Toronto Ryerson's Mattamy Athletics Centre + Loblaws at the Gardens | ?m | ?s | Ryerson University | Turner Fleischer

This is fantastic news! I really didn't think it was going to happen. This will really help re-invigorate the surrounding neighbourhood once complete.
 
Now wishing I had purchased at the Met. That corner is beautiful at times, and this will be a fantastic addition to the area.

I wonder what's going to happen to Metro at College Park after this ginormous Loblaws is built and operational.
 
November 30, 2009
Ryerson, Loblaws reach deal on Maple Leaf Gardens
By Elizabeth Church

Globe and Mail Update

Federal funds to play part in $60-million makeover of legendary rink, which will become home ice for Ryerson University's team in 2011

Hockey is returning to Maple Leaf Gardens under a deal to be announced Tuesday morning that will see the legendary rink become home ice for Ryerson University by the spring of 2011, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The new pact between Ryerson and Loblaw Co. Ltd., owner of the site, includes plans for the long-dormant rink to become a new athletic facility for the space-starved campus, which will share the building with the grocery chain.

Under the terms of the arrangement, a grocery store will be built on the ground floor, with a recreation facility on the second storey and a new ice surface on the third floor, under the Garden's storied roof. A volleyball and basketball court also will share the space on the top floor.

The cost of the $60-million renovation will be split three ways, with $20-million coming from the federal government as part of its stimulus spending. Ryerson students voted earlier this year to contribute $20-million through increased fees to help pay for a new athletic centre. The remaining money will come from donations.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Infrastructure Minister John Baird will be at the Gardens for this morning's announcement, along with Ryerson President Sheldon Levy and Loblaw chairman Galen Weston Jr.

Mr. Levy has pushed hard in recent weeks for the Gardens deal, characterizing it as a win for both the university and for the city.

The partnership will allow Ryerson's Rams hockey team to play just steps from the main campus, and under the tight timelines required by the federal stimulus package, the ice will need to be ready for their skates in just 15 months. George Bell Arena in the Junction area of the West End is currently home ice for the men's team.

Ryerson also has poured resources into developing its women's squad and has hired Stephanie White, coach of Canada's under-18 women's team, as head coach.

The Gardens was purchased by Loblaw in 2004 from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Inc. for an estimated $13-million, but has been sitting virtually idle since then. It planned to convert the building into a flagship supermarket, but has delayed doing so as it focused on more urgent operational troubles.

More than two years ago, it planned a cleanup of the building to make way for the new store, but those plans were shelved. The retailer said it still intended to build a store on the site.
 
The conversion is really going to be done in 15 months? Seems like there's an awful lot of work involved. Just gutting it is going to be an enormous task, given the access restrictions, and there's quite a bit of mechanical that's going to be needed.

That's great that the deadline is so close, but it still seems awfully optimistic. I wonder if the government didn't make the offer knowing full well that the work wouldn't be done on time, meaning they don't have to pay up.
 
Maple Leaf Gardens revamp coming

Maple Leaf Gardens will be getting a new lease on life as a multi-function facility.

Loblaw Companies Ltd., Ryerson University and federal officials are expected to announce $20 million in infrastructure funding for the project at a news conference Tuesday.

In September, Ryerson confirmed it was speaking with Loblaw about a site for a "new athletic centre for students."

Earlier this year, Ryerson students voted to pay an extra $126 per year in athletic fees for new facilities that will help fund Ryerson's portion of the deal.

Loblaw purchased the building several years ago and planned to turn it into a Superstore, a controversial move that drew protests from hockey fans and heritage buffs. It has been mainly dormant but was recently used for CBC's Battle of the Blades figure skating competition.

More details on the new development are expected to emerge at a Tuesday morning news conference attended by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Transport and Infrastructure Minister John Baird, Ryerson president Sheldon Levy and Loblaw chairman Galen Weston.

Maple Leaf Gardens opened in 1931, hosting its first Maple Leaf game on Nov. 12 that year, when the Maple Leafs lost 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Loblaw has said it will maintain the existing facades of the arena, as well as existing rooflines, "with the majority of development taking place within the building's interior."
 
I can't think of another arena anywhere where the rink is on a second floor, never mind a third. Hopefully they'll be including escalators. Bringing your equipment up and down stairs is never fun.
 
I've seen it once before (in Washington, the Capitals' practice arena is on the 6th or 7th floor of a mall/office complex), but that's the only one I can think of. And if memory serves there were elevators to get to it from the mall, and I think there was also some way to drive up to it (I think there was a multi storey parking garage built behind the mall, and the roof deck of the garage was at the same height as the practice arena)
 
jn_12 said:
I can't think of another arena anywhere where the rink is on a second floor, never mind a third. Hopefully they'll be including escalators. Bringing your equipment up and down stairs is never fun.
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As much as i like the Gardens, there wont be nothing orginal left except its four walls and yeah maybe the patched up leaky roof.
 
Monaco said:
I wonder what's going to happen to Metro at College Park after this ginormous Loblaws is built and operational.
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Metro won't be as quite as busy and shoppers will finally be able to move in there. This whole area has been vastly under-served since the residential boom picked up 15 years ago.

Automation Gallery said:
As much as i like the Gardens, there wont be nothing original left except its four walls and yeah maybe the patched up leaky roof.
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Remember that the stands have to stay. The tiered concrete areas on all four sides support the walls and, consequently, the ceiling. There's nothing much of significance inside aside from the rink and the memories, it's all about the outside of the building.
 
Automation Gallery said:
As much as i like the Gardens, there wont be nothing orginal left except its four walls and yeah maybe the patched up leaky roof.
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uh... I was just commenting that it was incredibly unique that the rink would be located on anything but the ground floor. As someone who spent their life in hockey arenas the idea is incredibly weird to me.

whatever said:
I've seen it once before (in Washington, the Capitals' practice arena is on the 6th or 7th floor of a mall/office complex), but that's the only one I can think of. And if memory serves there were elevators to get to it from the mall, and I think there was also some way to drive up to it (I think there was a multi storey parking garage built behind the mall, and the roof deck of the garage was at the same height as the practice arena)
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cool! I wasn't aware of that one. Go figure though that the US would throw an arena in such an unorthodox place. I guess the garage makes sense since they'd need a way to get the Zamboni up there.

Speaking of which, how do they plan to get the zamboni up to the 3rd floor of the Gardens?
 
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