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The Weeknd Wants to Start a Petition to Change Toronto’s Rogers Centre Back to The SkyDome

The Scarborough native played his second of four nights at one of the city's biggest venues on his After Hours Til Dawn tour.

The Weeknd at Rogers Centre on July 27, 2025. Photos courtesy of XO Records.

The Weeknd at Rogers Centre on July 27, 2025. Photos courtesy of XO Records.

Hyghly Alleyne

The Weeknd has a modest proposal for his hometown Toronto stadium.

Last night (July 28), during his second After Hours Til Dawn show at the Rogers Centre, the global star commented on the venue’s original name: The SkyDome.


“Is there any way to call this place The Skydome again?” he asked during his 40-song set.

He went on to introduce two bandmates who are from Toronto — guitarist Patty Greenaway and drummer Ricky Lewis.

“We haven’t spoken about this, but we gotta call Mr. Rogers or whoever owns this place. We gotta call this b—h The Skydome again.”

When The Weeknd asked if the audience agreed, the concertgoers cheered their assent.

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“Alright, those are all official petition signatures,” he joked. “That’s 40,000 signatures right now.”

@iheartradioca

@The Weeknd asks to start a petition to call #rogerscentre the #skydome again! 🏟️🙌🏼 #theweeknd #livemusic #afterhourstildawnstadiumtour

On the first night of his Toronto show run, The Weeknd called the baseball stadium by the name it had during its initial iteration. "Imagine, I used to watch Blue Jays games here," he said.

The SkyDome opened in 1989 and was officially renamed Rogers Centre over two decades ago, in February 2005. Rogers Communications, which owns the Toronto Blue Jays, purchased the stadium in 2004 and subsequently changed the name.

After playing two nights at Rogers Centre on Sunday (July 27) and Monday (July 28), The Weeknd returns to Toronto on August 7 and 8.

Read a recap of night one here.

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Coco Love Alcorn
Courtesy Photo

Coco Love Alcorn

FYI

Music News Digest: Music Community Rallies to Support Coco Love Alcorn Through Cancer Journey

Also this week: more trouble for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Toronto scene veteran Paul James turns 75 with a free hometown show at The Phoenix and a date is set for the first Canadian Blues Music Awards.

Canadian pop and jazz singer-songwriter and choir leader Coco Love Alcorn has just revealed that she is fighting an aggressive form of cancer. This will involve a long period of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and further surgery. Alcorn explains that "I have had to cancel all my touring, teaching, and performances for 2026 and my local choir is on hiatus till further notice. I also had 3 trips planned to BC this winter/spring to record my new album and that project is also on hold."

A GoFundMe campaign to assist her has been set up. Donate here. The rapid and generous response to her campaign reaffirms the peer respect she enjoys.

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