ChesterCopperpot
Senior Member
Increase capacity of the venue to 20,000 and making it a year-round facility too by enclosing it.
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Toronto Concert Venue/East Island at Ontario Place | 28.12m | 3s | Live Nation | EwingCole
- Thread starter ChesterCopperpot
- Start date
SubHuman
Active Member
"operable airplane hangar style doors"? -- I guess it could work. But I don't see why it would necessarily have to be something as elaborate as huge movable doors. It wouldn't have to be like the roof of the Rogers Centre (or an airplane hangar door) that would need to be frequently opened and closed in 20 minutes or less. They could just take a few days each autumn to set up a barrier at the back of the seating area to enclose it for the winter, then in spring take it down to open up the view from the lawn area, if that type of system would be cheaper and simpler to build than permanent huge movable doors.
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I've always thought that if they're going to rebuild the whole thing, it might be a better idea to instead build an entirely new venue closer to the GO/TTC station, either inside Exhibition Place or on the Liberty Village side just north of the rail line, but that's presumably not a practical suggestion since Live Nation already controls the Budweiser Stage site.
And this should sink the other (OverActive Media) entertainment venue proposal, if that's still being considered as viable by the city. I'm assuming Live Nation would have no trouble coming up with enough money to follow through with their plan, unlike the other proposal still clinging to a faint hope of finding investors and a significant equity partner more than two years after revealing their plan.
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The additional entrance and pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Blvd have been needed since it was built, and should shorten the walk a little. It's only about a ten minute walk and I don't find it to be an exhausting trek, about the same as getting from Union Station to Rogers Centre. Maybe during the CNE and Indy race weekend there could be shuttle buses from the TTC loop to the Ont Place entrance, if they don't already do that.
I've always thought that if they're going to rebuild the whole thing, it might be a better idea to instead build an entirely new venue closer to the GO/TTC station, either inside Exhibition Place or on the Liberty Village side just north of the rail line, but that's presumably not a practical suggestion since Live Nation already controls the Budweiser Stage site.
And this should sink the other (OverActive Media) entertainment venue proposal, if that's still being considered as viable by the city. I'm assuming Live Nation would have no trouble coming up with enough money to follow through with their plan, unlike the other proposal still clinging to a faint hope of finding investors and a significant equity partner more than two years after revealing their plan.
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ChesterCopperpot
Senior Member
Ewing Cole is the designer listed on the docs - they've done a bit of Live Nation stuff before
www.ewingcole.com
Design - EwingCole
www.ewingcole.com
SubHuman
Active Member
https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/1...age-works-ontario-place-taps-private-partners
Comparing the satellite image to the proposed new site plan, it looks like at least a small number of trees will be removed.
The demolition of the old Forum and construction of the Molson Amphitheatre apparently occurred entirely in one off-season, after Labour Day of 1994 with the first show (Bryan Adams) at the new venue on May 18, 1995. Could this rebuild be accomplished in less than a year?
A Toronto Star article from Aug. 13, 1994, stated that 400 trees were to be removed to make way for the new amphitheatre, but the project manager said there would be a "net gain" of trees at Ontario Place, with about 100 of the trees being replanted and hundreds of new ones planted.
Comparing the satellite image to the proposed new site plan, it looks like at least a small number of trees will be removed.
The demolition of the old Forum and construction of the Molson Amphitheatre apparently occurred entirely in one off-season, after Labour Day of 1994 with the first show (Bryan Adams) at the new venue on May 18, 1995. Could this rebuild be accomplished in less than a year?
A Toronto Star article from Aug. 13, 1994, stated that 400 trees were to be removed to make way for the new amphitheatre, but the project manager said there would be a "net gain" of trees at Ontario Place, with about 100 of the trees being replanted and hundreds of new ones planted.
generalcanada
Senior Member
if there was 1 question i could ask the development team would be a concern of what their intentions are with the trees? even the log flume area has actually alot of very mature trees.
ChesterCopperpot
Senior Member
Recommended design concepts for Ontario Place
View the recommended design concepts as part of the redevelopment of Ontario Place into a family-friendly, world-class destination.
Lucastphotography
New Member
Budweiser Stage
SubHuman
Active Member
Has anyone said when this rebuilding of the venue will start? When it was announced three years ago, being completed "by 2030" was the only vague mention of a timeline.
As I said in an earlier post above, unless they're going to find some greatly improved way for enormous crowds of 20,000 to get between there and the Exhibition GO/TTC platforms, this has always seemed like a sub-optimal location for a venue of this size. I was there recently, and it took forever for the crowd to get out after the concert ended, with almost everyone now having to leave by using the one open pedestrian bridge across Lake Shore Blvd, because of the closed Ontario place parking lots. The nearby Exhibition Place lots were also closed to set up for Caribbean Carnival, so almost all 15,000 people were trying to get to the GO station or Liberty village at the same time.
As I said in an earlier post above, unless they're going to find some greatly improved way for enormous crowds of 20,000 to get between there and the Exhibition GO/TTC platforms, this has always seemed like a sub-optimal location for a venue of this size. I was there recently, and it took forever for the crowd to get out after the concert ended, with almost everyone now having to leave by using the one open pedestrian bridge across Lake Shore Blvd, because of the closed Ontario place parking lots. The nearby Exhibition Place lots were also closed to set up for Caribbean Carnival, so almost all 15,000 people were trying to get to the GO station or Liberty village at the same time.
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daptive
Active Member
Looks like we may get an update to this venue.
kotsy
Senior Member
Hope you can still hear the concerts for free and the hill south of the venue 
SubHuman
Active Member
An announcement should mean it's something new that we don't already know, but we've had non-announcements before. Maybe they've got a more finalized design for it, instead of just a concept.
Tickets for events at Budweiser Stage in 2025 are already on sale, so presumably construction won't be starting any time soon.
https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpZAEkkIA/budweiser-stage-events
If the mayor is at the announcement, hopefully it at least involves some way to access the venue. I still think the obviously better idea would be a new large indoor entertainment venue somewhere on the Exhibition Place side of Lake Shore Blvd, and then maybe having something smaller like the old forum at Ontario Place.
And the CNE (Coca-Cola) Coliseum should stick to sports and winter fair events, and shouldn't ever be used as a music venue again.
Tickets for events at Budweiser Stage in 2025 are already on sale, so presumably construction won't be starting any time soon.
https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpZAEkkIA/budweiser-stage-events
If the mayor is at the announcement, hopefully it at least involves some way to access the venue. I still think the obviously better idea would be a new large indoor entertainment venue somewhere on the Exhibition Place side of Lake Shore Blvd, and then maybe having something smaller like the old forum at Ontario Place.
And the CNE (Coca-Cola) Coliseum should stick to sports and winter fair events, and shouldn't ever be used as a music venue again.
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christiesplits
Senior Member
Is there any chance they could start construction while still having performances at Budweiser? It's a massive cash cow that often has five shows a week over the summer.
SubHuman
Active Member
This sounds like the entire thing (not just the roof) will be demolished, and the “new” venue then built on higher ground, so I doubt there could still be shows happening while that’s going on.
The outdoor festival site at Downsview Airport could presumably serve as somewhat of a temporary replacement.