 741 after work was completed 20 Although the stadium was expanded to accommodate baseball the new seats were first used for football and allowed the 64th Grey Cup in November 1976 to be watched by a then Grey Cup record crowd of 53 467 For baseball the stadium originally seated 38 522 however by the Blue Jays second season this increased to 43 739 25 although only about 33 000 seats were usually made available see below Even in its new expanded form Exhibition Stadium was problematic for hosting both baseball and football Blue Jays President Paul Beeston noted Exhibition Stadium wasn t just the worst stadium in baseball it was the worst stadium in sports 26 Baseball problems edit nbsp The stadium exterior in 1992Like most multi purpose stadiums the lower boxes were set further back than comparable seats at baseball only stadiums to accommodate the wider football field Compared to U S stadiums this was magnified by the fact Canadian football fields are almost 34 larger than American football fields note 1 Many of the seats down the right field line and in right centre were extremely far from the infield they actually faced each other rather than the action Some seats were as far as 820 feet 250 m from home plate the greatest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the major leagues 25 The Blue Jays realized early on that these seats were too far from the field to be of any use during the regular season As such they were only sold when necessitated by demand during the 1985 and 1987 pennant races As the original grandstand was used for the outfield seats these were the cheapest seats but were the only ones which offered some protection from the elements 27 the Blue Jays were the only MLB team using a stadium with such a configuration Football problems edit Because the full length of the third base line had to be fitted between the north stand the original grandstand and the new south stand they could no longer be parallel to each other As a compromise between placements suitable for the two stands the football field was rotated anticlockwise away from the north stand 28 Thus the only seats as close to the field as before were those near the eastern end zone and no seats had as good a view of the whole field as the centre field seats before the conversion Although the Argonauts recorded average attendances of above 40 000 fans per game in the first few seasons following the stadium s expansion by the mid 1980s average attendance had fallen to fewer than 30 000 fans per game Problems with the wind and cold edit Being situated relatively close to Lake Ontario the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the baseball season and the end of the football 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 The Blue Jays had to borrow Maple Leaf Gardens Zamboni to clear off the field 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 in Weaver s opinion he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players This garnered a win by forfeit for the Jays the only time in major league baseball history since 1914 that a team deliberately forfeited a game as opposed to having an umpire call a forfeiture 29 An April 30 1984 game against the Texas Rangers was postponed due to 60 mph 97 km h winds Before the game Rangers manager Doug Rader named Jim Bibby as his starting pitcher stating he s the heaviest man in the world and thus will be unaffected by the wind However Bibby would never make it to the mound Two Rangers batters complained about dirt swirling in their eyes and Blue Jays starting 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 30 The stadium also occasionally had problems with fog once causing a bizarre inside the park home run for Kelly Gruber in 1986 when an otherwise routine pop up was lost by the outfielders in the thick fog 31 nbsp Original architectural model of the fourth Exhibition Stadium s grandstand from 1948As a popular feeding ground for seagulls edit 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 warm up exercises in the 5th inning and threw a ball to the ball boy striking a seagull in the head The seagull died and some claimed that Winfield hit the bird on purpose which prompted Yankees manager Billy Martin to state 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 70th Grey Cup and replacement edit Exhibition Stadium s fate was sealed during the 70th Grey Cup in 1982 popularly known as the Rain Bowl because it was played in a driving rainstorm that left most of the crowd drenched Many of the seats were completely exposed to the elements forcing thousands of fans to watch the game in the concession section To make matters worse the washrooms overflowed In attendance that day was then Ontario Premier Bill Davis and the poor conditions were seen by over 7 862 million television viewers in Canada at the time the largest TV audience ever in Canada 32 The following day at a rally at Toronto City Hall tens of thousands of people