/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25644946/eufyCam_S3_Pro___Intruder_image.jpeg "This Eufy security camera can show nighttime as if it were daytime")
Live Nation has just announced a brand-new large-scale music venue for Toronto, slated to come to the site of the shuttered Downsview Airport next June.
Rogers Stadium will be the largest attraction of its kind in the city — both the biggest venue purpose-built for music and the biggest outdoor stage — with a 50,000 person capacity at YZD, specifically on 44 acres at the north end of the former runway adjacent to Downsview Park.
It will be home to more than a dozen shows per year over the summer season through September, but will only exist temporarily until the property is redeveloped into a new neighbourhood precinct over the coming decades.
Introducing @Rogers_Stadium, a seasonal outdoor concert venue opening at YZD (formerly Downsview Airport Lands) in 2025! With Toronto as a must-play market for top level tours, Rogers Stadium will host more world-class artists than ever. Follow for exciting announcements! pic.twitter.com/yY11dLXof3
— Live Nation Ontario (@LiveNationON) September 26, 2024
Representatives from the U.S.-based events promoter and operator were joined by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario Premier Doug Ford to reveal details about the new addition on Thursday morning. The press conference had been publicized for days beforehand, leading many to come up with their own theories regarding what was on the way.
Some were sure it was going to be confirmation that recently-reunited Oasis is coming to Toronto on their forthcoming tour, which will mark their first set of performances since they broke up in 2009.
When that 2025 run was announced last month, an unconfirmed “leaked” list of North American dates quickly appeared online, which included shows at Downsview on August 24 and 25. The opening of Rogers Stadium two months prior is pretty convenient, as is the fact that the stage is hoping to host the world’s biggest names in music of all genres.
As others have said, could line up with that ‘leaked’ Oasis itinerary that had two potential August ’25 dates slated for Downsview. Although the location for the presser – ‘Toronto’ – is, uh, somewhat vague.
— Barry Walsh (@bfwalsh) September 25, 2024
Others thought the news might concern a different large-scale concert, or potentially the renovation of Budweiser Stage that is happening as part of the Ontario Place revitalization. “I wonder if this is connected to Ontario Place somehow….could the spa be including another concert venue to supplement/expand Bud Stage?” one person wondered.
Many accurately guessed it pertained to a new venue of some sort, though some tried to jokingly tie it into Ford’s wild promise yesterday to solve gridlock on the 401 by looking into the possibility of building a tunnel underneath the highway.
“Live concerts… in the 401 tunnel!” one person farcically speculated on Reddit, to which others replied, “Folks, the underground music scene is thriving…” and “Tunnel-Aid.”
Rogers Stadium will be the biggest venue purpose-built for music and biggest outdoor stage in Toronto when it debuts in June 2025. Photo from Live Nation.
Northcrest Developments, which is helming the complete overhaul of hundreds of acres around Downsview in a colossal $30 million project, told the Star that the new stadium “aligns with the broader vision” the firm has for the property before it breaks ground on that work.
As such, the venue is only expected to have a lifespan of approximately five years.
“We have this very large site, and there are some really ambitious development plans, but we also recognize that those plans are going to take many years to materialize, and we didn’t want the land to just sit there empty while that’s happening,” the CEO said.
