Exhibition Stadium
Encyclopedia
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly CNE Stadium or Exhibition Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium
, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place
grounds, in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
.
It was actually the fourth stadium to be built on the site since 1879. The covered north-side grandstand was constructed in 1948, followed by a south bleacher section for football in 1959. When converted for football in 1959, the stadium seated 33,150. The stadium was reconfigured again in the mid-1970s to allow the expansion Toronto Blue Jays
to play there, with additional seating opposite the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side. It was the only major league stadium where the outfield seats were covered but the main grandstand was not.
Originally built for Canadian football
, the Canadian National Exhibition
and other events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Blue Jays
, of Major League Baseball
, from 1977
-1989
. It also served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts
, of the Canadian Football League
, from 1959
-1988
. The stadium hosted the Grey Cup
game twelve times, over a 24-year period.
In 1999, the stadium was demolished, with the site being used for parking until 2006. BMO Field
, a soccer-specific stadium
for Toronto FC
, was built on the site and opened in 2007.
Exhibition Stadium was problematic for hosting baseball. Like most multi-purpose stadiums, the outfield seats were far from the field. This was magnified by the fact that Canadian football fields are 30 yards longer, and considerably wider, than American football
fields. Combined with the vaguely horseshoe-shape of the stadium, this resulted in many of the seats down the right field line and in the seats in right-centre being extremely far from the infield; they actually faced each other rather than the action. In fact, some seats were as far as 820 feet from home plate — the farthest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the majors. Over 10,000 seats in centre field and down the right-field line were so far from the playing field (and did not even directly face the baseball diamond) that the Blue Jays did not even offer them for sale during the regular season.
The left-field seats were the only seats that offered protection from the elements. Ironically, they were the cheapest seats.
Relatively close to Lake Ontario
, the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the 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 he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players. This garnered a win by forfeit
for the Jays. It remains the last time in major league baseball history - and the only time since 1914 - that a team deliberately forfeited a game (as opposed to having an umpire call a forfeiture due to unruly fan behaviour).
An April 30, 1984 game against the Texas Rangers
was postponed due to 60 mph winds. Prior to the game, Ranger manager Doug Rader
named Jim Bibby
as his starting pitcher, stating that "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.
The stadium also occasionally had problems with fog, once causing a bizarre inside the park home run for Kelly Gruber
when an otherwise routine pop up was lost by the outfielders in the thick fog.
Because of the variable climate and the stadium's multiple tenants in 1976, the original grass surface was replaced with AstroTurf
.
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.
, popularly known as "the Rain Bowl" because it was played in a driving rainstorm. Many fans were forced to spend most of the game in the concession area because their seats offered no protection from the elements. By 1983, officials with Metro Toronto, the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a domed stadium could be built closer to Toronto's downtown. The decision to build a retractable roof
stadium – the second in North America
, and the first with rigid roof panels – along with engineering and cost questions meant that SkyDome (now Rogers Centre
) was not completed until . If not delayed, it would have been the first retractable roof in North America; Olympic Stadium
in Montreal
finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988. However, the Montreal design was problematic — soon after it was put into use it ripped on several occasions. In the months that followed, it was plagued by further rips and even leaks whenever it rained, bringing water down into the stadium. It was shut down for good in 1989, and replaced by a fixed roof in 1992. For this reason, SkyDome is sometimes said to have been the first fully functioning retractable roof in North America.
) needing a new venue after a decision to discontinue traditional events at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995, held one card there on August 24, 1996 for a crowd of 21,211. The main event was Shawn Michaels
vs. Goldust in a ladder match. The stadium was demolished in 1999 and the site became a parking lot. A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to cross over to Ontario Place
's main entrance. The remaining chairs were sold off to collectors during the dismantling of the stadium.
), the term "Mistake by the Lake" has been used more recently in reflection by Toronto media to refer to the now-demolished venue.
approved $69 million CAD
to build 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 $35 million CAD, with the city paying $9.8 million CAD, 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, called BMO Field
, also held the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
along with other cities in Canada.
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...
, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...
grounds, in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It was actually the fourth stadium to be built on the site since 1879. The covered north-side grandstand was constructed in 1948, followed by a south bleacher section for football in 1959. When converted for football in 1959, the stadium seated 33,150. The stadium was reconfigured again in the mid-1970s to allow the expansion Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
to play there, with additional seating opposite the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side. It was the only major league stadium where the outfield seats were covered but the main grandstand was not.
