Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium ( commonly CNE Stadium or Exhibition Stadium ) was a multi - purpose stadium , that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds , in Toronto , Ontario , Canada . Originally built for Canadian football , the Canadian National Exhibition and other events , the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Blue Jays , of Major League Baseball , from 1977 – 1989 . It also served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts , of the Canadian Football League , from 1959 – 1988 . The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game twelve times over a 24 - year period . Exhibition Stadium was the fourth stadium to be built on its site since 1879 . The covered north - side grandstand was constructed in 1948 , followed by a south bleacher section for football in 1959 . When converted for football in 1959 , the stadium seated 33 , 150 . The stadium was reconfigured again in the mid - 1970s to allow the expansion Toronto Blue Jays to play there , with additional seating opposite the covered grandstand on the first base side and curving around to the third base side . It was the only major league stadium where the outfield seats were covered but the main grandstand was not . In 1999 , the stadium was demolished , with the site being used for parking until 2006 . BMO Field , a soccer - specific stadium for Toronto FC , was built on the site and opened in 2007 . History . When the 58th Grey Cup was played at the stadium in 1970 , Calgary Stampeders coach Jim Duncan described the condition of the natural - grass surface as " a disgrace . " In January 1972 , Metropolitan Toronto Council voted 15 – 9 to spend $ 625 , 000 to install artificial turf . The vote passed despite five councilors changing their vote to oppose the motion , because the cost had increased from a previous estimate of $ 400 , 000 . Two months later , contracts totaling $ 475 , 000 were approved to install the turf , with work to be completed by June . Problems with hosting baseball . Exhibition Stadium was problematic for hosting baseball . Like most multi - purpose stadiums , the lower boxes were set further back than comparable seats at baseball - only stadiums . This was magnified by the fact that Canadian football fields are 30 yards longer , and considerably wider , than American football fields . Additionally , it was not a true multi - purpose stadium , but a football stadium that could convert into a baseball stadium . Due to the vaguely horseshoe - shape of the stadium after it was expanded for the Blue Jays , many of the seats down the right field line and in right - centre were extremely far from the infield ; they actually faced each other rather than the action . In fact , some seats were as far as 820 feet from home plate — the farthest such distance of any stadium ever used as a principal home field in the majors . Over 10 , 000 seats in centre field and down the right - field line were so far from the playing field ( and did not even directly face the baseball diamond ) that the Blue Jays did not even offer them for sale during the regular season . The outfield seats were the only seats that offered protection from the elements . Ironically , they were the cheapest seats . Problems with the wind and cold . Relatively close to Lake Ontario , the stadium was often quite cold at the beginning and end of the season . The first Blue Jays game played there on April 7 , 1977 was the only major league game ever played with the field covered entirely by snow . The Blue Jays had to borrow Maple Leaf Gardens ' Zamboni to clear off the field . Conditions at the stadium led to another odd incident that first year . On September 15 , Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver pulled his team off the field because he felt the bricks holding down the bullpen tarps were a hazard to his players . This garnered a win by forfeit for the Jays . It remains the last time in major league baseball history — and the only time since 1914 — that a team deliberately forfeited a game ( as opposed to having an umpire call a forfeiture due to unruly fan behaviour ) . An April 30 , 1984 game against the Texas Rangers was postponed due to 60 mph winds . Prior to the game , Ranger manager Doug Rader named Jim Bibby as his starting pitcher , stating that " he ' s the heaviest man in the world , and thus will be unaffected by the wind . " However , Bibby would never make it to the mound . Two Rangers batters complained about dirt swirling in their eyes , and Blue Jays starting pitcher Jim Clancy was blown off balance several times . The umpires stopped the game after only six pitches . After a 30 - minute delay , the game was called off . The stadium also occasionally had problems with fog , once causing a bizarre inside - the - park home run for Kelly Gruber , when an otherwise routine pop up was lost by the outfielders in the thick