Scotiabank Arena

March 31, 2012
Air Canada Centre (Capacity: 18,800)
Toronto, ON
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Buffalo Sabres
Final Score: 4 – 3

* The arena has been renamed Scotiabank Arena

My brother joined me for an end of season trip to where hockey is the center of attention: Toronto, Ontario. This city of over two and a half million, is the largest in Canada and is located in Southern Ontario. I’ve been here before and have marveled at what a beautifully clean, modern cosmopolitan city it is. In fact, it is so diverse that nearly half of its population comes from outside of Canada. Regardless of where they’re from, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most popular of the city’s sports teams. As an Original Six member, the Leafs have quite a history with their 13 Stanley Cups second only to Montreal. However, their last championship came in 1967 and though they’ve made a few long playoff runs in the last couple decades (most notably ’93 against LA), the franchise is currently in a significant down period as it has been eight years since their last playoff appearance. After 72 years in venerable Maple Leaf Gardens, the Leafs moved to the Air Canada Centre in 1999. I always long for the older buildings, but out of the historic ones recently lost (Chicago, Boston, Montreal), the ACC is likely the nicest of the newer ones just built. Unfortunately, Toronto’s huge, passionate fan base has to suffer through ridiculously high costs to attend.
Prestige Ranking: 5 out of 5

Location

The arena is located right in the heart of downtown, near the harbor front. It’s hard to beat this location as fans are within walking distance to the Hockey Hall of Fame (which is superb), the CN Tower (also awesome), and various theatres, bars and restaurants. What was mind-blowing to me was the newly built mixed-use Maple Leaf Square in front of the arena. I was in Toronto eight years ago and there was essentially nothing in front. Now, this section just completed in 2010 is filled with towering skyscrapers that feature condos, a hotel, restaurants and entertainment. One of those restaurants, the Real Sports Bar & Grille is right near the entrance and has an amazing amount of TVs showing sports.
Location Ranking: 10 out of 10

Accessibility / Parking

The arena location is along the Gardiner Expressway and though there is no public lot for the ACC, many lots and garages are available downtown within walking distance. However, given the amount of construction and congestion in the city, driving/parking is no easy task. Public Transit is much easier and this is made better by the fact that the central hub, Union Station, is attached by an enclosed walkway to the arena. Here, regional GO Transit trains (which is what we used) along with the TTC subway system all converge at Union and lines are expansive. Just beware, that on weekends, many of the GO trains don’t run (only the Lakeshore lines do).
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5 out of 8

Exterior

The most obvious feature to the outside of the arena is a huge screen which shows crystal-clear video of the game and Leafs TV. Fans can watch outside and during bigger events the nearby road/traffic circle is closed off so more people fit in. Otherwise, the kinda square building features mostly glass windows in front, which takes up most of the look when combined with the video screen. A very small “Air Canada Centre” sign is above the door. The back of the arena is a little more classic as the old postal building was incorporated into its design. Here, there are less windows and more of a tan brick look, along with a slightly larger arena name written out in silver lettering.
Exterior Ranking: 6.5 out of 10

Concourse

Fans enter into a smallish foyer before proceeding into the first level concourse. It’s a bit tight walking around, but everything here is really clean and features some sharp signage and coloring, though the advertising is excessive. This level has one main team store along with several other stands and there is a cool brewhouse. Heading upstairs to the upper-level concourse, it is a little more traditional in appearance and not as sharp, but did have my favorite feature, the Crown Corner. Probably my favorite part of the arena as it features some slick looking bars, several TVs with other sports and many tables to sit and eat before the game. Best yet is that it opens up to the arena allowing for fans to watch the game or sit and eat/drink at stools with counter tops. Overall concourses are decent, but something is missing and it is a BIG something in my book. Where’s the history? This is a team with deep roots and a lot to show, yet I saw nearly none of that (see below in “Displays”).
Concourse Ranking: 4 out of 5

Food

Food options were stellar with pretty much everything you can think of being available. Some things that stood out: Burkie’s Dog House with nine different crazy combination hot dogs; a fruit stand; a sushi stand and the Canadian specialties. Along with the usual staples seen everywhere in the country (Pizza Pizza, Mr. Sub and Tim Horton’s), it was great seeing Peameal Bacon Sandwiches and Poutine. As for beer, Rickard’s is brewed in the arena and that is the featured brew, along with Molson. The ACC had three restaurants, though they are all private.
Food Ranking: 8 out of 8

