SkyDome turns 20

[Translude15]

As said by LI Mike, they really should try to make it a baseball only place. The recent additions have definately helped, but there's a lot of potential. Does anybody think it would be possible to convert the roof in some way to an all glass format? That in itslef would take away a lot of the gloominess.

 

[junctionist]

We probably dodged a bullet by not going the retro-themed route, especially when building by the CN Tower.

 

[syn]

As said by LI Mike, they really should try to make it a baseball only place. The recent additions have definately helped, but there's a lot of potential. Does anybody think it would be possible to convert the roof in some way to an all glass format? That in itslef would take away a lot of the gloominess.

That would be an incredibly expensive undertaking...though very remarkable.

Some of the things I'd like to see changed:

1) Exterior cladding of some kind
2) Better interior design of the concourse walkways which eliminates the cold concrete feel in many areas
3) A re-design of some of the elements in the stadium area, like the cladding for the restaurant in the outfield.
4) Better championship banners (in perhaps a better location)

 

[Aaron]

He paid to buy it for pittance compared to the cost to construct it, but Canadian tax dollars helped to buy the property and helped provide part of the finances to build it.
I really think it would have been respectful (and a good PR move for Rogers) to keep the Skydome name in there somewhere given the pride felt by many Canadians for the stadium, and that it was a famous symbol known around the world by that name.

That would be admirable but the main reason he bought the club was to advertise his stuff.

 

[Aaron]

That would be an incredibly expensive undertaking...though very remarkable.

Some of the things I'd like to see changed:

1) Exterior cladding of some kind
2) Better interior design of the concourse walkways which eliminates the cold concrete feel in many areas
3) A re-design of some of the elements in the stadium area, like the cladding for the restaurant in the outfield.
4) Better championship banners (in perhaps a better location)

I agree with everything but your 4th suggestion. It appears as though those are the original banners. In 30, 40 years, we'll consider them priceless pieces of the team's history, regardless of what they lack in design. The Leafs adopted new ones a couple times - most recently when they moved to the ACC - and I found that quite distasteful and ridiculous.

 

[Tewder]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...me-it-was-like-at-first-sight/article1166015/

Happy birthday, former SkyDome. It was like at first sight

Stephen Brunt


There’s no mystery how we wound up with the place: Politicians sitting through an ice-storm Grey Cup at awful Exhibition Stadium decided what Toronto needed most was a dome – not just to keep their delicate noggins warm and dry, but as an assertion of the city’s “world-class†status. In hindsight, at least it was cheaper than staging a world’s fair, or an Olympic Games – though having already constructed the planet’s tallest freestanding erectile whatsit for reasons now lost in the mists, Toronto was already right up there in terms of its desire to be noticed.

This persistant motif in Toronto discourse that any ambitious civic gesture here is motivated entirely by neurotic insecurity is tiresome, and such a parochial and constricting notion! I wish we could move on from this rather than endlessly perpetuating it to the point of self-fulfilling prophesy.

 

[wyliepoon]

1) Exterior cladding of some kind
2) Better interior design of the concourse walkways which eliminates the cold concrete feel in many areas
3) A re-design of some of the elements in the stadium area, like the cladding for the restaurant in the outfield.

#1 is certainly being considered. I think that this is such a huge issue that Rogers cannot ignore.

#2, and #3 have been done to some extent. The 100 level has been given a facelift, and the HSBC Club is a good model for what can be done design-wise with SkyDome's restaurants. Unfortunately nothing has changed in the 500 level concourses... perhaps because people in the nosebleed sections don't deserve good design.

*****

Fukuoka Dome in Japan, Japan's first retractable-roof stadium and inspired by SkyDome, has much more interesting cladding than SkyDome...

 

[Long Island Mike]

Improvement ideas at the Rogers Skydome...

TL15: A glass or see-thru roof would be nice BUT...the problem is with contrast-baseball players must be able to look up and see a fly ball but with a roof of this type that could be a big problem.

I recall reading when the Houston Astrodome opened in the mid 60s the roof was designed this way but when players complained about being able to see fly balls the roof was darkened providing a contrast solving that problem but
making the use of lights mandatory for all games.

The Astrodome was originally going to have a grass field but with the roof changes that was no longer possible-and engineers designed "Astroturf" artificial surface to solve this problem. Artificial turf has come a long way since those early days but it just is not as good as good old fashioned grass.

Modifications to the roof of the Rogers Skydome should be made similar to Safeco Field(Seattle) and Miller Park(Milwaukee) allowing grass to grow but making the roof easily closable like it used to be for those bad weather games.

