Maple Leaf Gardens
The corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto held a vacant lot until the 1st of June 1931. That midnight marked the start of construction for Maple Leaf Gardens. Conn Smythe had purchased the land from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for $350,000. He needed a new home for his hockey team because the old Arena on Mutual Street could only hold 7,500 spectators. Smythe wanted something larger and more impressive to host ice hockey games.
Thomson Brothers Construction won the building contract with a bid just under $990,000. This price was lower than ten other tenders received. The company owned lumber and excavation businesses that covered much of the sub-contract work themselves. Steelwork added another estimated $100,000 to the total cost. Union deals provided further savings through shares in the newly formed Maple Leaf Gardens Limited management company.
Workers finished the structure in five months and two weeks. The final cost reached C$1.5 million. The arena opened its doors on the 12th of November 1931. Thirteen thousand five hundred forty-two people attended the opening game where the Maple Leafs lost 2, 1 to the Chicago Black Hawks. The design by Ross and Macdonald created a 12,473-seat capacity arena. Standing room brought the total to 14,550.
Maple Leaf Gardens became known as one of the cathedrals of hockey from 1932 until 1967. During this period, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup eleven times. The first professional wrestling show arrived on the 19th of November 1931 with world champion Jim Londos drawing fifteen thousand eight hundred people. Boxing matches followed shortly after with Panama Al Brown defeating Émile Pladner on the 19th of September 1932.
Winston Churchill spoke at the venue in March 1932 when the loudspeaker system failed mid-speech. He tossed the microphone aside and declared they would fall back upon Mother Nature. Victory Loan rallies filled the building during World War II. The first game in Basketball Association of America history took place there on the 1st of November 1946 between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers.
Smythe gained majority ownership of Maple Leaf Gardens Limited in 1947 after winning a power struggle against directors who wanted him replaced. Percy Gardiner lent Smythe the money needed for control. The loan was paid off by 1960. The arena hosted highbrow entertainment starting with the Canadian Grand Opera's Faust production in 1936. The Metropolitan Opera staged visiting productions between 1952 and 1960.
Elvis Presley performed at Maple Leaf Gardens on the 2nd of April 1957. These shows marked his first-ever concerts outside the United States. Bill Haley & His Comets held the first rock and roll concert at the venue in 1956. Billy Graham brought his Canadian Crusade to the arena in 1955.
The Beatles made stops at Maple Leaf Gardens during each of their three North American tours. They played the 7th of September 1964, the 17th of August 1965, and the 17th of August 1966. No other venue hosted the group on every tour. Bob Dylan headlined the Rolling Thunder Revue Tour with two consecutive shows on the 1st of December 2, 1975. ABBA played there on Sunday, the 7th of October 1979 as their last ever concert appearance in North America.
Concert Promotions International brought many big-name acts to the Gardens from 1973 until its closing. The Who performed here on the 21st of October 1976 marking their final concert with drummer Keith Moon for a paying audience. Pearl Jam played at the arena on the 21st of September 1996 as the only Canadian date on their tour. Oasis was the final musical artist to play the venue on the 29th of April 2000.
Harold Ballard took control of Maple Leaf Gardens Limited after purchasing all shares from Stafford Smythe in February 1972. Smythe had died just six weeks earlier in September 1971. Ballard became majority owner of both the building and the hockey team. He lived in an owner's suite built into the arena's top northeast corner.
Ballard added 962 new seats to the Gardens in 1962 and created The Hot Stove Club private club the following year. More seats were added in 1965 while mezzanine galleries were constructed in 1966 and 1967. By 1968 seating capacity reached 16,485. Seats became narrower so that only young men could sit there according to founder Conn Smythe. A large portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was removed to accommodate more seats.
In August 1979 Ballard ordered staff to tear down the 48-year-old gondola where Foster Hewitt broadcast games across Canada. They threw it into an incinerator to make room for private boxes. The Toronto Star called this action barbaric destruction of one of Canadas great cultural monuments. Ballard also made lease terms for the Toronto Toros as onerous as possible during their brief stay at the venue.