who were there to see the Toronto Argonauts began to chant We want a dome We want a dome So too did others who began to discuss the possibility of an all purpose all weather stadium 33 Seven months later in June 1983 Premier Davis formally announced that a three person committee would look into the feasibility of building a domed stadium at Exhibition Place The committee consisted of Paul Godfrey Larry Grossman and former Ontario Hydro chairman Hugh Macaulay 34 That same year the city also studied a number of potential sites for the new domed stadium and in April 1984 CN agreed to donate 7 acres 2 8 ha of land near the CN Tower for the stadium groundbreaking began in October 1986 and the stadium which would take on the name SkyDome now Rogers Centre opened in June 1989 35 Life following the opening of SkyDome and demolition edit nbsp nbsp Demolition of the stadium in January 1999 Exhibition Stadium mostly stayed inactive over the decade following the opening of SkyDome being used sometimes as a racetrack or a parking lot except for the occasional concert or minor sporting event The World Wrestling Federation now WWE needing a new venue after a decision to discontinue events at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995 held one card at the stadium on August 24 1996 for a crowd of 21 211 The main event was Shawn Michaels vs Goldust in a ladder match 36 A series of CASCAR races were held at the track during the 1990s with the stadium being reconfigured for such races The stadium was demolished in 1999 and the site is now the location of BMO Field and a parking lot A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to Ontario Place s main entrance As is common with stadium demolitions a number of the remaining seats were sold to fans and collectors The original locations of all bases and home plate are marked in the parking lot south of BMO Field The Mistake by the Lake edit Although not widely used while the stadium was in operation given the well known references to Cleveland s Municipal Stadium the term Mistake by the Lake has been used more recently in reflection by Toronto media to refer to the now demolished venue 37 New stadium editMain article BMO Field On October 26 2005 the City of Toronto approved CA 69 million to build BMO Field 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 CA 35 million with the city paying CA 9 8 million and Maple Leaf Sports amp Entertainment paying the rest including any runoff costs Maple Leaf Sports amp 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 also held the 2007 FIFA U 20 World Cup along with other cities in Canada BMO Field was initially built as a soccer specific stadium with field dimensions that were too small to accommodate a Canadian football field and was operated as such until 2015 when MLSE owners Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Canada agreed to purchase the Toronto Argonauts As part of the agreement BMO Field was renovated to allow the Argonauts to move back to the site in time for the 2016 CFL season The stadium also hosted the 104th Grey Cup in 2016 and MLS Cups in 2010 2016 and 2017 along with the outdoor NHL Centennial Classic game within a 35 day period Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre editFor the 2015 Pan American Games and Parapan American Games the old stadium footprint parking lot became the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre The temporary venue had bleachers and a playing area filled with 3 000 metric tonnes of sand 38 After the Pan American Games the venue was torn down to allow for setup of rides and restore parking spaces for the 2015 Canadian National Exhibition opening on August 21 of the same year Facts and figures editOn July 18 1958 Richard Petty made the first of 1 184 starts in NASCAR Grand National Series competition in a race at the grandstand entitled the 1958 Jim Mideon 500 Today the roads of the Exhibition Place are used for the INDYCAR Honda Indy Toronto and since 2010 has hosted the NASCAR Pinty s Series 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 1967 saw the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo 1967 perform eight shows at the stadium to standing ovations every night So popular with crowds at the stadium of 30 000 most nights the 89 year old never on Sunday taboo had to be waived to permit the Tattoo to put on a Sunday September 3 performance to accommodate the extraordinary demand for tickets John Holden a CNE official stated It was breathtaking You just can t compare it with the like of anything that has come before it CNE General Manager Bert Powell stated We ve never had anything like it fabulous and fantastic My phone is never quiet I m even getting professional critics and entertainers begging for tickets and that s the ultimate tribute On August 30 1980 Queen performed a concert from The Game Tour Soccer Bowl 81 was played at Exhibition Stadium 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 