Maple Leaf Gardens
| Maple Leaf Gardens | |
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| East side of the Maple Leaf Gardens (2016) | |
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| place | Toronto , Canada |
| Coordinates | 43 ° 39 '43 " N , 79 ° 22' 49" W |
| owner | Loblaw Companies |
| start of building | Spring 1931 |
| opening | November 12, 1931 |
| costs | 1.5 million CAD |
| architect | Ross and Macdonald |
| capacity | 16.307 (ice hockey) |
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The Maple Leaf Gardens is a sports arena in Toronto and was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs until 1999 .
history
Starting position
In 1927 a group around Conn Smythe prevented the Toronto St. Patricks from being sold to Philadelphia and renamed the Toronto Maple Leafs . The team was strengthened and the response in the city was great. The stadium at that time, the Mutual Street Arena, was no longer able to cope with the rush and for Smythe the decision to build a suitable stadium or to move the team to another city was a pressing matter. He had originally envisaged two locations for a stadium. On the one hand this was at the beginning of Yonge Street directly on Lake Ontario , on the other hand at Knox College on the Spadina . In the former location the owners wanted too high a price, in the latter the neighborhood was not thrilled with the idea of a sports arena disturbing their neighborhood. In the fall of 1930, his attention was drawn to a cheap building site on the corner of Church and Carlton Street. Two tram lines crossed there. The owner was the T. Eaton Co. Limited , which maintained a large shopping center not far away with the Eaton Center . At first Eatons were against the project, but Smythe succeeded in getting those in charge excited about the idea that the most attractive and best-planned sports hall would create a sight for Toronto. Eventually the land was sold to Smythe for $ 350,000.
The construction
The prominent architects Ross and Macdonald from Montreal were hired, who had built the Royal York Hotel and Union Station in Toronto, among other things . Based on Madison Square Garden , Smythe decided that the new stadium should be called Maple Leaf Garden . After the first drawings were made, Smythe commissioned his assistant Frank J. Selke to print a brochure for the public. This should cost 10 cents and help to find additional investors. When the well-known radio reporter Foster Hewitt reported on this in his broadcast, almost 100,000 inquiries came with 10 cents attached.
On February 24, 1931, Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. founded. The board of directors was made up of influential bankers and industrialists. Sun Life Assurance approved a $ 500,000 mortgage . 100,000 shares of preferred stock at $ 10 each and 50,000 shares at $ 3 each were offered. From April 1, 1931, the demolition of the buildings on the site began, but problems arose with the financing. Smythe and Selke managed to attract enough investors for the project at short notice.
The actual construction began around June 1st. 1,300 workers were involved, who processed 760 tons of steel, 750,000 bricks, 77,500 bags of cement, 1,100 tons of gravel, 70 tons of sand, 320,000 meters of lumber and countless nails. Due to falling prices due to the ruling economic circles, it was possible to save almost 30% of the planned construction costs. Great enthusiasm for the project and iron discipline made it possible to complete the garden in five and a half months.
opening
On November 12, 1931 there were 13,542 spectators (about 1,500 seats were empty) when the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 2-1 in their first game against the Chicago Black Hawks . The Leafs won their first Stanley Cup this season .
Events
The gardens were built primarily for the Toronto Maple Leafs and ice hockey was the big draft horse of the new sports arena. But of course they were also interested in the economic success of the hall and tried to organize a large number of events. One tried to win other teams and could bring both sporting events and music events for the gardens. But the garden was also a popular venue for large events in politics and religion.
ice Hockey
- November 12, 1931: First NHL ice hockey game Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Black Hawks 1: 2
- November 13, 1931: First OHA game, Toronto Marlboros against West Toronto Nationals 2: 3
- November 16, 1931: First junior game Toronto Canoe Club against the University of Toronto 10-0
- November 28, 1931: First victory of the Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins 4: 3
- December 6, 1931: First Maple Leafs shutout against the Montreal Maroons 4-0
- April 9, 1932: Maple Leafs first Stanley Cup victory
- April 3, 1933: Ken Doraty ends the game after 104: 46 in added time
- February 14, 1934: First NHL All-Star Game in favor of Ace Bailey
- April 9, 1934: King Clancy St. Patrick's Day Night
Boxing / wrestling
Exactly one week after the first ice hockey game, 15,800 spectators saw the first wrestling event with Jim Londos in the main fight. In September 1932, a fight for a world title in boxing was held in the Gardens for the first time. In 1966, Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo as well as Clyde Gray and José Nápoles in 1973 provided boxing highlights in the Maple Leaf Gardens .
- November 19, 1931: Queensbury Athletic Club wrestling event with Jim Londos
- May 19, 1932: Boxing; Al Brown defeats Spied Scouts
basketball
In 1946 the Toronto Huskies tried to bring first-class basketball to Toronto. On November 1st, the New York Knicks played their first game . After the season ended, the Huskies interlude in Toronto.
In 2015 the CIS Basketball Final 8 (final tournament for the Canadian championship for university teams in basketball) was held here.
Other sporting events
- May 3, 1932: First lacrosse league game
- May 4, 1932: Badminton tournament
- February 6-7, 1934: North American Speed Skating Championship
Concerts
Music events also took place in the stadium. So played Elvis Presley on April 2, 1957 . In the 1960s, the Beatles made three guest appearances between 1964 and 1966 . The Gardens were the only hall they visited on all three tours. During his From the Cradle World Tour in 1994, British rock musician Eric Clapton performed twice at the stadium.
Political events
Every self-respecting political party held large campaign appearances for their top candidates in the gardens.
- March 3, 1932: Address by Winston Churchill
Religious events
All denominations used the Maple Leaf Gardens for large events.
- May 5, 1932: Jehovah's Witnesses
The Maple Leafs move
At the end of the 1990s, when new stadiums were being built in most cities, a decision was made to build a new hall in Toronto, the Air Canada Center . With the Maple Leafs moving, the Maple Leaf Gardens were slowly going downhill. The stadium has been owned by the Loblaw Companies since 2004 . In 2007, Maple Leaf Gardens was declared a National Historic Site . At the end of 2009, Loblaws, Ryerson University and the Canadian government submitted a financing plan for a renovation, according to which the building should house both a supermarket and a sports center for the university and the public, including an ice hockey rink. The renovation work was completed in 2011.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maple Leaf Gardens - National Historic Site of Canada. historicplaces.ca, accessed April 9, 2014 .
- ↑ Maple Leaf Gardens deal means renewal. In: CBC News . December 1, 2009, accessed December 22, 2017 .
Web links
- Ballparks: Maple Leaf Gardens at ballparks.com (engl.)