Originally built for Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, the Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...
and other events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
, of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, from 1977
1977 Major League Baseball season
The American League had its third expansion as the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays began play. However, the National League did not expand, thus they remained at twelve teams, to the AL's 14, until the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins joined in 1993....
-1989
1989 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers **Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants *Cy Young Award**Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals **Mark Davis, San Diego Padres *Rookie of the Year...
. It also served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
, of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, from 1959
1959 CFL season
The 1959 CFL season was the sixth season in modern Canadian professional football, although officially it was the second season of the Canadian Football League.-Final regular season standings:...
-1988
1988 CFL season
The 1988 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 35th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 31st Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1988:...
. The stadium hosted the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
game twelve times, over a 24-year period.
In 1999, the stadium was demolished, with the site being used for parking until 2006. BMO Field
BMO Field
BMO Field is a Canadian soccer stadium located in Exhibition Place in the city of Toronto. The open-air structure can seat up to 21,800 spectators, depending on seating configurations. It is owned by the City of Toronto, and managed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd...
, a soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
for Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
, was built on the site and opened in 2007.
Problems with hosting baseball
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
fields. Combined with the vaguely horseshoe-shape of the stadium, this resulted in many of the seats down the right field line and in the seats in right-centre being extremely far from the infield; they actually faced each other rather than the action. In fact, some seats were as far as 820 feet from home plate — the farthest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the majors. Over 10,000 seats in centre field and down the right-field line were so far from the playing field (and did not even directly face the baseball diamond) that the Blue Jays did not even offer them for sale during the regular season.
The left-field seats were the only seats that offered protection from the elements. Ironically, they were the cheapest seats.
Problems with the wind and cold
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
, the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the 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
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
' Zamboni
Ice resurfacer
An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...
to clear off the field. Conditions at the stadium led to another odd incident that first year. On September 15, Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
manager Earl Weaver
Earl Weaver
Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...
pulled his team off the field because he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players. This garnered a win by forfeit
Forfeit (baseball)
In rare cases, baseball games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book...
for the Jays. It remains the last time in major league baseball history - and the only time since 1914 - that a team deliberately forfeited a game (as opposed to having an umpire call a forfeiture due to unruly fan behaviour).
An April 30, 1984 game against the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
was postponed due to 60 mph winds. Prior to the game, Ranger manager Doug Rader
Doug Rader
Douglas Lee Rader , nicknamed "The Red Rooster", is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974....
named Jim Bibby
Jim Bibby
James Blair Bibby was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1984 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he was a member of its 1979 World Series Champions...
as his starting pitcher, stating that "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
Jim Clancy (baseball)
James Clancy is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Toronto Blue Jays , Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves . He batted and threw right-handed....
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.
The stadium also occasionally had problems with fog, once causing a bizarre inside the park home run for Kelly Gruber
Kelly Gruber
Kelly Wayne Gruber is a former Major League Baseball third baseman.-Early career:Gruber played baseball at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas where his number was later retired. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round of the 1980 amateur draft but did not see time with the team...
when an otherwise routine pop up was lost by the outfielders in the thick fog.
Because of the variable climate and the stadium's multiple tenants in 1976, the original grass surface was replaced with AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
.
As a popular feeding ground for seagulls
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 YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
outfielder Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
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
Ball Boy
Ball Boy is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano and also the name of the main character. It first appeared in issue 1735, dated 18 October 1975. It features a five-a-side football team that includes:* Ball Boy - the captain of the team, Ball Boy bears resemblances to The Dandy's Owen Goal...
, 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
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
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
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
with the club in 1992.
Discussions begin over replacing Exhibition Stadium
Exhibition Stadium's fate was sealed during the 70th Grey Cup70th Grey Cup
The 70th Grey Cup, also known as the "Rain Bowl", was the 1982 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 32-16 on the Eskimos' way to their fifth straight Grey Cup...
, popularly known as "the Rain Bowl" because it was played in a driving rainstorm. Many fans were forced to spend most of the game in the concession area because their seats offered no protection from the elements. By 1983, officials with Metro Toronto, the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a domed stadium could be built closer to Toronto's downtown. The decision to build a retractable roof
Retractable roof
A retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
stadium – the second in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and the first with rigid roof panels – along with engineering and cost questions meant that SkyDome (now Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
) was not completed until . If not delayed, it would have been the first retractable roof in North America; Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988. However, the Montreal design was problematic — soon after it was put into use it ripped on several occasions. In the months that followed, it was plagued by further rips and even leaks whenever it rained, bringing water down into the stadium. It was shut down for good in 1989, and replaced by a fixed roof in 1992. For this reason, SkyDome is sometimes said to have been the first fully functioning retractable roof in North America.
