Silvio Abate was washing dishes in his Downsview home one afternoon in September when he learned on the radio about the plans for Rogers Stadium — set to become Toronto’s largest outdoor concert venue when it’s christened this summer, just a few kilometers from his doorstep.
“That stopped me dead in my tracks,” said Abate, a resident of the North York ward since 1988.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a second, when did this happen?’”
Abate is one of a number of residents who are angry about entertainment giant Live Nation's plans to build the 50,000-person open-air concert venue on the grounds of the old Downsview Airport.
The venue is set to operate for five years before being torn down to make way for residential housing.
While some locals are supportive of Rogers Stadium, believing it will bring jobs and vibrancy to the area, others, like Abate, are furious about the lack of public consultation before the project was announced on Sept. 26 — and the impact of the new venue on noise and traffic.
South Korean boy-band Stray Kids is set to host the stadium’s first concert on June 29 as part of a world tour. There are eight additional shows on the books for this summer, including Coldplay, Oasis and metal band System of A Down.
Local resident and realtor Jeff Starr said he loves the idea of the new venue, believing it’ll turn his townhouses’ rooftop terrace into a free seat for the summer concerts.
But others see it differently.
“I’m going to be faced with between 12 and 15 episodes of sonic torture” this summer, said Abate. “I would like to enjoy my backyard.”
Local MP worried venue will become permanent
In an October letter to her constituents, York Centre Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks expressed concern that the city did not consult on the project prior to its announcement and stressed that the land must be eventually turned into housing.
“[Housing] is what we have been discussing in so many community forums. I am concerned that once this is built, the temporary stadium will become permanent. I want to be clear: I do not support a permanent stadium,” the MP wrote (emphasis hers).
In an interview with TorontoToday, York Centre councillor James Pasternak said the idea the venue is here long-term is “total nonsense.”
“The stadium will come down in five years or less,” he said.
Pasternak said the city’s role in the project is minor, mainly focused around enforcing noise and traffic bylaws — and that hosting a consultation would have been Live Nation’s job.
TorontoToday contacted Live Nation, Saks and Northcrest, the landowner, but did not receive comment prior to publication.
Noise concerns
Many of the residents concerned about noise are informed by their experiences in past summers with concerts hosted at a pop-up venue in Downsview Park, which operates alongside the old airport lands.
Last September, Anita Devine and her family took possession of a new home northeast of the park. One evening, a concert was hosted while they were entertaining guests.
“We were literally able to hear the music from inside the house,” she said. “My husband and I were thinking, ‘Did we just make a mistake purchasing our property?’”
Devine, who has two young kids, said she expects the new venue to be like the existing one, but on steroids.
Whereas the existing venue hosts a few shows per summer, including the popular three-day electronic music festival Veld, Rogers Stadium will host about ten shows per year, according to Pasternak.
“Music is nice and everything, but not when it’s every week,” said Devine.
“We don’t have a cottage … I feel like we’re not going to be able to enjoy our backyard.”
In response to residents’ concerns, Pasternak posted a letter to social media in late December stressing that Rogers Stadium will be at the far north end of the old airport landing strip, furthest away from the majority of local residents.
He also said the venue’s speakers will be pointed north towards an industrial area, rather than east, toward neighbouring homes. The venue will be expected to keep sound below a specific decibel and shows will conclude by about 11 p.m., per the councillor.
That is of little solace for Abate, however.
The longtime resident said he’s not opposed to a concert venue on the airport lands.
But if one is to be built, he said it should be a covered stadium not an open air venue that routinely subjects locals to loud noise.
Traffic woes and north Toronto boosterism
Other residents, even those supportive of the project, told TorontoToday they are concerned about the additional traffic the venue will bring.
Starr and fellow local realtor Jonathan Ribeiro Marulanda said the existing streets around the old airport lands are not built to handle a large number of vehicles, leading to packed roads on Canada Day and other weekends that draw outsiders to the area.
Pasternak said he’s hopeful the vast majority of people travelling to both music venues will take public transit, exiting at the Downsview Park or Sheppard West subway stations or at the nearby GO stop.
Despite the myriad of concerns, the councillor said he expects the music venue to be net-positive for the community and local businesses.
Ribeiro Marulanda agreed.
“It’ll just encourage people to see us in the north in a different way,” he said.