fog . As a popular feeding ground for seagulls . Due to its position next to the lake , and the food disposed by baseball and football fans , the stadium was a popular feeding ground for seagull s . New York Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield was arrested on August 4 , 1983 for killing a seagull with a baseball . Winfield had just finished his warm - up exercises in the 5th inning and threw a ball to the ball boy , striking a seagull in the head . The seagull died , and some claimed that Winfield hit the bird on purpose , which prompted Yankees manager Billy Martin to state " They wouldn ' t say that if they ' d seen the throws he ' d been making all year . It ' s the first time he ' s hit the cutoff man " . The charges were later dropped . Winfield would later play for the Blue Jays , winning a World Series with the club in 1992 . 70th Grey Cup and replacement . Exhibition Stadium ' s fate was sealed during the 70th Grey Cup in 1982 , popularly known as " the Rain Bowl " because it was played in a driving rainstorm . The game was plagued by terrible weather that affected the patrons , who were viewing from stands that were not sheltered . Thousands spent most of the game in the concession section of the stadium , the crowd was drenched , and the washrooms were overflowing , which was on the whole a bad experience for the fans . In attendance that day was then - Ontario Premier Bill Davis , and the poor conditions were seen by over 7 , 862 , 000 television viewers in Canada ( at the time the largest TV audience ever in Canada ) . The following day , at a rally at Toronto City Hall , tens of thousands of people who were there to see the Toronto Argonauts began to chant , " We want a dome ! We want a dome ! " So too did others who began to discuss the possibility of an all - purpose , all - weather stadium . Seven months later , in June 1983 , Premier Davis formally announced that a three - person committee would look into the feasibility of building a domed stadium at Exhibition Place . The committee consisted of Paul Godfrey , Larry Grossman and former Ontario Hydro chairman Hugh Macaulay . By 1983 , officials with Metro Toronto , the Blue Jays and Argonauts agreed to abandon Exhibition Stadium once a domed stadium could be built closer to Toronto ' s downtown . The new domed stadium , SkyDome ( now Rogers Centre ) retractable roof stadium — the second in North America , and the first with rigid roof panels — suffered engineering and cost delays and was not completed until . If not delayed , it would have been the " first " retractable roof in North America ; Olympic Stadium in Montreal finally got its retractable roof to work in 1988 . However , the Montreal design was problematic — soon after it was put into use it ripped on several occasions . In the months that followed , it was plagued by further rips and even leaks whenever it rained , bringing water down into the stadium . It was shut down for good in 1989 , and replaced by a fixed roof in 1992 . For this reason , SkyDome is sometimes said to have been the first " fully functioning " retractable roof in North America . Life following the opening of SkyDome . Exhibition Stadium lay mostly dormant over the decade following the opening of SkyDome , except for the occasional concert or minor sporting event . The World Wrestling Federation , ( now World Wrestling Entertainment ) needing a new venue after a decision to discontinue traditional events at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1995 , held one card there on August 24 , 1996 for a crowd of 21 , 211 . The main event was Shawn Michaels vs . Goldust in a ladder match . The stadium was demolished in 1999 and the site became a parking lot . A few chairs from the stadium can be found on the southeast corner just north of the bridge to cross over to Ontario Place ' s main entrance . The remaining chairs were sold off to collectors during the dismantling of the stadium . The " Mistake by the Lake " . Although not widely used while the stadium was in operation ( given the well known references to Cleveland ' s Municipal Stadium ) , the term " Mistake by the Lake " has been used more recently in reflection by Toronto media to refer to the now - demolished venue . New stadium . On October 26 , 2005 , the City of Toronto approved $ 69 million CAD to build a new 20 , 000 seat stadium in almost the same spot where the old stadium once was . The governments of Canada and Ontario combined for $ 35 million CAD , with the city paying $ 9 . 8 million CAD , and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment paying the rest , including any runoff costs . Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment got the naming rights of the new stadium , and has a Major League Soccer team in the new stadium , named Toronto FC . The stadium , called BMO Field , also held the 2007 FIFA U - 20 World Cup along with other cities in Canada .