When K-pop fans were the guinea pigs for Toronto's new temporary stadium
"We're legit in the middle of nowhere," said Stray Kids leader Bang Chan
Months before Stray Kids were announced as the inaugural concert at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium, there have already been many questions about the new venue.
Firstly, why name it Rogers Stadium when there’s already a stadium downtown named Rogers Centre? Isn’t that confusing?
Secondly, Rogers Stadium is a five-year temporary venue built on the empty lot of a former airport. Why not make it permanent?
And third, how exactly will Live Nation and developers build a 50,000 capacity space in less than a year?!
Well, Stray Kids fans—known as STAYs—recently became the first to experience the Rogers Stadium. The results were mixed to say the least.
Ahead of the concert, there were several complaints about the venue’s lack of on-site parking, with many coming out of town wondering what the best course of action would be.
Then there were the complaints around the lack of water stations scattered around the stadium grounds, and the long lineups at the porta potties. As one of the thousands of people who first got to experience Rogers Stadium at the Stray Kids show, I ended up using what I described as the “fancier porta potty” because it was the first washroom option I noticed. Little did I know these spots were meant to be accessible washrooms. I did not see any clear signage!
However, the biggest complaints stemmed from the experience of exiting the Rogers Stadium, with many reporting overcrowding, long lines and accessibility concerns. Tamar Herman, a fellow journalist who I met up with at the Stray Kids show, detailed her own journey trying to get out of the venue on her newsletter and in an interview with the Toronto Star. She ended up walking home to her relatives who lived nearby!
Even Bang Chan, leader of Stray Kids, couldn’t help but remark on the weirdness of the Rogers Stadium. Throughout the concert, he kept saying, “We’re legit in the middle of nowhere!”
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But despite the major hiccups along the way, I admit my take on the Rogers Stadium might be a bit controversial. My experience going to the Stray Kids concert actually wasn’t that bad!
While I agree that accessibility, crowding and the lack of water and washrooms can be an issue, the venue felt akin to a music festival experience. It’s not glamourous, nor the most comfortable given the outdoor setting. You’ll need to plan ahead when it comes to your commute. But overall as a music space, I enjoyed the vibes a lot!
I sat up in the nosebleeds, which meant I was one of thousands who got to try out the new bleachers that were set up all around the stadium. Getting up to my seat was a bit interesting as all I saw around me was lots of metal scaffolding. It was a bit rocky, but it did get the job done. However, I fear for anyone getting up there with a cane as the stairs can be a rickety!
(The Rogers Stadium grounds had a ferris wheel)
The moment I got to my seat, it did feel stable. But during heavier songs like “Chk Chk Boom” and “S-Class”, the seats would start swaying. I get that this would be alarming. Though according to experts, these bleachers are designed to sway slightly as a safety mechanism.
But as a first concert out of a new venue, I think things could have been a lot worse. I saw the screens pretty clearly from my seat. I heard the music perfectly fine. Plus, it was gorgeous seeing the sunset as planes flew by. At one point during the show, Felix and Bang Chan even encouraged the crowd to scream at the planes flying overhead.
It also looks like improvements were made for Coldplay’s recent four-day residency at Rogers Stadium. As the rest of concert season continues, I can only hope things get smoother for the thousands coming to the venue.
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One observation I will say that I find interesting is the fact that a lot of mainstream outlets only started caring about the state of the Rogers Stadium after the Stray Kids concert. Perhaps many wanted to wait and see what the situation would be like. But, it was also quite revealing knowing that a band like Coldplay—an arguably more mainstream act— was going to be the next group to play shows at the Rogers Stadium. It was as if the concerns of K-pop fans—predominantly younger, Asian and women—were not as valuable to listen to.
For months, I had posed questions and pitched stories about the value of temporary stadiums and the concerns around transportation, accessibility and stability of such models. But alas, I was shot down because “putting up bleachers isn’t so difficult.”
While developers and Live Nation indeed put up the stadium in time, the feedback from thousands of fans who attended proved that improvements were needed.
What’s more, I think it’s rather evident how K-pop fan concerns are often brushed aside in the type of reviews and content that gets published soon after. The Globe and Mail, who published a snide review of the Stray Kids show, highlighted both misogyny and xenophobia around the band and its fanbase. The mainsteam media already portrays K-pop as a genre full of tropes like “screaming fangirls” and “manufactured boy bands.” It’s this reason why K-pop rarely gets the coverage it deserves in mainstream Canadian media. Fans, music writers and artists deserve better than this, and this approach and view towards K-pop is really just so tiring. I feel like I’m often screaming into a void. So I am grateful to everyone who continues to follow along and read these updates.
With all this said, the next K-pop show to hit Rogers Stadium will be Blackpink on July 22 and 23. I’ll be attending, so I’ll be sure to compare notes and report back.
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