page_title: Rogers Centre
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Rogers Centre / Timeline
context_page_description: Rogers Centre, originally named SkyDome, is a multi-purpose stadium in Downtown Toronto, Canada, situated just southwest of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. Previously, the stadium was also home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League played an annual game at the stadium as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large events such as conventions, trade fairs, concerts, travelling carnivals, circuses and monster truck shows.
  The stadium was renamed "Rogers Centre" following the 2005 purchase of the stadium by Rogers Communications, which also owns the Toronto Blue Jays. The venue was noted for being the first stadium to have a fully retractable motorized roof, as well as for the 348-room hotel attached to it with 70 rooms overlooking the field. It is also the last North American major-league stadium built to accommodate both football and baseball.
context_section_description: 1986 – October 3 – SkyDome's ground is broken.
  1987 – June 3 – The stadium is officially named "SkyDome".
  1989 – June 2 – Dress rehearsal for opening ceremony, family/friends of volunteer performers invited to attend. First unofficial "wave" performed at SkyDome.
  1989 – June 3 – SkyDome officially opens, hosting a live opening night gala.
  1989 – June 5 – SkyDome plays host to its first Blue Jays game. The Jays lose 5–3 to the Milwaukee Brewers.
  1989 – June 5 – Fred McGriff hits the first home run at SkyDome.
  1989 – June 7 – John Cerutti records the first Blue Jays win at SkyDome, beating the Brewers 4–2.
  1989 – June 8 – Rod Stewart performs the first concert at SkyDome.
  1989 – July 12 – The stadium plays host to its first Argonauts game.
  1989 – July 17 – First Doubleheader at Skydome and the Jays win both games beating Angels.
  1989 – Jose Canseco hits a home run into the fifth deck of SkyDome, off Toronto Blue Jays' pitcher Mike Flanagan. It is an estimated 480-foot shot, although one journalist estimated it to be at least 500 feet.
  1989 – The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43–40 in the 77th Grey Cup.
  1990 – April 1 – WrestleMania VI saw the then SkyDome attendance record of 67,678.
  1990 – The MLB single season attendance record is broken with 58 sellouts and a season total crowd of 3,885,284.
  1991 – July 9 – The stadium is the host of the MLB All-Star Game.
  1992 – The Calgary Stampeders defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24–10 in the 80th Grey Cup.
  1992 – The first World Series game outside the United States is played at SkyDome, as the Blue Jays host the Atlanta Braves in game three of the 1992 World Series.
  1993 – October 23 – The Blue Jays win their second straight World Series championship when Toronto outfielder Joe Carter hits a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams.
  1995 – June 22 – During a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, two acoustic panels fall off the inner ceiling in the seventh inning, injuring seven fans. The game is not stopped.
  1995 – July 9 – A worker dies when installing lights for a computer show (falling 7.6 metres (25 ft))
  1998 – November – Several dignitaries, including Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, honour the visiting South African president Nelson Mandela.
  1998 – November – SkyDome files for bankruptcy protection.
  1998 – SkyDome is purchased out of bankruptcy by Sportsco.
  2001 – April 12 – A scheduled Blue Jays' game against the Kansas City Royals is cancelled due to the retractable roof jamming during a test run, damaging the roof and sending debris crashing to the field below.
  2001 – August 3 – The retractable roof is ordered closed in the third inning of a Toronto Blue Jays' game against the Baltimore Orioles at the request of home plate umpire Tim Welke, as a swarm of thousands of aphids descends on SkyDome.
  2001 – Oct 5 – The second doubleheader at SkyDome and the Jays win both games again beating Cleveland Indians.
  2002 – March 17 – WrestleMania X8 sets the SkyDome attendance record of 68,237.
  2005 – February 2 – Rogers Communications buys the stadium and renames it Rogers Centre.
  2007 – November 25 – Rogers Centre plays host to the 95th Grey Cup, the first in Toronto in 15 years. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23–19 in the game.
  2008 – August 14 – Rogers Centre plays host to a pre-season National Football League game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, the first of a five-year lease deal that sees the Bills playing occasional home games in Toronto.
  2011 – April 30 – Rogers Centre holds its first UFC event, UFC 129. It is the first to be held in a stadium and was the biggest MMA event in North America at that time.
  2011 – June 25 – Rogers Centre successfully holds the first International Indian Film Academy Awards event in North America.
  2012 – April 10 – 17-year-old Yannis Carayannopoulos from Waterloo streaked across the field at the bottom of the third inning against the Boston Red Sox during the second game of the Blue Jays' home opening series. He had the neologism "YOLO"
caption: Panoramic view of Blue Jays game with open roof
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