Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:40 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
Our Sports Superfan Says:
It may not have the history of its predecessor, Maple Leaf Gardens, but the Air Canada Centre is certainly one of the most state-of-the-art arenas in Canada and all of North America. Since it opened in 1999, the home of the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs has played host to numerous games, concerts, shows, and exhibitions.
In the winter the Air Canada Centre's schedule is full. The Leafs and Raptors each have 41 regular season games apiece here. This is before taking into account any additional preseason, and possible postseason, appearances. The Air Canada Centre has also hosted the 2000 NHL All-Star Game, and the finals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. In the spring, the National Lacrosse League's Toronto Rock, one of the most successful franchises in the league's history, plays its eight-game home schedule at the ACC, as the Centre is known to locals.
Interestingly, the building was designed with basketball in mind, despite the fact that it is in hockey-crazed Toronto. At the time, the Maple Leafs were still in Maple Leaf Gardens, while the Raptors played in the retractable roofed Skydome, home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays. While the Raptors were working on the Air Canada Centre, the Maple Leafs began looking into building their own facility. Eventually, the two teams got together, and now share more than the arena, both now under the ownership of the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment company.
In addition to sports, the ACC also hosts concerts and Broadway-style shows in both the main arena and the additional 5,200 seat theater located inside the complex. It also has three award-winning restaurants, themed concession stands, and a microbrewery, so fans have what to tickle their taste buds with before, during, and after the games.
The food and other amenities, which are continually being improved thanks to annual reinvestments of at least $7 million, have led to the Air Canada Center winning more than 25 awards in both Canada and North America as a whole, making the ACC one of the most successful recent sports facilities built in North America. Future renovations are planned to connect the Air Canada Centre with a neighboring development, Maple Leaf Square, which is a retail, residential, office, and commercial complex, partially owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Maple Leaf Square is expected to be ready in 2009.
The ACC is located in downtown Toronto, and is adjacent to Union Station, making it easily accessible via public transportation. However, should you choose to drive there yourself, there are also 13,000 parking spaces available.