The Jacksons performed three concerts at the stadium on October 5 6 and 7 1984 during their Victory Tour in front of 180 000 in attendance In 1985 the first Game 7 in the history of the ALCS was played at the stadium The Blue Jays lost to the Kansas City Royals 6 2 citation needed In August 1986 the stadium played host to the World Wrestling Federation s Big Event card in front of over 70 000 fans The main event was then World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan against Paul Orndorff This event did not air on pay per view citation needed Van Halen August 18 1986 capacity concert sellout the first new tour with Sammy Hagar as lead singer Genesis sold out the stadium on September 22 1986 at 8 00 P M to a sold out crowd of 61 000 people as a part of their North American leg of the Invisible Touch Tour Iron Maiden played the stadium in 1988 and 1992 U2 played the stadium on the Joshua Tree Tour on October 3 1987 and on the Zoo TV Tour on September 5 and 6 1992 Madonna brought her Who s That Girl World Tour to the stadium on July 4 1987 before a sold out crowd of 50 013 people Pink Floyd performed three concerts on September 21 22 and 23 1987 and next year on May 13 1988 as part of their A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour They returned to the stadium for three nights on July 5 6 and 7 1994 as part of their The Division Bell Tour Bon Jovi played the stadium as part of their New Jersey Syndicate Tour on June 2 1989 The Rolling Stones performed at the stadium in September 3 and 4 1989 during their Steel Wheels Urban Jungle Tour Guns N Roses played the stadium on back to back nights June 7 and 8 1991 as part of their Use Your Illusion Tour Guns N Roses returned to the stadium in just over a year on September 13 1992 this time on a double bill with Metallica performing as part of their joint Guns N Roses Metallica Stadium Tour with Faith No More as the opening act Paul McCartney brought his New World Tour to the stadium on June 6 1993 It would be his last show in Canada until April 2002 Grey Cups at Exhibition Stadium Game Date Winning team Score Losing team Attendance Lore47th November 28 1959 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21 7 Hamilton Tiger Cats 34 42649th December 2 1961 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21 14 Hamilton Tiger Cats 36 59250th December 1 2 A 1962 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28 27 Hamilton Tiger Cats 32 655 The Fog Bowl 52nd November 28 1964 BC Lions 34 24 Hamilton Tiger Cats 32 65553rd November 27 1965 Hamilton Tiger Cats 22 16 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32 655 The Wind Bowl 56th November 30 1968 Ottawa Rough Riders 24 21 Calgary Stampeders 33 18558th November 28 1970 Montreal Alouettes 23 10 Calgary Stampeders 32 66961st November 25 1973 Ottawa Rough Riders 22 18 Edmonton Eskimos 36 47564th November 28 1976 Ottawa Rough Riders 23 20 Saskatchewan Roughriders 53 389 The Catch 66th November 26 1978 Edmonton Eskimos 20 13 Montreal Alouettes 54 69568th November 23 1980 Edmonton Eskimos 48 10 Hamilton Tiger Cats 54 66170th November 28 1982 Edmonton Eskimos 32 16 Toronto Argonauts 54 741 The Rain Bowl A Game was suspended with 9 29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to extremely dense fog and completed the next day Vanier Cups at Exhibition Stadium Game Date Winning team Score Losing team Attendance9th November 24 1973 Saint Mary s Huskies 14 6 McGill Redmen 17 00010th November 22 1974 Western Ontario Mustangs 19 15 Toronto Varsity Blues 24 77711th November 21 1975 Ottawa Gee Gees 14 9 Calgary Dinos 17 841Major League Baseball Postseason Games at Exhibition Stadium 1985 American League Championship SeriesGame Date Winning team Score Losing team Time Attendance1 October 8 1985 Toronto Blue Jays 6 1 Kansas City Royals 2 24 39 115 39 2 October 9 1985 Toronto Blue Jays 6 5 Kansas City Royals 3 39 34 029 40 6 October 15 1985 Kansas City Royals 5 3 Toronto Blue Jays 3 12 37 557 41 7 October 16 1985 Kansas City Royals 6 2 Toronto Blue Jays 2 49 32 084 42 Kansas City won the series 4 3See also editRogers Centre Exhibition Place Toronto FC Toronto Blizzard 1971 84 BMO FieldNotes edit Until the size of the CFL endzones were reduced from 25 yards to 20 in 1986 the Canadian field was 40 yards 37 m longer and 35 feet 11 m wider References edit a b c d e f g Brehl Robert May 23 1989 The noteworthy and not so worthy Ex Stadium has survived fires storms and seagulls Toronto Star a b Brehl Robert May 23 1989 Those were the days Exhibition Stadium had it all cold and rain and shivering fans Enough s enough declared two sports nuts vowing to build a dome Toronto Star Lott John and McGrath Kaitlyn May 8 2020 Inside the Ex Tales from the Blue Jays ugly quirky yet lovable first home The Athletic Retrieved November 6 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Beard Randy April 25 1979 Blizzard Hope Revenge Snowballs The Rowdies Evening