Allegations emerged in 1997 that employees had sexually abused young boys during the 1970s and 1980s. Martin Kruze contacted new owners in 1993 and went public in February 1997. His story of abuses beginning in 1975 prompted dozens of other victims to come forward. Gordon Stuckless pleaded guilty to sexually abusing twenty-four boys dating back to 1969.
Stuckless received a jail term of two years less a day before his sentence increased to five years by an appeals court. He was paroled in 2001. Three days after pleading guilty, Kruze committed suicide. Former usher John Paul Roby was convicted of molesting twenty-six boys and one girl in 1999. Roby died from an apparent heart attack in Kingston Penitentiary in 2001.
Former security guard Dennis Morin faced charges of sexual assault and indecent assault involving teenage boys in 2002. Several civil suits settled out of court for undisclosed amounts. The Ontario government filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. in January 2006 seeking repayment of medical costs. Stuckless later died on the 9th of April 2020 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
The Toronto Maple Leafs played their last game at Maple Leaf Gardens on the 13th of February 1999. They suffered a 6, 2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks ending a sixty-seven-year tradition. Doug Gilmour scored a fluke goal while Bob Probert scored the final NHL goal in MLG history during the third period. Anne Murray performed The Maple Leaf Forever clad in a Leafs jersey during the emotional post-game ceremony.
A banner commemorating thirteen Stanley Cups entered the ice since the arena did not have championship banners hanging at the time. The Raptors played their final game there on the 9th of February 1999. The building sat largely vacant for nearly a decade as owners refused to sell it. They feared competition with the new Air Canada Centre.
Nirvana played a show on the 4th of November 1993 during their In Utero Tour. The Toronto Rock won the Champion's Cup in both 1999 and 2000 seasons making them the buildings last championship team. The 2000 NLL Championship game was ultimately the building's last professional event held at MLG.
Loblaw Companies purchased Maple Leaf Gardens in 2004 for $12 million under conditions that it not be used as sports facility. The tiered seating acted as interior flying buttresses holding up exterior walls if removed. Plans for entertainment complexes were abandoned due to structural concerns. Loblaws converted lower levels into retail space while an athletic center occupied the top level.
The federal government contributed $20 million toward a $60 million project announced on the 30th of November 2009. Landini Associates from Sydney Australia designed the store after winning against four North American firms. The new store opened on the 30th of November 2011 after delays including discovery of a creek running through the basement.
Original stadium seats remain in place with a red dot marking original center ice location. A twelve by twelve-meter maple leaf sculpture made from old seats decorates the space. Toronto Metropolitan University occupies the upper level with Mattamy Athletic Centre housing fitness studios and an NHL-sized rink seating approximately 2,796 guests. The first TMU Bold hockey game took place the 9th of September 2012.
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Common questions
When did construction on Maple Leaf Gardens begin and who purchased the land?
Construction for Maple Leaf Gardens began at midnight on the 1st of June 1931. Conn Smythe had purchased the land from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for $350,000.
How much did it cost to build Maple Leaf Gardens and when did it open?
The final cost reached C$1.5 million after workers finished the structure in five months and two weeks. The arena opened its doors on the 12th of November 1931.
Who won the Stanley Cup eleven times while playing at Maple Leaf Gardens between 1932 and 1967?
The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup eleven times during this period. This era is known as one of the cathedrals of hockey from 1932 until 1967.
What major scandal involving sexual abuse occurred at Maple Leaf Gardens during the 1970s and 1980s?
Allegations emerged in 1997 that employees had sexually abused young boys during the 1970s and 1980s. Gordon Stuckless pleaded guilty to sexually abusing twenty-four boys dating back to 1969.
When was the last professional event held at Maple Leaf Gardens before it closed?
The 2000 NLL Championship game was ultimately the building's last professional event held at MLG. The Toronto Rock won the Champion's Cup in both 1999 and 2000 seasons making them the buildings last championship team.
How much did Loblaw Companies pay for Maple Leaf Gardens and when did the new store open?
Loblaw Companies purchased Maple Leaf Gardens in 2004 for $12 million under conditions that it not be used as sports facility. The new store opened on the 30th of November 2011 after delays including discovery of a creek running through the basement.