SPORTS: Leafs fall into Etobicoke as new facility opens.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs player Johnny Bower shakes hands with Etobicoke-Lakeshore councillor Mark Grimes during the official unveiling of The MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence. The new 260,000 square foot practice and training facility, which includes one Olympic-size and three NHL-size ice pads, will be used by the Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies, as well as young community hockey players.
Staff photo/ANICE WONG
The past, present and future of hockey were well represented at the grand opening of the Toronto Maple Leafs new practice facility in Etobicoke-Lakeshore this week, as four blue-and-white clad preschoolers dropped the puck for legendary Leaf Johnny Bower and new star recruit Mike Komisarek.The ceremonial face-off Tuesday morning was all part of the unveiling of the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, the Leaf's and Marlies new 30,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art, four-pad practice arena on Kipling Avenue.
Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke said the facility - which has been five years in the making and represents the first investment of its kind in Toronto in 27 years - represents "exceptional community leadership" and a "relentless commitment to developing hockey."
"We want this facility to be synonymous with development for current Leafs and Marlies players, and a place where the next generation of players, officials and coaches can develop their skills and build a lifelong love of our game," he told a crowd of media Tuesday, as the Leafs took to the ice in the rink behind him.
The facility houses three NHL-sized community ice pads, an Olympic-sized ice pad, and a spectator arena that can seat upwards of 4,000 spectators. It also features first-rate training and exercise facilities, and medical room and physio therapy rooms to support player diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation and recovery.
Bob Hunter, Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment's executive vice president of Venues and Entertainment, emphasized the MasterCard Centre's mandate to make a measurable difference in the local community.
"We're most excited that we have built a state-of-the-art hockey facility for the community...It's a wonderful example of what can be achieved in city building when you bring together leaders in sports, community, business and government with the collective goal of ensuring hockey's future remains strong and competitive," he said, giving special props to Toronto's "sports councillor," Mark Grimes of Etobicoke-Lakeshore.
For his part, Grimes recognized the "roller coaster ride" of getting the project through the gauntlet of Toronto City Council, and his elation at finally seeing the vision turned into a reality.
"I'm absolutely off the ground right now - to have seen this go from paper, to seeing the whole building today is very exciting," he said, noting that his enthusiasm has been shared by his constituents. "Now that all the signage is up, and people see the Leafs name up there, it's a very exciting time for this community."
As part of their title partnership in the facility, MasterCard Canada is helping to support community involvement in the centre by donating 250 hours of ice time a year to locals and to grassroots hockey programs. That time will include, free family skates every Saturday starting this week; free open skates for students on professional development days throughout the school year; and additional free ice time from September to June to various community groups.
MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence will host Hockey Canada and the Hockey Hall of Fame as tenants - the former will operate their Ontario Regional Offices from the new facility and use the Olympic-sized pad for training and development of Canada's national teams, while the latter will relocate its archives and research facilities to the new building.
The arena will also be the permanent home of the Etobicoke Dolphins, Canada's second largest women's hockey organization, and the Faustina Sports Club.