One of Paul Godfrey’s main purposes highlighted in his proposal was that the SkyDome be used as the new home for the Toronto Blue Jays[1]. The new stadium was to provide the Blue Jays with a playing environment that had a controlled climate. This is an important feature for the team as Toronto has an unpredictable climate, and during Toronto’s first ever baseball game, the field was blanketed with snow. Currently, there has been heavy scrutiny criticizing the dome, as it is not a typical and ideal baseball venue. Most baseball stadiums are outdoors, meaning that they are exposed to the weather. However, the SkyDome was not designed to create an outdoor environment for baseball. This is because, Exhibition Stadium was a typical outdoor stadium, and as a result, Torontonians demanded that a domed stadium be built. Fans were tired of being exposed to the cold, rain and snow conditions. They wanted a comfortable setting to enjoy their sports. As a result, the SkyDome fulfills that void for the City of Toronto. Torontonians wanted a domed venue to watch baseball, and as outlined in Paul Godfrey’s proposal, that is exactly what they were given. When the SkyDome was constructed, it was considered to be a futuristic stadium, which was ahead of its time[2]. Additionally, the stadium was also seen as a state of the art venue, which contained a fully operational and functional retractable roof. Similarly, the stadium also used the latest trend, Astroturf. Although currently seen as obsolete and detrimental, Astroturf was increasingly popular during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Currently, only Toronto and Tampa Bay continue to use Astroturf for professional baseball.

            The SkyDome was also the stadium used when the Toronto Blue Jays shattered the major league baseball attendance record. During the 1990 season, the Toronto Blue Jays attracted almost 4 million spectators (approximately 3,885,000). This broke the previous record of approximately 3.5 million spectators held by the infamous Los Angeles Dodgers. Additionally, the following year, the Toronto Blue Jays became the first team to reach over 4 million fans, and continued to do so up to the 1993 season. Similarly, the SkyDome has also been the host to large-scale baseball events. For example, it was the site of the first World Series played outside of the United States of America (1991). Additionally, in 1992, it was the site of the first World Series Championship game won on Canadian soil. Furthermore, in 1991, it played host to the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game, which are important baseball events. Recently, during the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the SkyDome was used as the venue for all “Pool C” matches. This demonstrates how the SkyDome is being used as a world-class stadium to be the home of professional baseball. It is recognized on a global scale, and has evidently hosted many large-scale events.

            The SkyDome was built during an era where multi-complex stadiums were the latest and greatest means of sports infrastructure. In an article by Chad Seifried, who looks at the evolution of baseball stadiums from the 1850’s to present, it is explained that to help reduce the costs of building and up keeping of the stadiums, sports teams agreed on sharing the venue[3]. As a result, sports stadiums began to adopt a more circular shape, and introduced removable seating to accommodate the style of field required for each sport. Seifried also explains that due to increasing real estate prices, the idea of building one stadium for multiple sports was more feasible than numerous stadiums for one single use. Additionally, Seifried explains how a common theme among multi-complex stadiums was the use of the dome[4]. This is because prior to roofs/domes, stadiums lost money due to bad weather (rain delays, snow, inclement weather, etc). According to Seifried, the phase of building these multi-use stadiums lasted from the 1950’s to the early 1990’s[5]. This is important, because the next phase of baseball stadium infrastructure is what constitutes the SkyDome being called obsolete or ugly. An article on ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) explains how the SkyDome was once a good stadium with a futuristic appeal. However, the latest stadium movements made the SkyDome become a target of criticism[6]. The 1990’s brought forth the idea that “old is new.” Stadiums such as Camden Yards (Baltimore) revitalized an older approach to baseball infrastructure. Stadiums were no longer multi-complexes, but rather designated for a single purpose. This draws numerous questions and debates regarding the planning of the SkyDome and other urban infrastructure in general. How far into the future do we plan? How do we plan for the future? What unforeseeable events must we attempt to plan for? These are all important questions pertaining to the planning of urban infrastructure. When Paul Godfrey put forward his proposal, there was no speculation that the SkyDome’s design was going to quickly become outdated. Similarly, it was not forecasted that there was going to be a revitalization of the “old school” sports stadiums.

            Therefore, it is evident that although the SkyDome may not adhere to the current norms of baseball infrastructure, it is still a valuable and important asset to the City of Toronto. It serves as the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, where records were born and history was made. Additionally, it provides fans with the most important thing, a weather controlled environment.

 

[1] Series F 4593-1-91. Godfrey, Paul, “Toronto Domed Stadium Proposal,” EllisDon Corporation Projects 1982-2006.1984. Archives of Ontario.

[2] Levine, Dan, “SkyDome – Still Great After 20 Years?” Toronto Sports Media, May. 30, 2009.

[3] Seifried, Chad. “The Evolution of Professional Baseball and Football Structures in the United States, 1850 to the Present: Toward an Ideal Type.” Sport History Review 41, no. 1 (2010): 50-80. 67.

[4] Seifried. “Evolution.” 67.

[5] Seifried. “Evolution.” 67.

[6] Caple, Jim, “SkyDome is just another stadium,” ESPN News, June. 2, 2003.