Rogers Stadium's sustainability push comes as Canadian live music venues face greening pressure

As Rogers Stadium prepares to host major summer concerts including Guns N' Roses and Chris Stapleton, the venue is drawing attention to another part of the fan experience: its sustainability initiatives.

Live Nation Canada staff say they're working to reduce the environmental impact of large-scale concerts by embedding sustainability into everything from how the venue is built to how waste is managed after each show. Unlike a permanent stadium, nearly everything at Rogers Stadium is designed to be dismantled and reused. Guest services areas are built using shipping containers, while food, beverage, and merchandise spaces operate out of temporary tents that can be used again at future festivals and events. Even the stadium seating will be repurposed after the venue is taken down.

"All of the topography of the site we constructed based on different recycled materials, as well as the soil that was taken from underneath the grandstand when we dug everything out," said Nathalie Burri, senior vice-president of operations for Live Nation Canada.

Concertgoers are encouraged to take public transit, with free rides home available by showing their event ticket. The venue piloted a reusable cup program during Coldplay's multi-night run last summer, deploying more than 115,000 reusable cups and achieving a 97 per cent return rate. The program has since expanded to all concerts at the venue in 2026. Other initiatives include free water refill stations, compostable food packaging, and programs to reduce food waste by donating surplus meals to local community organizations.

"We repurpose a lot of meals, both cold and hot from the back and front of house concessions to give back to local communities," said Travis Wong, senior director of business operations for Live Nation Canada.

But environmental advocates say Canada's live music industry still has a long way to go. Kim Fry, who co-founded Music Declares Emergency Canada, welcomes the Rogers Stadium efforts but notes Canada is "really behind." "Even the U.S. has music venues that are a good decade ahead of us and have been much more innovative," she said. Fry points to Hillside Festival in Guelph as an example of what's possible, where food and drinks are served in reusable dishware that is washed and reused on site. "There's still a lot of waste connected to food," Fry said. "I feel like there's a ton more work that needs to be done."