About Exhibition Stadium
Exhibition Stadium, located on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition along Toronto's lakefront, served as the Blue Jays' first home from their inaugural 1977 season through 1989. The venue was an awkward conversion from a football and track facility, and it showed.
The open-air stadium on the frigid lakefront made early-season games a test of endurance. April games were sometimes played in snow, and the biting wind off Lake Ontario added to the misery. Despite these conditions, Toronto fans embraced their expansion team and helped build a passionate baseball culture.
The Blue Jays' emergence as contenders in the mid-1980s made Exhibition Stadium a more exciting place, and the move to the state-of-the-art SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in 1989 gave the team a venue worthy of their growing ambitions.
Fun facts
- Snow removal crews were on standby for April games at the lakefront stadium.
- The diamond was awkwardly placed relative to the football-oriented grandstand, creating odd sightlines.
- Exhibition Stadium was technically a temporary solution — the Jays were always meant to get a dome.
- In the Blue Jays' first-ever game, the first pitch was thrown in 32-degree weather with snow on the ground.
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