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

What are the NHL's offices doing in the Exxon Building in Manhattan? They ought to move here to the Gardens.
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The NHL's "war room" (I think that's what it's called), where instant video reviews are made for questionable goals, is here in Toronto.

Imagine doing that in MLG. Build a four-storey screen at one end of the arena. Every night during the season, the NHL pulls 10,000 Toronto hockey fans off the streets, sits them in front of the screen, and get them to vote on whether each goal counts or not. Pretty interesting idea!
 
Loblaw profit rises 18 per cent

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080725.wloblaw0725/BNStory/Business/

Canada's largest grocer, Loblaw Cos. Ltd., reported Friday that second-quarter profit rose 17.6 per cent to $140-million, or 51 cents a share, from $119-million, or 43 cents a share a year earlier on lower restructuring charges.

Sales in the second quarter edged up to $7.04-billion from $6.93-billon a year earlier. Same-store sales grew 0.7 per cent over the corresponding period a year earlier.

The company said gasoline bar sales were strong as a result of fuel-price inflation and volume growth.

“Total sales growth in food was positive and drugstore sales were particularly strong, while general merchandise sales declined compared to the second quarter of 2007,†the company said in a statement.


The company is in the midst of a major restructuring and executive chairman Galen Weston said, in releasing his financial results, that “we are behind in our plans for operating as an effective selling organization.

“This is reflected in our second quarter sales performance,†Mr. Weston said.

“However, we remain on track with our cost reduction efforts. We are also beginning to see positive results from our recently-announced five areas of immediate focus of our turnaround strategy.â€

Charges related to restructuring costs were $1-million in the second quarter of 2008, compared with $73-million a year earlier.

“For the balance of the year, the company will direct its efforts toward building profitable sales momentum while continuing to improve value for customers. Focus on cost and operating efficiencies will continue as margins are expected to remain under pressure,†the company said.

“Total sales increases in the second quarter were achieved by modest growth in both customer and item counts,†said the company, which is attempting to hold prices down to gain greater market share and drive sales growth.

“Modest internal food price deflation was experienced in the second quarter of 2008,†the company said.
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Now can they afford to do something with MLG?!?!?!

At least it won't be derelict anymore this year - it's being featured in Nuit Blanche, and MATT DAMON will be visiting for the One X One gala, some obscure charity event. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...142859&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true)

My question is: doesn't that violate the terms of the sale? I thought MLSE put a clause in there saying that it couldn't be used as a venue of any sort ever again?
 
^ With these events being one-offs, and non-profits, maybe MLSE lightened up a bit. Safe to say that if you wanted to put any large or ongoing profit-making events into this venue, it wouldn't happen. MLSE wants to sew up the major sports and entertainment events in this town, and for some distance beyond this town for that matter. (Hello, Jim Balsillie!)

I'm not holding my breath waiting for anything permanent to happen at the Gardens. Loblaw still has financial challenges and will be much more focused on how to fend off Walmart than on what they can do with a chunk of real estate in downtown Toronto.
 
Observer Walt said:
^ With these events being one-offs, and non-profits, maybe MLSE lightened up a bit. Safe to say that if you wanted to put any large or ongoing profit-making events into this venue, it wouldn't happen. MLSE wants to sew up the major sports and entertainment events in this town, and for some distance beyond this town for that matter. (Hello, Jim Balsillie!)

I'm not holding my breath waiting for anything permanent to happen at the Gardens. Loblaw still has financial challenges and will be much more focused on how to fend off Walmart than on what they can do with a chunk of real estate in downtown Toronto.
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Im confused,who owns this piece of real estate MLSE or Loblaws.
 
do we know if this is only a clause for Loblaws? If they were to sell it off, would the next buyer be able to use it for whatever it wanted? Otherwise, in 200 years this contract would still be causing havoc and we wouldn't even be able to sell tickets so people could walk around the ruins of the caved in arena.
 
I still say blow out the roof keep the same facade and build a couple of luxury towers in this location.Yeah i know its a heritage building.
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that's a brilliant idea although it has been done before. but such a historic deco building with its cultural importance to Canada has to survive. I think two towers with appropriate Deco setbacks could be built here with the old Gardens used for garages, gymn, storage or a hockey. A much better location for a hockey museum - the place oozes hockey.
 
Urbanista1 said:
A much better location for a hockey museum - the place oozes hockey.
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I have previously stated that MLG would be a great location for the Hockey Hall of Fame, with the current HHoF location turned over to (for example) the proposed Toronto Museum. The existing Maple Leaf dressing rooms could be incorporated into the Hall (alongside the Hall's Canadiens dressing room), and even the ice surface could be open to the visitors to the Hall, with the bulk of the exhibits under the stands or in the MLG offices -- I assume that there would be more available room than the current building has.
 
Mongo said:
I have previously stated that MLG would be a great location for the Hockey Hall of Fame, with the current HHoF location turned over to (for example) the proposed Toronto Museum. The existing Maple Leaf dressing rooms could be incorporated into the Hall (alongside the Hall's Canadiens dressing room), and even the ice surface could be open to the visitors to the Hall, with the bulk of the exhibits under the stands or in the MLG offices -- I assume that there would be more available room than the current building has.
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Hate to break it to you but the envisioned Toronto Museum is quite smitten with their potential lakefront location above and around the Canada Malting Co. silos. Also, as you have already argued, there would be far too much open space for the place to function as a proper museum.
 
Automation Gallery said:
I still say blow out the roof keep the same facade and build a couple of luxury towers in this location.Yeah i know its a heritage building.
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Automation Gallery for head of Heritage Preservation!

Actually, I hear that there's a provision in the Ontario Heritage Act that says that you can do whatever you like with designated properties as long as your proposal ends with the sentence, "Yeah i know its a heritage building."
 
Sir Novelty Fashion said:
Automation Gallery for head of Heritage Preservation!
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Er, under the circumstances, that'd go down as well with the heritage community as "Mike Harris for Mayor".

And it isn't so much a matter of "blow out the roof keep the same facade and build a couple of luxury towers in this location" being, er, barbaric--it's that it's banal. Stuff like that's been proposed for other locations before; stuff like that's been done before; stuff like that's been discredited before. That might have passed as a "creative" solution 25 years ago; but it's not 25 years ago. Today, you'll find heritage experts that'd rather put MLG out of its misery altogether than to subject it to a "luxury-towers-within-a-shell" treatment, which smacks of the worst of facadism.

Yeah, Sir Novelty Fashion endorsing Automation Gallery as head of Heritage Preservation. You might as well be this as far as the heritage community's concerned...
 
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