Lake Ontario’s record high water levels caused by spring flooding have drowned out music at Ontario Place.
A rap concert featuring Future, Migos, Tory Lanez, A$AP Ferg and Zoey Dollaz was supposed to be the first event at the newly renovated and renamed outdoor music venue, the Budweiser Stage – formerly the Molson Amphitheatre – next Tuesday.
“The unprecedented water levels of Lake Ontario continue to rise and as a result, the venue is experiencing a level of water intake that will jeopardize production of the concert and fan experience,” a release from the concert promoter Live Nation said.
It has been relocated to the Air Canada Centre on the same day instead.
Lake Ontario expected to rise up to 25 cm by June
This doesn’t come as a surprise to marina workers who have watched problems rise for boaters along with the lake’s water levels.
“This marina has actually been rising up like crazy,” Ontario Place Marina worker Fahad Khan told CTV News Toronto on Friday. “It used to be at a level where you could walk across [the dock]. Now you barely can, it’s dangerous.”
Last month’s extreme wet weather was “well above normal,” which the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board says has taken its toll.
Lake Ontario has risen 45 centimetres in that time and is expected to remain high, according to the monitoring agency.
“We do anticipate that it will continue to rise for the next few weeks, but will continue to be high right until the end of the summer,” Toronto and Region Conservation Authority waterfront specialist Nancy Gaffney told CTV News at the beginning of May.
The Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board predicts the lake could still rise up to 25 centimetres over the next few weeks.
How to re-purchase concert tickets at the ACC
Fans will have to re-purchase the same number of tickets in a similar seat location at the Air Canada Centre for the Future show, the concert promoter says.
Ticket holders will be refunded at their point of purchase and then receive a PIN code from Ticketmaster via email, according to Live Nation.
Any remaining tickets will go on sale Monday.
