Editing Rogers Centre (section)

=== Construction ===
[[File:Suspension bridge over railway tracks SkyDomeRogersCentre.JPG|thumb|right|A [[cable-stayed bridge]] was built over the [[Union Station Rail Corridor]] next to the stadium. Stadium-goers, pedestrians and cyclists use the bridge, while [[hot dog stand]]s are set up on it.]]

Construction of the ''Ontario Stadium Project'' was spearheaded by lead contractor EllisDon. Several factors complicated the construction: The lands housed a functioning water [[pumping station]] that needed to be relocated, the soil was contaminated from a century of industrial use, railway buildings needed to be torn down or moved, and the site was rich with archaeological finds. One of the most complex issues was moving the John Street pumping station across the street to the south of the stadium. Foundations to the stadium were being poured even as the facility (in the infield area) continued to function, as construction on its new location had yet to be completed.

Because the stadium was the first of its kind in the world, the architects and engineers kept the design simple (by using a sturdy dome shape) and used proven technologies to move the roof. It was important the design would work and be reliable as to avoid the various problems that plagued Montreal's [[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium]]. The 31-storey-high roof consists of four panels: one (on the north end) is fixed in place and the other three are moved by electrically driven 'train' engines, that run on high-strength railway rails. The roof, which takes 20 minutes to open, was made out of steel trusses covered by [[corrugated steel]] cladding, which in turn is covered by a single-ply PVC membrane.

Because of its location south of the major railway corridor, new pedestrian connections had to be built; the infrastructure was part of the reason for the high cost of the stadium. The [[SkyWalk]] is an approximately {{convert|500|m|adj=on}} enclosed walkway that leads from the base of the CN Tower and via a bridge connects to Union Station (and is part of the [[Path (Toronto)|Path]] network). The John Street [[cable-stayed bridge]] was built to provide north–south passage over the rail tracks, linking Front Street with the stadium.

Construction at the site, which at one time was south of the shoreline, unearthed over 1,500 artifacts. These included a 200-year-old French cannon used as ballast for a ship, cannonballs, pottery and a telescope.<ref>{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Toronto's waterfront: Dredging up the past to build the future |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/08/06/torontos_waterfront_dredging_up_the_past_to_build_the_future.html |date=August 6, 2013 |first=Tim |last=Alamenciak |access-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref> The stadium was completed two months late, having been planned to open for the first regular season game of the [[1989 Toronto Blue Jays season]]; the team played the first two months of its home schedule at Exhibition Stadium that year.