Independent p 1C Retrieved July 3 2016 Beard Randy May 4 1984 Down 3 more teams but NASL is stronger Evening Independent p 6C Retrieved July 3 2016 1985 CNE Grandstand Performers Cnearchives com Archived from the original on June 5 2014 Retrieved June 1 2014 To Cost Over 4 Million Asks Grandstand Probe The Globe and Mail September 21 1948 Fireworks Over CNE Council Would Let Ex Boss Grandstand Field Fiery Aldermen Object The Globe and Mail November 2 1948 Coleman Jim September 29 1948 By Jim Coleman The Globe and Mail Tumpane Frank December 7 1949 Sweet reason The Globe and Mail Spring Rehabilitation Offer to Improve CNE Sports Field For 1950 Grey Cup The Globe and Mail December 7 1949 Westall Stanley August 5 1960 With 450 000 Stake the City couldn t lose it was said but it did The Globe and Mail CNE Stadium Muddle The Globe and Mail November 24 1959 Toronto Argonauts 1959 Fact Book inside front cover Teitel Jay 1983 The Argo Bounce Toronto Ontario Lester and Orpen Dennys pp 54 55 ISBN 0 88619 033 9 Argos Smothered By Cardinals And Lose Norm Stoneburgh Canadian Press August 6 1959 Retrieved January 31 2014 History Grey Cup 1970 Canadian Football League website Canadian Football League Archived from the original on August 23 2010 Retrieved November 23 2012 Sports to boom at CNE stadium with mod sod Toronto Star January 26 1972 p 14 Estimate was 625 000 CNE artificial sod to cost 475 000 Toronto Star March 29 1972 p 45 a b c Simpson Jeff February 27 1974 Work could start this fall Metro votes 23 to 6 to enlarge the CNE Stadium The Globe and Mail 1688 to 1923 Geloso Vincent A Price Index for Canada 1688 to 1850 December 6 2016 Afterwards Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18 10 0005 01 formerly CANSIM 326 0021 Consumer Price Index annual average not seasonally adjusted Statistics Canada Retrieved April 17 2021 and table 18 10 0004 13 Consumer Price Index by product group monthly percentage change not seasonally adjusted Canada provinces Whitehorse Yellowknife and Iqaluit Statistics Canada Retrieved April 17 2021 MacCarl Neil June 5 1976 CNE Stadium 17 8 million home for baseball Toronto Star Best Michael July 18 1977 Blue Jays score in millions for Metro Toronto Star Kirkland Bruce July 2 1977 Forum music CNE noise Will they ever co exist Toronto Star a b Lowry Phillip 2005 Green Cathedrals New York City Walker amp Company ISBN 0 8027 1562 1 Macleod Robert September 25 2015 Paul Beeston heads for the bench The Globe and Mail Retrieved September 30 2015 Smith Curt 2001 Storied Stadiums New York City Carroll amp Graf ISBN 0 7867 1187 6 Illustration at Exhibition Stadium Retrieved June 4 2014 Remembering the game that Earl Weaver forfeited at Exhibition Stadium January 23 2013 Bradbeer Janice March 31 2016 Once Upon A City Mistake by the Lake s troubled place in Toronto history The Star The Toronto Star Tigers in a Fog as Blue Jays romp to win Montreal Gazette Canadian Press June 13 2013 Retrieved June 23 2016 Canadian Football League Canada Paikin Steve October 22 2016 Paikin on Ontario s Premiers 2 Book Bundle Bill Davis Paikin and the Premiers Dundurn p 785 ISBN 978 1 4597 3833 1 Miller David October 7 1984 Battle Is On for Right to Build Our Domed Stadium Toronto Star pg A1 A13 Historicist The Road to SkyDome Torontoist June 13 2009 Kreikenbohm Philip June 5 2019 WWF Xperience 1996 The Internet Wrestling Database Retrieved August 11 2019 Woolsey Garth May 30 2009 Toronto s dome turns 20 Toronto Star Retrieved August 5 2009 Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre Toronto 2015 Pan Am Parapan American Games Archived from the original on April 27 2014 1985 ALCS Game 1 Kansas City Royals vs Toronto Blue Jays Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1985 ALCS Game 2 Kansas City Royals vs Toronto Blue Jays Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1985 ALCS Game 6 Kansas City Royals vs Toronto Blue Jays Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1985 ALCS Game 7 Kansas City Royals vs Toronto Blue Jays Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exhibition Stadium Virtual Walking tour of Exhibition Place Overhead photo of Exhibition Stadium Archived March 16 2006 at the Wayback Machine BallparksOfBaseball com Ballparks com Several photos including CNE racetrack configuration Baseball field diagram Football configuration Video about Exhibition Stadium YouTube The Governor General s Foot Guards Band with the band of the Royal Regiment of Canada at the Toronto Exhibition Stadium in 1984 Exhibition Stadium NASCAR s race results at Racing ReferenceEvents and tenantsPreceded byfirst ballpark Home of theToronto Blue Jays1977 1989 Succeeded bySkyDomePreceded byVarsity Stadium Home of theToronto Argonauts1959 1988 Succeeded bySkyDome Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Exhibition Stadium amp oldid 1183874727, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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