Coldplay fans concerned about new Rogers Stadium ahead of band's Toronto shows

Julia Alevato · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 06, 2025 8:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Coldplay fans are gearing up to ticker the band perform this week successful Toronto, but immoderate accidental they are acrophobic aft mixed reviews astir the concert's venue, Rogers Stadium.

The caller 50,000-seat open-air venue successful northbound Toronto volition big the British stone set for 4 performances taking spot betwixt Monday and Saturday.

Maria Strachan, who is going to ticker Coldplay connected Tuesday and Saturday, said she was "shocked" to perceive people's experiences astatine Rogers Stadium.

"I'm trying not to dwell connected each the antagonistic aspects of the publicity that has been going astir astir the caller stadium. I'm trying to enactment positive, but I would beryllium lying if I said that I wasn't conscionable a small spot acrophobic astir immoderate of the information aspects," Strachan told CBC News connected Sunday.

The concerns travel aft immoderate fans who attended the stadium's inaugural performance from K-pop radical Stray Kids said it took up to 2 hours to leave, arsenic the venue and transit services from Downsview Park seemed ill-equipped to grip the throngs of radical coming successful and retired of the show.

Others voiced complaints connected societal media astir agelong hold times leaving the stadium and hours-long journeys to drawback a train, bus or Uber aft the concert.

Strachan said the determination to person the Coldplay concerts at Rogers Stadium doesn't marque sense.

"If you're visiting from retired of town, determination are nary hotels astir there. There are nary restaurants, truthful you person to marque your mode backmost downtown. It conscionable doesn't marque a batch of sense," she said.

"I don't recognize wherefore we couldn't person these shows astatine the Rogers Centre due to the fact that it is sitting bare each nighttime that Coldplay is playing."

'They were not prepared' 

Many fans, similar Rebecca Lukowski, who attended the inaugural concert, besides complained astir the venue's deficiency of accessibility.

"They were not prepared," Lukowski told CBC connected Sunday.

She said the stadium was expected to person shuttle buses to instrumentality radical to the accessible parking, which was excessively acold from the venue, but the shuttles ne'er arrived.

The deficiency of signage was besides a concern, Lukowski said.

"There was nary signage connected the roads. There was nary signage for the accessible parking either. We drove astir for astir 30 minutes,"she said. "That's precise confusing, particularly for idiosyncratic who's retired of municipality oregon mightiness not cognize the area."

Mel Farenzena attended the Stray Kids performance with her 3 daughters. They drove for 7 hours from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to Toronto.

Farenzena said she waited 2 hours successful enactment to refill their bottles astatine the h2o stations. She yet gave up and bought water, which outgo her astir $60 successful total.

"We ended up buying six waters from vendors due to the fact that we had nary time," she told CBC News, adding that "7 p.m. came and we were like, 'No, we're not missing this performance due to the fact that of water.'"

Kevin Kennedy, the proprietor of Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions, said it is mean for a caller venue to acquisition hiccups for its archetypal event.

"Not lone is the assemblage caller to the tract — so they're not acquainted with however the tract works, it's their archetypal clip determination — but the employees connected the tract are besides new," helium said.

LISTEN | Professor on how to woody with ample crowds astatine Rogers Stadium:

Kennedy said fans attending this week's concerts should program up and follow the venue's instructions, particularly successful lawsuit of an emergency.

"During an emergency, things are a small spot much chaotic, and the lone happening I tin accidental to fans successful that lawsuit is travel instructions from those that are connected tract providing that absorption due to the fact that they person a bigger operational presumption of what's going on," helium said.

Live Nation addresses concerns

On Monday, Live Nation Canada responded to the concerns from concertgoers at the Stray Kids event, saying it was "already making adjustments."

"We are already making adjustments based connected instrumentality and assemblage feedback and volition proceed to refine our operations to guarantee a affirmative and harmless acquisition for everyone astatine Rogers Stadium and successful our neighbouring assemblage this summertime — moving intimately with metropolis officials, the TTC and Metrolinx, exigency services, and our assemblage partners on the way," the performance promoter and relation said successful a connection to CBC News.

Concertgoers successful the precocious grandstands besides complained that they felt their seats determination during the show. Live Nation Canada said it is aware of the complaints but that it is "expected arsenic portion of the plan of the venue," which "exceeds" planetary information codes.

WATCH | Live Nation announced the caller venue successful September:

Local councillor 'hopeful' that issues volition beryllium fixed

Coun. James Pasternak, whose ward includes the country wherever the stadium is located, met with Live Nation Canada, landowner Northcrest Developments and Toronto exigency services past week to sermon imaginable solutions.

Pasternak told CBC News that determination was a "really beardown determination" by the teams to hole the issues raised by concertgoers.

"We are hopeful that we tin hole galore of these problems. The onus is connected Live Nation to marque it happen, but we volition beryllium determination to enactment a safe, enjoyable performance acquisition and marque definite that radical tin get retired and get to the venue safely and that radical person a affirmative acquisition erstwhile visiting Toronto," helium said.

Pasternak said helium expects to spot immoderate changes successful spot for the Coldplay concerts this week.

"I would anticipation that entree to caller water, particularly connected blistery summertime nights, is much easy available," helium said.

The councillor besides said constabulary are looking into conducting immoderate roadworthy closures successful the country to accommodate crowds walking connected the streets and sidewalks.