The City of Toronto has issued an “order to remedy unsafe building” to Live Nation Canada over the state of Rogers Stadium, the 50,000-seat open-air venue on the former Downsview Airport lands in North York.
The order was issued Thursday, after city staff inspected the site. Part of the north stadium structure collapsed during Wednesday’s severe thunderstorm — the same system that dropped more than 100 millimetres of rain on parts of the region and knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers.
A sold-out AC/DC concert is scheduled there for September 16. As of Friday it had not been cancelled or rescheduled.
What the order requires
Live Nation Canada must:
- Prevent access to all damaged structures, temporary structures and storm-affected areas.
- Hire a licensed professional engineer to assess every structure affected by the storm, including seating areas, identify what is unsafe and set out what must be done.
- File a report by September 8 identifying the damage, the measures to be taken and a schedule for the work.
- Carry out the repairs the engineer identifies.
- File a second report by September 11 confirming the status of the repairs and whether the affected structures are safe and structurally adequate for their intended use.
Global News reported the company will also need a building permit for the reconstruction work.
The damage
The order describes “collapsed sections of the north stadium structure, damaged seating areas, and distorted, displaced, or otherwise compromised structural framing associated with various temporary structures.” It also notes that high winds overturned viewing stations, tents and shipping containers on the grounds.
The damage “may pose a risk to the health and safety of persons,” the order says, because structural elements have been displaced and the structure may be unstable.
Live Nation Canada said on Wednesday night that nobody was hurt but that the venue had sustained “significant damage.” On Friday a spokesperson said teams were still assessing the extent of it.
Whether the show goes ahead
Councillor James Pasternak, who represents York Centre, was blunt about the timeline. “This stadium collapsed in a major storm event, and the question is, can they reconstruct it and repair it so that it’s satisfactory, so that it’s safe,” he said. “They may not be able to get AC/DC in this year.”
The practical deadline is the September 11 report. If the engineer cannot certify the affected structures as safe by then, a September 16 show in those sections is difficult to see.
If you hold tickets
Nothing has been cancelled, so there is nothing to claim yet. Refund and exchange terms come from the ticket seller, not the city. Watch for notice from Ticketmaster or Live Nation rather than acting on secondhand reports, and be wary of resale offers for a show whose venue is under an active safety order.
Rogers Stadium opened this year and hosted BTS in August. Its construction is now part of the conversation: the venue is built substantially from temporary structures, and Wednesday’s storm found them.
Sources: City of Toronto order to remedy unsafe building, as reported by CBC News, CP24 and Global News.
Source: City of Toronto news releases.
