Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena at Carlton and Church streets in downtown Toronto. It opened on November 12, 1931, as the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played their National Hockey League games there until 1999. The Government of Canada recognized the building as a National Historic Site in 2007, and since 2012 it has held a Loblaws store on the lower levels and the university’s Mattamy Athletic Centre above.
Why Conn Smythe wanted a new arena
Conn Smythe, the managing director of the Maple Leafs, wanted a building that would draw a better-paying crowd than the older rinks of the time. The Canadian Encyclopedia says Smythe pitched the arena as one for a “higher class of clientele,” and notes that a businessman he approached for money replied by asking whether he knew a depression was on. Construction began in 1931, one of the worst years of the Great Depression, so the money had to come from unusual places.
According to Spacing, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited was incorporated on February 24, 1931. When the construction bids arrived, the company was still $250,000 (CAD) short of the lowest offer. Frank Selke, who worked with Smythe, persuaded the trades to accept 20 percent of their wages in Gardens stock instead of cash, and agreements were reached with 24 unions. Spacing reports that Sir John Aird of the Canadian Bank of Commerce agreed to cover remaining shortfalls, and the Eaton company took $25,000 (CAD) in stock as part of the land deal. The project was described as a $1.5 million (CAD) undertaking at the time.
Building the arena in 1931
The architects were Ross and Macdonald, according to the Canadian Register of Historic Places. They designed a yellow-brick building with a concrete post-and-beam frame and a clear-span domed roof, in a restrained mix of Art Deco and Art Moderne styles. The register gives the height of the facades as 27 metres (89 feet), with the roof adding another 19 metres (62 feet), for a total near 46 metres (150 feet).
The sources disagree on when work started. The register says groundbreaking took place in April and that work was complete about eight months later. The magazine Spacing, drawing on period reports, says construction began on June 1, 1931, which would make the build time about five and a half months. Both agree on the November 12, 1931 opening. Spacing also reports that more than 1,200 workers took part, that the crews laid about 750,000 bricks, and that Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross laid the cornerstone on September 21, 1931. Season tickets went on sale on October 14, 1931.
Opening night, November 12, 1931
The first game at the Gardens was a loss. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Maple Leafs 2 to 1, with Charlie Conacher scoring Toronto’s only goal, according to Spacing. The statement of significance in the national register gives the crowd as 13,233, a full house. Spacing says only that the attendance was more than 13,000. The band of the 48th Highlanders and the Royal Grenadiers played “Happy Days Are Here Again,” the Canadian Encyclopedia reports.
Hockey at the Gardens, 1931 to 1999
The register says the Leafs won six Stanley Cups between 1941 and 1951 while playing here. The Mattamy Athletic Centre’s own history page counts 11 Stanley Cups won at the Gardens, and the two counts are not reconciled by either source. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in the building in 1947, according to the Mattamy history page. Other teams used it too, including the Toronto Marlboros and the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association.
the NHL gives February 13, 1999 as the date of the last NHL game at Maple Leaf Gardens, a 6 to 2 loss to Chicago. The Leafs then moved to the Air Canada Centre, as the register calls it. The length of the Gardens era is stated differently by two sources: the Canadian Encyclopedia says 67 years, and the register says 68.
More than hockey
The register lists wrestling, boxing, concerts, political rallies, religious services, and opera among the uses. The Canadian Encyclopedia names Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti, and the Beatles among the performers. Muhammad Ali fought George Chuvalo here in 1966, and in 1972 the building hosted games of Team Canada’s Summit Series against the Soviet Union, both named in the register as part of the building’s place in popular culture.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 24, 1931 | Maple Leaf Gardens Limited incorporated | Spacing |
| September 21, 1931 | Cornerstone laid | Spacing |
| November 12, 1931 | First game, Chicago 2, Toronto 1 | Spacing; Canadian Register of Historic Places |
| 1966 | Ali and Chuvalo fight | Canadian Register of Historic Places |
| February 13, 1999 | Last NHL game | the NHL |
| June 8, 2007 | Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada | Canadian Register of Historic Places |
| September 2012 | Athletic centre opens above the new store | Mattamy Athletic Centre |
National Historic Site status
The Canadian Register of Historic Places lists Maple Leaf Gardens at 60 Carleton Street, Toronto, as a National Historic Site of Canada under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act. The recognition date is given as June 8, 2007, and the site was added to the register on August 12, 2009. The register’s description of heritage value says the site was designated in 2006, based on the June 2006 minutes of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board. The register does not explain the gap, so the two dates are shown here as given.
