At conception, SkyDome took an innovative approach to financing, construction and design. Until 1994, SkyDome had been owned by The Stadium Corporation of Ontario, a consortium comprised of both public and private funds. The Province of Ontario and the Municipality of Toronto each contributed 30 million dollars. Joining these two levels of government were 30 Canadian corporations including the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club. Each private company contributed 5 million dollars in exchange for preferred supplier status and a SkyBox. The final construction cost of SkyDome exceeded 500 million dollars.
Architects Rod Robbie and Michael Allen designed SkyDome and have patented its retractable roof system. Preparation of the site began in April 1986, with groundbreaking taking place in October of that same year. The last exterior concrete was poured in November of 1988 and the first test of the moveable roof panels took place in January 1989. More than 10,000 person-years of employment were created by the construction of SkyDome.
The venue is located just to the south and west of the CN Tower, between John Street and Blue Jays Way. A five minute walk from Union Station, it is easily accessible by the TTC or Go Transit. Several public parking lots are within a ten minute walk of the stadium.
SkyDome is home to the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club and the Toronto Argonauts Football Club as well as playing host to hundreds of other events during the year such as concerts, trade shows and charity functions. Also located in the building is SkyDome Hotel, a 348-room hotel with 70 rooms overlooking the field. SkyDome houses several corporate offices for various companies including the Toronto Blue Jays.
One of the unique features of SkyDome is that it can be "transformed" from one mode (ie. baseball) to another mode (ie. football or concerts) within hours. The 100 level seating areas are situated on railway tracks that allow the seats to move for conversion purposes.
- SkyDome's roof system features a series of 3 moveable panels and 1
stationary panel. Panels 2 and 3 slide on parallel rails while panel 1
slides on a circular rail "tucking" underneath 2 and 3
- the roof
operates on a system of steel tracks and 54 drive mechanisms called
"bogies" and is powered by a series of DC motors that generate over 750
horsepower
- roof area is 339,343 square feet or 31,525 square
metres
- weight is 11,000 tons
- span at widest point- 674
feet or 209 metres
- height is 282 feet or 86 metres (from field
level to highest point)
- covering is single PVC membrane on
insulated acoustic steel deck
- 100 % of the field and 91 % of the
seating area is exposed with the roof open
- open/close time- 20
minutes (71 feet or 21 metres per minute)
- largest video display board in North America, second largest in
the world (Japan)
- the board was built by the Sony Corporation
- 420,000 light bulbs make up the viewing area
- dimensions are 33
feet high (10.0 metres) by 110 feet wide (33.6 metres)
- cost was
$17,000,000
- five levels: Esplanade, Club, luxury skyboxes on 2 levels, SkyDeck
- 50,516 for baseball
- 53,000 for football
- 55,000 for
concerts
- 67,000 for other events
- SkyTent mode seats 10,000
to 30,000
- 41,000 seats are located between the foul lines
-
Skyboxes range in price from $150,000 to 225,000 per year
- 348 distinctively decorated rooms
- 70 rooms overlook the
playing field
- Operated by Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts
- concessionaire- McDonald's of Canada
- four counter service
restaurants
- 19 SkySnack locations
- 52 beverage stations
- five vending kitchens
- fine dining- Bitove Corporation
-
Windows on SkyDome is a 520 seat restaurant
- Sightlines- a 300
foot bar with all seats facing the playing field
- Hard Rock Cafe
- Cafe on the Green (SkyDome Hotel)
- artificial turf system- Astro-Turf 8 (1 1/4 inches in thickness)
- dimensions for baseball are symmetrical, 328 down the foul lines, 375
to power alleys and 400 to dead centre
- diamond is centred two
degrees off perfect north
- outfield wall is 10 feet high and
padded
- bullpens are located just beyond the left and right field
fences
- pitcher's mound is constructed on a fiberglass dish and
can be lowered or raised by hydraulic system
- conversion takes
approximately 10-12 hours to convert from baseball to football
-
over 8 miles of zippers connect the strips of artificial turf
GAME: Monday June 5, 1989 (Blue Jays-3, Milwaukee Brewers-5)
ATTENDANCE: 48,378
TIME/TEMP: 2:43/18C
PITCHER: Jimmy Key, Toronto
BATTER: Paul Molitor, Milwaukee (doubled)
PLATE UMPIRE: Rocky Roe
PITCH: Fastball, called strike
HIT: Double by Molitor in 1st inning
RUN: Molitor in 1st inning
SINGLE: Kelly Gruber, Toronto, 1st inning
DOUBLE: Paul Molitor, 1st inning
HOME RUN: Fred McGriff, Toronto, 2nd inning
RBI: Gary Sheffield, Milwaukee, 1st inning
WINNING PITCHER: Don August, Milwaukee
LOSING PITCHER: Jimmy Key, Toronto
SAVE: Dan Plesac, Milwaukee
PUTOUT: Nelson Liriano, Toronto
ASSIST: Kelly Gruber, Toronto
STOLEN BASE: Fred McGriff, 6th inning
WALK: George Bell, Toronto, 2nd inning
AT CLOSED
SKYDOME OPEN CLOSED DURING GAME
W-L W-L W-L W-L
1989 34-21 22-20 10-0 2-0
1989 ALCS 1-2 - 1-2 -
1990 44-37 13-18 28-17 3-2
1991 46-35 26-22 19-10 1-3
1991 ALCS 0-3 - 0-3 -
1992 53-28 19-11 31-16 3-1
1992 ALCS 2-1 - 2-1 -
1992 WS 2-1 - 2-1 -
1993 48-33 15-14 30-17 3-2
1993 ALCS 1-2 - 1-2 -
1993 WS 2-1 - 2-1 -
1994 33-26 11-12 16-11 6-3
OVERALL 266-190 106-98 142-81 18-11