MLSE Seeks Injunction Over Ryerson Plan for Maple Leaf Gardens

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by TheMann2000

That's awesome. With that up there, I can almost accept the first floor being a grocery store.

I think Conn Smythe wouldn't be all that unhappy to see it all. He'd probably beat the dogs**t out of Brian Burke, but he'd like what he sees there.

I wasn't happy with the "thought" of it being a grocery store either, but after actually seeing it completed, I am quite happy. This is just the icing on the cake!

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I wasn't happy with the "thought" of it being a grocery store either, but after actually seeing it completed, I am quite happy. This is just the icing on the cake!

+1 My sentiments exactly, on both counts.

[current]

Ryerson's Athletic Centre and arena at Maple Leaf Gardens had a soft opening today. The grand opening will be on September 6.

CTV Video: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/harper-hel...-rink-1.911902

Toronto Star article:
Hume: Hockey and Ice Still a Part of New Maple Leaf Gardens
Published on Monday August 13, 2012
By Christopher Hume
Urban Issues, Architecture

...But whenever the last remaining Original Six hockey arena is mentioned, Canadian ears prick up. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed up Monday afternoon, his roving gang of Tory enforcers in tow, to share in the love at the unveiling of Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre. The $60-million facility, which occupies the top third of the Gardens, will give students and Torontonians what Ryerson calls a “multi-functional athletic and recreational centre.”

The top floor, which includes a 2,600-seat hockey arena, is the one element of the new Gardens that retains some spirit of the original — but in a good way. The sense of space remains as does the no-nonsense aesthetic. Things aren’t as mean now as they were in the old days, but this place isn’t about corporate boxes, restaurants or bars. The only concessions to comfort are the three tiny lounges tucked away in the corners near the roof, a large steel structure with its tresses on full display. The seats are still small, unpadded and close together. Many are even blue, which long-time fans might appreciate. The interior feels unfinished, as utilitarian as ever, but not quite so industrial. Conn Smyth’s love of gray painted concrete has fallen victim to Ryerson’s gentrifying impulses — not that anyone will complain.

What changes everything is new lighting; it transforms these vast spaces and makes them accessible to visitors, at least visually. Interesting, too, that since the Gardens opened in 1931 visitors have always focused on what happened at street level. Now, for the first time, the building demands we look up. The emptiness at the top of the arena has been filled in. The designers have wisely kept their interventions to a minimum. The big changes here — namely the addition of new floors on the upper half of the building — are more a result of engineering than architecture. The gym on the floor below will probably get more use than the rink above, if the new amenity reignites Ryerson students’ engagement in athletics. Many are skeptical, but it’s worth remembering that they voted to accept a levy on tuition fees to raise $20 million towards the project. After that, the federal government came up with another $20 million, as did Mattamy Homes...

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arti...e-leaf-gardens

[current]

The official grand opening is Sept. 6 to 9 and I am looking forward to seeing the new arena - Toronto Star article:
Ryerson’s Reborn Maple Leaf Gardens Rink Set for Grand Hockey Opening

...On Sunday, Sept. 9, between 1 and 2:30 p.m., the public will get its first taste, when Ryerson first opens the ice for a free community skate. And the rink will soon be available to rent for $300 an hour prime time — $192 after 11 p.m. The official grand opening is Sept. 6 to 9, although there has already been a “lights on” opening on Aug. 13, attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The new rink’s first hockey game is Sept. 8, when Ryerson’s men’s Rams team plays host to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks....

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arti...hockey-opening

[current]

All the items will be on display through Saturday at the Gardens and the auction ends Nov 14. Too expensive for me. Auction website: http://frozenpond.at.truition.com/cg...t=&noMoreSubs=
Toronto Star article:
Memories of Glory Up for Grabs — Maple Leaf Gardens Artifacts Go On Auction Block

Toronto Star staff
Published on Thursday October 11, 2012

...Domi, the Leafs’ all-time penalty leader, actually bid on the penalty box when it first came up for auction in 2000, a year after the team departed its Carlton St. digs for the Air Canada Centre. But the box, the Leafs’ dressing room toilet and 112 other Gardens treasures on the block back then were all scooped up by Toronto electronics mogul Sherman Cunningham. And many have since been gathering dust in Cunningham’s Kleinberg basement after his plans to house them in an ornate audio-video training centre near the airport were scuttled when the tech bubble burst in 2001. “I was going to make the floor like an ice rink and hang all the Leafs banners and hang all the paraphernalia,” Cunningham says. “That was my thought. But the electronics industry took a plunge.”

