The incredibly beautiful city of Toronto is striking with its architecture and scale. Our city often hosts a variety of cultural, educational, and sporting events. What’s more, the metropolis has countless locations where such activities can be organized. Today, we will talk about the famous sports venue, Scotiabank Arena. It is located in the downtown part of the city and is the home arena for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more about the history and development of the sports complex on the torontoski.info website.
Creation History of the Sports Arena
In the 1850s, the site where the sports arena is now located was situated between two wharves: Rees Wharf and Tinnings Wharf. Subsequently, the northern area was transformed into Bayside Park.
In the 1930s, a Canada Post building was constructed on this territory in Toronto. In 1940, the Canada Post Delivery Building was built here, based on a design by architect Charles Dolphin. The Second World War followed, and the structure was used by the Ministry of Defence.
After the war, the building became a hub for sorting parcels. Notably, the building was used as a postal sorting centre until 1989. And in the 1990s, talk began about the construction of a sports arena.
It is worth noting that the creation of Scotiabank Arena was spurred by the founding of the Toronto Raptors in 1995. After all, the new team needed its own venue. The location for the new sports arena was not chosen by chance. The site’s size, which was 3.5 hectares, its central location, and its proximity to Union Station were all taken into account.
In 1997, construction of the new sports facility began. The estimated cost was 288 million Canadian dollars.
Incidentally, the developers Bramalea Limited and Trizec had purchased the buildings from Canada Post with plans to redevelop the site into 230,000 square metres of office, retail, and residential space.
Development of Scotiabank Arena
The arena opened in 1999 and impressed the public with its unique design. The Air Canada Centre (the arena’s first name) combined historic facades with a modern glass dome.
On February 20, 1999, the first Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game took place against the Montreal Canadiens.
It is worth noting that the sports arena helped spur the active development of Toronto’s Railway Lands East district. After all, new establishments, shopping centres, galleries, and more appeared here. Interestingly, in its first 10 years of operation, the sports arena contributed 2.4 billion dollars to Toronto’s economy.
In 2018, the sports arena was renamed Scotiabank Arena. During this period, the facility also underwent a reconstruction: modernization of entrances, wayfinding, and interiors, and the installation of new media screens and lighting systems.
Currently, the arena can hold 19,800 spectators for basketball games and 18,800 for hockey games. The facility is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
This sports arena is considered one of the most visited in the world. It has hosted such international events as: the NHL All-Star Game, the World Cup of Hockey, the NBA All-Star Game, the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and more.
Furthermore, world-class stars often perform at Scotiabank Arena, including: The Tragically Hip, U2, Kylie Minogue, Barry Manilow, and many other famous artists.
Scotiabank Arena has a 40-foot roof with a profile that ensures optimal acoustics for sporting events and concerts.
So, that is the history of the creation and development of Toronto’s main sports arena. We hope our material was informative for you and that you learned more information about your home city.