In closing many feel the Rogers Skydome needs a makeover-if it is done right it can become favorable again for Blue Jay fans and others.
Thoughts from LI MIKE

 

[OldManKensey]

A reclad would make a huge difference. Would redbrick or limestone, or a combination of the two, work on this building? Of course, I can't imagine anybody, including Rogers, spending the massive amount of money it would take to cover up all that awful concrete. (Exposed concrete looks fantastic on some buildings, as the many recent retrospectives of Arthur Erickson demonstrated...but Skydome is definitely not such a building!)

 

[marcus_a_j]

Not that I was expecting a grand celebration for the 20th anniversary of the 'Dome, but there was practically nothing of the sort. A video clip, fireworks, something, anything. The only mention of the 20th anniversary was during the Sportsnet Connected in-game update when the sportscaster mentioned it. At least the roof was open during the whole game.

 

[wyliepoon]

Modifications to the roof of the Rogers Skydome should be made similar to Safeco Field(Seattle) and Miller Park(Milwaukee) allowing grass to grow but making the roof easily closable like it used to be for those bad weather games.

Grass is not really in the future plans for SkyDome because it is still a multipurpose facility (hosting not just baseball, but CFL, NFL, International Bowl, concerts, festivals, the Autoshow and ice shows), with each event requiring different configurations of the field and/or the field to be taken off. Rogers is definitely not going to sacrifice these additional revenue streams just to get a natural grass field for the Jays.

 

[Brian69]

Fukuoka Dome in Japan, Japan's first retractable-roof stadium and inspired by SkyDome, has much more interesting cladding than SkyDome...

Fukuoka Dome is quite attractive, and its located in a rather reasonably accessible part of the city. It has a beautiful shine in the afternoon that dull, shaded Skydome lacks.

 

[Redroom Studios]

what a laugh - I went to see motocross and monster truck races there the very first summer it was open, even before I went to a Jays game. Then in my third year at Centennial College in Scarborough me and my room mate would skip our homework and take the subway down to watch the Jays 3 -4 nights a week when they were in town. I'm with the majority here, I couldnt believe it when they renamed it Rogers Centre. Just weak... The dome is easily viewable from across to my side of the lake and you can even tell when its open or closed. Oh yes, and I even have a coffee table book called "Like No Other in the World - the Building of Toronto's SkyDome" - great souvenir of that time.

 

[The EnigManiac]

While many bemoan the name change, I understand why it was done. 'Dome' suggests a sports-only venue and since the facility underwent renovations and interior redesign so that it could be marketed as a true multi-purpose structure, handling anything from auto shows to concerts, ice shows to meetings and private conventions, the name 'centre' was appropriate as other similar venues all used the name 'centre' as well: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Air Canada Centre, International Centre, etc. Of course, Rogers Skydome Centre wouldn't have been that bad either.

As for grass: it is impossible for RC to install grass. It's not simply a matter of laying down turf, but having the drainage system beneath to manage the moisture and there is no infrastructure below the field.

Those who want exterior cladding had better expect higher ticket prices. The reason it wasn't added in the original design, according to the original designer, was its' prohibitive cost. The RC has already been upgraded recently to the tune of 50 million dollars, but exterior cladding would be exorbitant in price given the size of the structure. Still, grey concrete is drab and I don't see why it couldn't be painted. Sure, that would be costly too, but not as much as exterior cladding.

 

[ShonTron]

While many bemoan the name change, I understand why it was done. 'Dome' suggests a sports-only venue and since the facility underwent renovations and interior redesign so that it could be marketed as a true multi-purpose structure, handling anything from auto shows to concerts, ice shows to meetings and private conventions, the name 'centre' was appropriate as other similar venues all used the name 'centre' as well: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Air Canada Centre, International Centre, etc. Of course, Rogers Skydome Centre wouldn't have been that bad either.

I disagree. SkyDome was, and is, used for all sorts of events besides baseball and football: monster truck derbys, track and field, children's "campouts", the AutoShow, political and social rallies, corporate functions, the ice capades, concerts (both which have since moved to ACC for the most part). The place's slogan was "the World's Greatest Entertainment Centre".

The reason they went with "Centre" was to remove the possiblity of referring to the stadium (which is what it is) without uttering the name of its new corporate master. "Rogers Skydome" would result in everyone (except Sportsnet and 680 News and CityTV) still calling it SkyDome. Even still calling it the dome would have people referring it to the Dome or SkyDome. Air Canada Centre goes by ACC because it is easy to say. Can't be done for RC and "Centre" is way too generic, can refer to anything. So one is forced to say "Rogers".