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

Lots of equipment was added last year to both the east and west roof areas, chillers, HVAC etc.
 
The Atlantic Cities: The Changing Fate of Hockey's Oldest Arenas

Of the Original Six arenas, Maple Leaf Gardens is the only one you can still play hockey in (well, when the Ryerson Athletic Centre opens). Many of the others are now parking lots.

The National Hockey League's "original six" hold a special place in the hearts of fans.
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Sadly, only two of these six arenas still stand, both in Canada. Montreal's Forum reopened soon after the Canadiens moved out in 1996 - gutted and transformed into a mall and entertainment complex known as the Pepsi Forum.
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America's historic arenas have seen a far less exciting story unfold. Besides Manhattan, where space is always at a premium, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit have turned most if not all of the footprints of their old arenas into surface parking. Detroit's Olympia now hosts a small structure and a vast surface lot for the Michigan National Guard. Boston's Gardens now contains surface parking for it's replacement, TD Northbank Arena. And Chicago's Olympic Stadium has been replaced with just one of the many surface lots surrounding the United Center.
Click to expand...
 
That's what I say whenever anyone is like "hurr durr.. It's a crime they put a grocery store in Maple Leaf Gardens"

Oh it is? Well then when I walk into the Boston Garden, Detroit Olympia, Chicago Stadium or Original Madison Square Garden, what would be there? Oh wait.
 
The loblaws is just great ! Comparable to the best whole foods you find in the states in urban areas.
 
I doubt that the endzone seats will be "original blues" as they claim. Seeing as how every original blue seat was mounted and sold in 2000. Most likely they will be taking some of the excess original red seats and repainting them blue, like they did with that big blue maple leaf sculpture in the Loblaws.
 
Among many things, one aspect that I really respect about the Maple Leaf Gardens project is the attention to details, inside and out. More evidence of this has been in the past 3-4 weeks as they have been replacing the brown aluminum along the roof-line with green aluminum, which I think looks much better against the yellow brick. It's a shame about all those chillers on the east and west roof but I'm sure there weren't many alternatives.

The last of the brown flashing can be seen below -

 
Torontonians often get lambasted for destroying our heritage... but the adaptive re-use of this building is really quite awesome.

If anyone has been to the Montreal Forum (which is basically Toronto Life Square - or whatever that building is now called - tacked onto the old Forum) this is amazingly impressive in comparison.
 
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