Life following the opening of SkyDome
Exhibition Stadium lay mostly dormant over the decade following the opening of SkyDome, except for the occasional concert or minor sporting event. The World Wrestling Federation, (now World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
) needing a new venue after a decision to discontinue traditional events at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995, held one card there on August 24, 1996 for a crowd of 21,211. The main event was Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
vs. Goldust in a ladder match. The stadium was demolished in 1999 and the site became a parking lot. A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to cross over to Ontario Place
Ontario Place
Ontario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal waterfront park attraction located in Toronto, Ontario, and owned by the Crown in Right of Ontario. It is administered as an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just south of...
's main entrance. The remaining chairs were sold off to collectors during the dismantling of the stadium.
The "Mistake by the Lake"
Although not widely used while the stadium was in operation (given the well known references to Cleveland's Municipal StadiumCleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
), the term "Mistake by the Lake" has been used more recently in reflection by Toronto media to refer to the now-demolished venue.
New stadium
On October 26, 2005, the City of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
approved $69 million CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
to build a new 20,000 seat stadium in almost the same spot where the old Stadium once was. The governments of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
combined for $35 million CAD, with the city paying $9.8 million CAD, 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
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
team in the new stadium, named Toronto FC
Toronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
. The stadium, called BMO Field
BMO Field
BMO Field is a Canadian soccer stadium located in Exhibition Place in the city of Toronto. The open-air structure can seat up to 21,800 spectators, depending on seating configurations. It is owned by the City of Toronto, and managed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd...
, also held the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...
along with other cities in Canada.
Facts and figures
- On July 18, 1958, Richard PettyRichard PettyRichard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
made the first of 1,184 starts in NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) competition in a race at the grandstand - entitled the 1958 Jim Mideon 5001958 Jim Mideon 500The 1958 Jim Mideon 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series racing event that took place on July 18, 1958 at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. - The stadium was featured on a Season 4 Route 66Route 66 (TV series)Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
episode titled "A Long Way from St. Louie" which first aired on December 6, 1963. While on a helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
tour over downtown Toronto, Tod Stiles and Linc Case (Martin MilnerMartin MilnerMartin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....
and Glenn CorbettGlenn CorbettGlenn Corbett was an American actor best known for his role on CBS's adventure drama Route 66.-Acting career:...
, respectively) spot a quintet of girl musicians (two were played by Lynda DayLynda Day GeorgeFor other entertainers with similar names, see Linda George .Lynda Day George is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s...
and Jessica WalterJessica WalterJessica Walter is an American actress, known for the films Play Misty for Me, Grand Prix, and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development...
), who were stranded in the city, sleeping on the benches in the covered north grandstand. - In 1982, the 70th Grey Cup70th Grey CupThe 70th Grey Cup, also known as the "Rain Bowl", was the 1982 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 32-16 on the Eskimos' way to their fifth straight 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. - In 1985, the first Game 7 in the history of the American League Championship SeriesAmerican League Championship SeriesIn Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...
was played at the stadium. The Blue Jays lost to the Kansas City RoyalsKansas City RoyalsThe Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, 6–2. - On August 28, 1986, the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
) held a live show at the stadium known as The Big EventThe Big EventThe Big Event was a major World Wrestling Federation show which took place on August 28, 1986 at the Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show drew a legitimate crowd of 61,470 fans which was an outdoor attendance record at the time. The event set an attendance record for a...
. A then record crowd of 61,470 fans saw Hulk HoganHulk HoganTerrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
defeat "Mr. Wonderful" Paul OrndorffPaul OrndorffPaul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
by disqualification in the main event to retain the WWF ChampionshipWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
. - MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
and Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
brought the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium TourGuns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium TourThe Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour was a famed joint, co-headlining concert tour by the American rock bands Guns N' Roses and Metallica during 1992...
on September 13, 1992, with Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
as their opening act.
See also
- Rogers CentreRogers CentreRogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
- Exhibition PlaceExhibition PlaceExhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...
- Toronto Blue JaysToronto Blue JaysThe Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
- Toronto ArgonautsToronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
- Toronto FCToronto FCToronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
- BMO FieldBMO FieldBMO Field is a Canadian soccer stadium located in Exhibition Place in the city of Toronto. The open-air structure can seat up to 21,800 spectators, depending on seating configurations. It is owned by the City of Toronto, and managed by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd...