Toronto's $500M entertainment complex has an entirely new look

Oct 29 2021, 6:31 pm

The half-a-billion-dollar esports, entertainment, and hotel complex planned for Toronto’s Exhibition Place now has an entirely new look.

After receiving critiques about the proposed design being too out of scale for the area back in May, OverActive Media — the company behind the project — has revised their plans, particularly for the 7,000-seat stadium.

“Over the past eight months, we have worked hand in hand with all of our city partners to bring our collective vision for the venue to the next level, and we could not be more excited to finally be able to share our latest plans with our fans in Toronto and the world,” said Chris Overholt, president and CEO of OverActive Media.

torontos entertainment complex

Earlier design of the stadium and hotel. (OverActive Media)

The stadium’s new look has ditched the rounded, futuristic-looking top — something one Toronto design review panellist cautioned needed to be “a little less Deep Space Nine and a little more Toronto” — in favour of a gently sloping green roof.

The hotel, located just beside the stadium on the north side of Lakeshore Boulevard, across from Ontario place, has not changed much in terms of scale and location, but updated renderings show new materials covering the facade. The podium it sits on also appears to have more of a basic, geometric shape with straight lines, as opposed to the curved design in previous iterations.

Esports Toronto Complex inside 2

OverActive Media

Once the complex is complete, OverActive Media predicts that it will host more than 200 events every year, with the majority being music and entertainment books. It’ll also be home to Toronto’s two professional esports teams — Toronto Ultra of the Call of Duty League and Toronto Defiant of the Overwatch League — and will host conventions and esports events.

Despite still being in the planning stage, the project is expected to be finished relatively quickly, with an estimated completion of 2025.

Laura HanrahanLaura Hanrahan

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