Among the items consigned to Cunningham’s basement thereafter was the prize of this year’s sale — the team’s 1967 Stanley Cup banner, which hung from the arena’s rafters like a period to storied greatness for 22 unanswered seasons. Cunningham, personally indifferent to the Leafs, shelled out some $500,000 for the hallowed heirlooms back then. He’d previously decorated his Electro Source Inc. offices with high-end sports memorabilia and noted the excitement the sweaters and such elicited in visitors to the Rexdale facility. “I represent American companies in Canada and the Americans would come up and they’d come in the office . . . and I’d give them the tour,” Cunningham says. “They were impressed to the point where I’d be in California and meet one of the guys and he’d say, ‘Hey, how’s your office?’” So when the Gardens artifacts came up for auction, he outbid all comers for almost every item in the lot. Now, approaching 76 years old and with no place to put them, he’s decided to sell his treasures...

...All the items will be on display through Saturday at the old Gardens, which has been converted into a grocery store and a Ryerson University ice rink and athletics centre. “We waited until the former Maple Leafs Gardens reopened because it made sense to do the launch there,” says Borenstein. Bidding will continue online through Nov. 14 on the www.frozenpond.com and NHL.com websites.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/...-auction-block

[icemachine]

They auctioned the original Cup Banners and retired numbers? Never new just how low MLSE went in selling off team history when they moved to the Hangar. You just know such sacrilege would never have been tolerated in Montreal

[Taller, Better]

I find that really cheesy and shocking, actually, that they would nickel and dime away their history.

[isaidso]

Never under estimate people's indifference to history or their appreciation for money.

[current]

I was at the original auction and at that time I heard that the 1967 Stanley Cup banner was not the actual one that was raised to the rafters in 1967. What happened to the original banner I do not know but at some point it was replaced. Maybe by Harold Ballard. Most teams take their banners with them when they move into a new rink. The Leafs unveiled a redesigned set before their first game at the Air Canada Centre. So in conclusion, the banner did hang in Maple Leaf Gardens but it was not the original one so it was not necessary to move it to the ACC and ended up being sold to the public.

[Taller, Better]

Ah, okay, so it was just the original display copy. Makes sense.

[htpwn]

Originally Posted by current

I was at the original auction and at that time I heard that the 1967 Stanley Cup banner was not the actual one that was raised to the rafters in 1967. What happened to the original banner I do not know but at some point it was replaced. Maybe by Harold Ballard. Most teams take their banners with them when they move into a new rink. The Leafs unveiled a redesigned set before their first game at the Air Canada Centre. So in conclusion, the banner did hang in Maple Leaf Gardens but it was not the original one so it was not necessary to move it to the ACC and ended up being sold to the public.

I do.

The Gardens used to have pennants lining the building's roof, detailing not only the team's Stanley Cup triumphs but for numerous other accomplishments as well (I think I saw a picture once but can't remember where). Sometime in the 1970's or 1980's, Ballard complained that they were obstructing the views of some seats and took them down. Apparently they sat in storage for a while before being used to cover the seats while the roof was being painted. Eventually they were sold to a collector so Ballard could purchase some new silk drapes for his apartment. They haven't been seen since. Maybe they're in a box in someone's basement or something.

The ones that are being sold at auction, I think were put up in the early 1990's. I don't know for sure. They were originally sold at the MLG auction in 1999, as the team got new banners upon moving into the ACC.

[current]

Thank you htpwn. It is sad to hear about Ballard's complete disregard to Gardens history. I heard Ballard threw out Foster Hewitt's gondola where he pioneered hockey broadcasting. I was at the 1999 MLG auction and Ken Dryden was amazed that the replica banners were being sold for such high prices.

MLG is going to hold a major event - Toronto Star article:
Ontario Liberals: Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention Coming to Maple Leaf Gardens

Published on Sunday October 28, 2012
Rob Ferguson
Queen’s Park Bureau

Ontario Liberals will elect their next leader in the same place they chose Dalton McGuinty in 1996 — although there have been a few changes at Maple Leaf Gardens since then. Party officials announced Sunday the Jan. 25-27 leadership convention is being held at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre in the renovated old hockey shrine, now also home to a flagship Loblaw grocery store. “We’re very excited to hold our leadership convention at the newly renovated Maple Leaf Gardens,” said party president and Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi. “This building is an important part of Ontario’s political history and represents creativity and renewal.”...

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/p...e-leaf-gardens

[isaidso]

Been to 3 games here so far:

- recreation men's hockey game
- Ryerson-Cape Breton men's basketball
- Ryerson-Nipissing men's hockey

I have a feeling I'll be in there 20 times/year.

[Taller, Better]

Take photos! What is the "feel"? I'm guessing it is a superb, intimate venue.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

Take photos! What is the "feel"? I'm guessing it is a superb, intimate venue.

The hockey venue was 80% empty so the atmosphere wasn't that good, but they did a great job regardless. If Ryerson manages to build a fan base, they have possibly the best game day experience in the country. I much preferred it to the ACC or any hockey venue I've been in. When you get passed 6,000 seats, the experience tends to decrease as you're too far from the action.

The basketball venue is basically a high school gym, so I'm sure we've all been in those. Small venues like that tend to have great atmosphere and the Ryerson basketball venue was no exception. It didn't hurt that the team I was rooting for came from 10 points down and 3 minutes left to win by a point.

LETS GO ORANGE!