Latest news with #DownsviewPark
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Photo Gallery: Crowd control tested at Toronto's Rogers Stadium
Coldplay fans appeared to experience a smoother exit from Toronto's Rogers Stadium on Monday night, after complaints of poor crowd control following the outdoor venue's inaugural show last week. As crowds leaving the stadium thickened, staff held up red lights and instructed people to wait inside the venue before they could proceed to transit areas. A green light meant go. The practice, which operator Live Nation Canada refers to as "pulsing," was also in use at the venue's first show. This time, the operator promised to reconfigure the exit routes so that crowds would be dispersed to multiple nearby subway stations. While some fans complained about the temporary standstills, the crowd control technique appeared to help prevent overcrowding at Downsview Park, the nearest subway and GO train station, with a limited number of people flowing through at a time. Here is a look at some scenes as fans entered and exited the venue. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Bizarre stadium': Coldplay frontman doubles down on Rogers Stadium criticism
Toronto's newest concert venue's shortcomings were in the spotlight once again Tuesday night, as Coldplay's lead singer again criticized the space mid-concert. 'Thank you for being here, anyway, and especially thank you for travelling on the strange quest that you had to travel on to get to this very bizarre stadium, a million miles from earth,' Chris Martin told the sold-out crowd of 50,000 people at Rogers Stadium. The British musician's comments come after he issued a similar critique of the temporary venue on Monday, calling it a 'weird stadium in the middle of nowhere.' Rogers Stadium held its inaugural show last week, and some attendees said it took about two hours to exit the venue at Downsview Park amid concerns over long lines for bathrooms, limited access to water and swaying grandstands. Live Nation Canada, which operates the city's new concert space, made adjustments ahead of Coldplay's four-night stand this week—which appear to have improved the experience for fans—but Rogers Stadium's location seems to be a pain point for Martin. 'We are solely testing the premise of if you build it, they will come. I'm very grateful that you did come,' he continued. 'I know it's a pain to get to. I know the travel is difficult. And the lines and all of the s--- and we don't take that for granted, so thank you.' Coldplay will perform two more times at Rogers Stadium later this week before the venue will play host to K-pop girl group Blackpink.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Coldplay frontman thanks fans for coming to 'weird stadium in the middle of nowhere'
Coldplay kicked off their four-night takeover of Toronto's Rogers Stadium on Monday, and although fans seemed to have a better experience inside the new venue than at last week's inaugural show, a crowd management expert suggests there's still room for improvement. Kevin Kennedy, crowd management expert and the owner of Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions, said it is normal for a new venue to have a bumpy opening. "This is a new area, new facility, so there's going to be some hiccups at the beginning, but those can be adjusted. I think the comparison between the first event and this event shows a marked difference in approach from Live Nation," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Live Nation Canada announced it was "making adjusments" to the 50,000-capacity Rogers Stadium following complaints about poor crowd management and long exit times at the venue's first-ever show. Some fans who attended the inaugural concert from K-pop group Stray Kids said it took up to two hours to leave, as the venue and transit services from Downsview Park seemed ill-equipped to handle the throngs of people coming in and out of the show. Fans also complained about the long lines for bathrooms and limited water. Kennedy said all of these issues could have been avoided if the venue had run test events. "We've done test events at some events we've had for new facilities with [a] smaller crowd, just to see how crowd flows arrive, because crowd behavior can be predicted, but it can't be predicted 100 per cent," said Kennedy. "We know that the transit has a certain amount of people that they can transport at any given time, and if demand is going to outweigh that and cause a huge delay, we've got to find another way to supplement that." He said there's still room for improvement, and "a big part of that is the management side of things." "It's an image thing for Live Nation. They don't want to have bad publicity. They want to do everything they can to improve events because they're going to have so many more events in the future at that site," said Kennedy. WATCH | What you need to know about Coldplay's shows at Rogers Stadium: During Monday's show, Coldplay's frontman, Chris 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." Live Nation Canada added more staff inside and outside the venue for Coldplay's show and also implemented clearer signage, extra water stations, and a new plan to funnel crowds toward three nearby subway stops instead of overwhelming the closest station, Downsview Park. Rhys Parker, who attended Monday's concert, said "it wasn't a total train wreck." "It was exactly what I expected for a venue that's built in nine months and has been open for a week," he told Metro Morning on Tuesday. The British rock band will perform three more shows at the venue, taking place between Tuesday and Saturday.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Coldplay frontman thanks fans for coming to 'weird stadium in the middle of nowhere'
