Toronto's Rogers Stadium faces crowd control test as Coldplay wraps 1st show

Coldplay fans appeared to acquisition a smoother exit from Toronto's Rogers Stadium connected Monday night, aft complaints of mediocre assemblage power pursuing the outdoor venue's inaugural amusement past week.

But immoderate concertgoers were inactive near feeling fortunate to get retired without immoderate large incident.

Leigh Marshall and Adam Archdekin said they felt they felt "herded similar cattle" arsenic they were held successful the venue for 40 minutes aft the amusement ended.

"They person reddish lights. It's halt and go," Marshall said.

As crowds leaving the stadium thickened, unit held up the reddish lights and instructed radical to hold wrong the venue earlier they could proceed to transit areas. A greenish airy meant go.

The practice, which relation Live Nation Canada refers to arsenic "pulsing," was besides successful usage astatine the venue's archetypal show. This time, the relation promised to reconfigure the exit routes truthful that crowds would beryllium dispersed to aggregate adjacent subway stations.

While immoderate fans complained astir the impermanent standstills, the assemblage power method appeared to assistance forestall overcrowding astatine Downsview Park, the nearest subway and GO bid station, with a constricted fig of radical flowing done astatine a time.

By 12:30 a.m., transit unit announced the past GO Train of the nighttime had departed. Staff began taking down signs directing fans to the presumption arsenic the assemblage leaving the venue reduced to a trickle.

It appeared to beryllium a important betterment implicit the venue's inaugural amusement past week, erstwhile immoderate attendees said it took up to 2 hours to exit the 50,000-person capableness stadium.

Still, with lone 2 ways out, Marshall and Archdekin said they interest astir aboriginal concertgoers having a hard time.

"It has the makings of a disaster," said Marshall.

Live Nation Canada said it was making changes 

After complaints that the tract and transit services seemed ill-equipped to grip ample crowds, Live Nation Canada said it was "making adjustments" up of Coldplay's 4 shows this week.

In summation to changing the exit routes, the relation promised to adhd much signage, lighting, unit and h2o stations.

The Toronto Transit Commission said it would adhd much unit to its Downsview Park and Wilson stations connected performance nights, portion Metrolinx lone said it would "closely monitor" GO bid ridership levels for events astatine the stadium.

WATCH | What you request to cognize astir Coldplay's shows astatine Rogers Stadium:

Some fans who attended the performance connected Monday tried to get up of what they expected would beryllium a hellish situation.

Laurie Gatto and Jody McComb said they near partway done the last song. It lone took them astir 10 minutes to leave.

"I don't deliberation I've ever near a performance early, but I deliberation we've heard truthful galore antagonistic things astir this venue that we thought amended to permission 5 minutes earlier the end," Gatto said portion rushing backmost to her car, which was successful a adjacent lot.

Gatto and McComb said determination were capable bathrooms and signage was wide leaving the venue. Inside, further h2o stations had been acceptable up arsenic promised.

During the show, Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin thanked the assemblage for going done each "the postulation and the question and the trains and the waiting" to get to "this weird stadium successful the mediate of nowhere."

Earlier connected Monday evening, thousands of radical arrived aboriginal to find unit directing them from the subway to articulation agelong lineups for entry.

Many fans, similar Rebecca Lukowski, who attended the inaugural concert, besides complained astir the venue's deficiency of accessibility.

"They were not prepared," Lukowski told CBC connected Sunday.

No hotels nearby, says concert-goer

Maria Strachan, who is going to ticker Coldplay connected Tuesday and Saturday, said she was "shocked" to perceive people's experiences astatine Rogers Stadium.

"I'm trying not to dwell connected each the antagonistic aspects of the publicity that has been going astir astir the caller stadium. I'm trying to enactment positive, but I would beryllium lying if I said that I wasn't conscionable a small spot acrophobic astir immoderate of the information aspects," Strachan told CBC News connected Sunday.

Strachan said the determination to person the Coldplay concerts astatine Rogers Stadium doesn't marque sense.

"If you're visiting from retired of town, determination are nary hotels astir there. There are nary restaurants, truthful you person to marque your mode backmost downtown. It conscionable doesn't marque a batch of sense," she said.

"I don't recognize wherefore we couldn't person these shows astatine the Rogers Centre due to the fact that it is sitting bare each nighttime that Coldplay is playing."

'I thought this was astatine Rogers Centre'

Barb Lucas, who arrived from Oshawa, Ont., said up of the lawsuit that she was "terrified" aft proceeding astir the agelong lines for bathrooms, constricted h2o and swaying grandstands astatine the stadium's archetypal concert.

At the extremity of the concert, she said she would program to enactment successful her spot until the crowds filed retired to debar congestion.

LISTEN | Professor connected however to woody with ample crowds astatine Rogers Stadium:

"I thought this was astatine Rogers Centre," she said, referring to the likewise named stadium successful downtown Toronto.

"Had I known it was here, we wouldn't person been going."

Brian Ellis, who drove 4 hours from Detroit, said helium booked his accommodations close beside the Rogers Centre, reasoning the performance was astatine the downtown venue.

Fans study agelong walks to venue

Instead of being steps distant from the venue arsenic planned, Ellis drove astir 25 kilometres to the Sheppard West transit presumption parking batch and past walked for fractional an hr to get to the Rogers Stadium gates.

"It's absorbing however acold you person to locomotion to get successful this place," helium said.

But fans specified arsenic Emilio DeAngelis, who travelled from Quebec City, said helium was embracing the ample crowds arsenic portion of the experience.

"It's Coldplay. It's mean that there's a batch of people," helium said.

Pedicab drivers blaring Coldplay hits from speakers sped betwixt the gates and adjacent parking tons transporting fans who didn't privation to brave the agelong locomotion to the venue entrance.

One operator said it would outgo $20 per idiosyncratic to thrust successful 1 of the yellowish cabs to the venue gates from a parking batch little than a kilometre away.

Additional h2o stations acceptable up

For immoderate fans, the thrust proved to beryllium worthy the price.

"Get america arsenic adjacent to the gates arsenic possible. This is ridiculous," 1 pistillate said arsenic she climbed into the backmost of the pedicab and sped toward the entrance.

Inside the venue, fans lining up for h2o were being redirected to different areas, wherever further h2o stations had been acceptable up arsenic promised. Hundreds of radical stood waiting for a accidental to bargain merchandise.

Ticketmaster sent an email to Coldplay summons holders up of the amusement advising them that cellular reception astatine Rogers Stadium gates "will beryllium constricted arsenic this is simply a large-capacity venue."

Coun. James Pasternak, whose ward includes the country wherever the stadium is located, met with Live Nation Canada, landowner Northcrest Developments and Toronto exigency services past week to sermon imaginable solutions.

Pasternak told CBC News that determination was a "really beardown determination" by the teams to hole the issues raised by concertgoers.