An on-again, off-again attempt to convert York University outdoor tennis facilities into a concert venue is off, again.
The Star has learned that the Bowl at Sobeys Stadium, launched with much ballyhoo in December 2023 as a partnership between Tennis Canada and the Toronto-based talent and booking firm the Feldman Agency will not be hosting any concerts this summer, despite a message on the Bowl’s website stating that a 2025 concert schedule announcement is pending.
The 9,000-seat venue offered a modest calendar when it opened on June 27, 2024, with a concert headlined by the Barenaked Ladies. Subsequent events included multi-act packages led by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and progressive rockers Tea Party, as well as shows by reggae star Shaggy, German rockers Milky Chance and comedian Kevin Hart, among others.
When the Star inquired about whether the program was continuing for another season, Tennis Canada 鈥 which uses the facility as a home for the National Bank Open 鈥 issued the statement: “We can confirm there will be no concerts taking place at Sobeys Stadium this year.”
A representative added that Tennis Canada 鈥渃ontinues to work with the Feldman Agency with the hope the concert series will return in 2026 and beyond.鈥
No reason for the lack of 2025 shows was given, and calls to Feldman Agency CEO Jeff Craib were not returned.
When the Star reached out to Wayne Zronik, president of business operations at Live Nation Canada 鈥 which promoted shows at Sobeys last summer 鈥 to ask why this year was skipped and if there are plans to revisit the venue in 2026, a company spokesperson said he was unavailable for comment.
Last year鈥檚 concert series wasn’t the first time a venture like this has been attempted at the venue, located in North York off Steeles Avenue West, which Craib had touted for its accessibility and as a mid-sized venue away from the downtown core.
In 2011, when the open-air stadium was known as the Rexall Centre, the Capital One Black Creek Music Festival offered a cavalcade of acts including Placido Domingo, James Taylor, Barry Manilow, Diana Krall and Tony Bennett. Despite the promoters’ ambitious intentions, the Star reported in December 2011 that the Garth Drabinsky-directed festival lost millions of dollars “and cancelled several concerts.”
Since then, the venue hosted many one-off shows.
In an interview with Billboard Canada from Dec. 7, 2023, Feldman’s Craib suggested that, in terms of location, he had a winner.
鈥淲e will be working closely together to provide the best of tennis and live entertainment to 海角社区官网and its surrounding areas,鈥 Craib said at the time. 鈥淪obeys Stadium鈥檚 location in North America鈥檚 third-largest concert market (after New York and Los Angeles) and surrounding population of more than 6.8 million makes it a well-positioned live entertainment venue for both performers and fans.鈥
He also promised more events than Feldman was able to deliver, telling Billboard Canada that “we can share that we’re expecting to host over 15 concerts and events next year.鈥
In fact, they presented just a handful of concerts in 2024, but it鈥檚 not known if they were successful, as Tennis Canada would not provide attendance figures to the Star.
Radio broadcaster and music historian Alan Cross says the collective Sobey Stadium decision to skip the 2025 season may not be due to poor ticket sales, as the concert scene is currently healthy.
“I haven’t heard of a lot empty seats or 海角社区官网shows that haven’t sold out or at least broken even,” he told the Star. “It’s really interesting because, anecdotally, I keep running into people who say they’re fed up with the price of concert tickets and they’re not just going to go.
“It’s not because they’re protesting the price of concert tickets, but they just don’t have that kind of money. We’ve got a very short concert season and it will be interesting to see how well it’s going to go.”
Cross also says he doesn’t believe the GTA is oversaturated with venues for music fans.
“We finally have, at the moment, enough mid- to large-sized venues, which was a problem for a long time,” he said.
Coincidentally, Live Nation just announced its $30 Ticket to Summer promotion that will go on sale May 21 and include dozens of concerts at Budweiser Stage as well as other venues across Canada and the U.S. Live Nation said the ticket price “will include all fees upfront in the $30 cost” and the applicable taxes will be applied to each city, province and venue.
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