Coldplay kicked off their four-night takeover of Toronto's Rogers Stadium on Monday, and although fans seemed to have a better experience inside the new venue than at last week's inaugural show, a crowd management expert suggests there's still room for improvement. Kevin Kennedy, crowd management expert and the owner of Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions, said it is normal for a new venue to have a bumpy opening. "This is a new area, new facility, so there's going to be some hiccups at the beginning, but those can be adjusted. I think the comparison between the first event and this event shows a marked difference in approach from Live Nation," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Live Nation Canada announced it was "making adjusments" to the 50,000-capacity Rogers Stadium following complaints about poor crowd management and long exit times at the venue's first-ever show. Some fans who attended the inaugural concert from K-pop group Stray Kids said it took up to two hours to leave, as the venue and transit services from Downsview Park seemed ill-equipped to handle the throngs of people coming in and out of the show. Fans also complained about the long lines for bathrooms and limited water. Kennedy said all of these issues could have been avoided if the venue had run test events. "We've done test events at some events we've had for new facilities with [a] smaller crowd, just to see how crowd flows arrive, because crowd behavior can be predicted, but it can't be predicted 100 per cent," said Kennedy. "We know that the transit has a certain amount of people that they can transport at any given time, and if demand is going to outweigh that and cause a huge delay, we've got to find another way to supplement that." He said there's still room for improvement, and "a big part of that is the management side of things." "It's an image thing for Live Nation. They don't want to have bad publicity. They want to do everything they can to improve events because they're going to have so many more events in the future at that site," said Kennedy. WATCH | What you need to know about Coldplay's shows at Rogers Stadium: During Monday's show, Coldplay's frontman, Chris 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." Live Nation Canada added more staff inside and outside the venue for Coldplay's show and also implemented clearer signage, extra water stations, and a new plan to funnel crowds toward three nearby subway stops instead of overwhelming the closest station, Downsview Park. Rhys Parker, who attended Monday's concert, said "it wasn't a total train wreck." "It was exactly what I expected for a venue that's built in nine months and has been open for a week," he told Metro Morning on Tuesday. The British rock band will perform three more shows at the venue, taking place between Tuesday and Saturday.
Globe and Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Toronto gears up for Coldplay as Rogers Stadium makes crowd control ‘adjustments'
Rogers Stadium is set to welcome tens of thousands of Coldplay fans tonight for the first of four shows by the British rock band, as organizers say they are 'making adjustments' to improve crowd control at Toronto's newest outdoor music venue. 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. Concertgoers also complained about limited access to water at the stadium, with some describing hour-long lineups at bottle filling stations that dispensed warm water in some cases. Live Nation 'making adjustments' at Toronto's Rogers Stadium after fan complaints Live Nation Canada, which operates the stadium near Downsview Park, says it will be adding more signage, lighting, staff and water stations to improve the fan experience. It also says 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. Review: New Rogers Stadium hosts K-pop superstars Stray Kids in upbeat opening night 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.' James Pasternak, a city councillor whose ward includes the Downsview Park area, said 'respectful but blunt' conversations about what needs to be improved at Rogers Stadium took place on Wednesday during a meeting with Live Nation and Northcrest Developments, which owns the property. 'With concerts scheduled all summer and shortcomings apparent from the first performance, we put pressure on all responsible parties to sort out concerns,' Pasternak said in a social media post.