The listed character-defining elements include the corner location, the stone-banded yellow-brick facades, the dome with its crowning lantern, the clear-span truss roof, the marquee lettering, and surviving interior fittings such as box seats and the scoreboard.
From arena to store and athletic centre
After the Leafs left, the building sat largely unused for years. Building Design + Construction reports that Loblaw Companies bought it in 2004. Toronto Metropolitan University, then Ryerson University, was looking for a recreation centre and a hockey facility, and the two organizations joined in a project that Building Design + Construction puts at $60 million (CAD). The same article lists federal funding and private donors, including a $15 million (CAD) gift from Mattamy Homes. Toronto Metropolitan University describes Peter Gilgan’s lead gift of $15 million as the donation that made the revitalization possible, and the athletic centre carries the name of his company. Construction ran from January 2010 to October 2011, according to the same article.
The conversion kept the exterior walls, the original roof, and the rafters, according to the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that a new rink was built on the third floor, just below the original ceiling. The athletic centre’s page says the lower level reopened as a Loblaws in 2010, while the construction period given by Building Design + Construction ran until October 2011, so the store date varies by source. The athletic centre’s page places the opening of the upper level in September 2012. Building Design + Construction gives 2,800 seats for the new NHL-sized rink.
Frequently asked questions
When did Maple Leaf Gardens open?
The first game was played on November 12, 1931. Sources give different start dates, April or June 1931, so the building time is stated as roughly five and a half to eight months.
Who designed Maple Leaf Gardens?
The Canadian Register of Historic Places names the firm Ross and Macdonald as the architects. Conn Smythe, the Leafs’ managing director, led the project and raised the financing.
When was the last NHL game at the Gardens?
the NHL gives February 13, 1999, a 6 to 2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The national register describes the Leafs’ use of the building as running from 1931 to 1999.
What is Maple Leaf Gardens used for today?
The lower levels hold a Loblaws store, and the upper level holds the Mattamy Athletic Centre of Toronto Metropolitan University. Opening hours and programs are set by the operators, so the Mattamy Athletic Centre website is the place to check them.
Is Maple Leaf Gardens a National Historic Site?
Yes. The Government of Canada recognized it in 2007 under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Parks Canada, Canadian Register of Historic Places, “Maple Leaf Gardens National Historic Site of Canada”
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Toronto Feature: Maple Leaf Gardens,” Historica Canada
- Spacing, “Opening Maple Leaf Gardens,” October 27, 2023
- Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto Metropolitan University, arena highlights and history
- the NHL, “Toronto says goodbye to Maple Leaf Gardens in final NHL game”
- Building Design + Construction, “Toronto Maple Leafs arena converted to university recreation facility”
- Toronto Metropolitan University, “City Builders: Peter Gilgan”
Related reading
- History of Toronto’s professional sports teams
- Massey Hall and its concert history
- Universities and colleges in Toronto
- The Eaton Centre and shopping districts
- Overview of Toronto’s history
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Maple Leaf Gardens: History of Toronto’s Hockey Arena. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/maple-leaf-gardens-history
MLA: “Maple Leaf Gardens: History of Toronto’s Hockey Arena.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/maple-leaf-gardens-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Maple Leaf Gardens: History of Toronto’s Hockey Arena.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/maple-leaf-gardens-history.
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