SkyDome (original) (raw)
Overhead view of SkyDome with
roof closed, seen from the CN Tower.
SkyDome, which opened on June 1, 1989, is a huge ballpark in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the stadium where the Toronto Blue Jays play baseball and the Toronto Argonauts play Canadian football. It is also the home of many special events that require very large venues, including what is believed (in 2003) to be the world's largest book reading, by Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, on 24th October 2000. It was one of the first stadiums in the world to have a fully retractable motorized roof. It can seat 53,506 people at a football game. SkyDome also has a hotel.
In the early 1990s the consortium of companies that had built the stadium had amassed a huge debt and a massive, and controversial, government bail-out was given them.
Usage note: Canadians typically do not say the SkyDome; correct usage is SkyDome, without an article. This usage has been more or less accepted in the USA, especially by ESPN.
More images of SkyDome
SkyDome is visible at left in these photos.