Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin is speaking his mind when it comes to Toronto's newest addition to the city's concert venues. Coldplay, a Grammy award-winning band known for their record-breaking stadium tours, is in Toronto, playing a total of four shows. During these back-to-back performances at Rogers Stadium, not to be confused with the Rogers Centre, Martin called it a "weird stadium in the middle of nowhere."
The venue, an open-air stadium that seats 50,000 people, is located near Downsview Park in North York, which is considerably far from Toronto's downtown concert venue hotspot. While the venue is accessible via the TTC and located near Downsview Park Station, it still requires a 10-minute walk from the station to reach the gates.
Although it's designed to host major touring acts, with performances from Chris Brown, Oasis and Hozier coming later this summer, the location and logistics of the venue itself have raised eyebrows since it opened in June. Early shows were riddled with issues, from crowding to long wait times and the confusing signage within the venue, bringing criticism from attendees and the artists performing.
Martin first made the remark during Coldplay’s Monday night show, thanking fans for enduring "all the traffic, the travel and the trains" just to make it to see the show. The next night he doubled down, once again referencing the stadium's unusual placement with a second comment, calling it a "very bizarre stadium, a million miles from Earth."
While Martin’s comments were delivered in a lighthearted manner, they have sparked more conversations regarding the new venue's location and if it was truly built to serve the city — or if it is just serving Torontonians inconveniences?
Coldplay will hold two more concerts on July 11 and 12 at Toronto's Rogers Stadium. ~Erin Grace