Interior

The arena’s interior design is quite nice with a set-up that is a little different than most newer NHL buildings. The 100-level seats are standard as they extend around the rink and feature a row of suites above and behind the last row. The Air Canada Club Restaurant is also at this level and offers a game view. Upper level, 300 seating is abruptly halted towards each end by a vertically stacked, multi-tiered section that consists of roomy loge and theatre suites. The best part of this suite set-up is it allows for a closer 300 level since there is only one ring of suites below. Before reaching the end suites, there are about 3-6 rows of seating from the 300 level and there is also the public, aforementioned Crown Corner. My lone pet peeve of the arena is the gondola press and luxury boxes located on both sides. This really closes in the seating at the top of the building and is quite obstructive to those in the last few rows and standing room areas. Otherwise, the sightlines inside are terrific with good row steepness and a slight turn of the seats towards the center in the upper sections. Seats are multi-colored and I would have preferred a consistent blue as opposed to the yellows and reds in the lower seating (though the colors are a partial tribute to the old Maple Leaf Gardens). One interesting thing was the railings separating each row in the upper level. Kind of an old-style touch that did not interfere with the view of the ice.
Interior Ranking: 12 out of 14

Scoreboard

The scoreboard is of the fancier type with many screens and was one of the first of its kind. Four very clear video boards are featured at the center, with a space underneath for a digitalized display of time, shots and score. A small, red “Air Canada Centre” text is spelled out in between. Things disappoint from there as we see six more video screens higher up, however these are pre-dominantly used for ads. The only time I didn’t see ads was when it displayed penalty time. Adding to the waste are two circular digital ad displays.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4

Displays

As mentioned before, the dearth of Leafs history is quite a disappointment. All that could be found on the concourse walls were two displays: The Captains Wall (a pretty neat visual) and Sports Media Canada (just some pictures, not much else). Things improved inside as the banners from the rafters were quite impressive. I loved how honored members have a display with a large picture, name and number. The Stanley Cup banners are cool too with a large cup and the year underneath. Hidden in between are a couple banners for the Toronto Raptors.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6

Cost

Unfortunately, this is one of the defining factors of a Toronto Maple Leafs experience and it has always been that way, dating back to the Cashbox on Carlton. About 90% of the building features single game ticket prices at least $95 and with games quickly sold out, the secondary market is the main spot to get tickets, where it is virtually impossible to find seats under $100, unless you want to stand. The 2011 Fan Cost Index shows that Toronto has the highest average season ticket price by $35 and nearly double the league average. It is also the highest priced average ticket out of the four major pro sports. Numbers for the other categories aren’t as obscene, but are high too as nearby parking is $15-$25. Concessions feature a $4.80 hot dog, $3.98 soft drink and $12.83 for a large beer.
Cost Ranking: 1.5 out of 8

Fan Support

Numerous things point to the tremendous fan support that the Leafs have and it is most notable at road games, where Toronto jerseys dot the crowd in places like Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal. Every game at the ACC has been sold out and though a few empty seats can be found, the arena is just about full each game (though fans are notoriously slow to arrive). The passion for this team radiates throughout the region, even in spite of all the tough years they have recently endured.
Fan Support Ranking: 8 out of 8

Atmosphere

The atmosphere has a reputation of being decidedly corporate and mostly quiet. Though its true that crowds consist more of Toronto’s elite, there are still many diehards and most are wearing the blue and white. In fact, at our game, crowd noise wasn’t all that quiet and it behaved like a better than average NHL atmosphere (though there was a lot of scoreboard-prodding noise for my liking). In previous games during a long losing streak, the crowd has become angry enough for chants like “Fire Wilson” and “Let’s go Blue Jays”. On this night however, the boos were replaced by “Go Leafs Go” and “Milllllerrrr”. Maybe the better crowd noise came because season-ticket holders sold their seats at good prices as the season has unraveled? That seems to be have merit given that playoff atmosphere (where tickets are insanely expensive) is just meh compared to other buildings. A couple enhancements to the atmosphere for our game: During the anthem, a huge Canadian flag is passed around the crowd in the 100 level. Secondly, during a break in play, the Leafs honored a Canadian military man who received a very long and loud standing ovation. I know everyone does this now, but it was different here.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9 out of 14

Other Stuff

Along with the Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors (NBA) and Toronto Rock (NLL) call the arena home, though they are clearly secondary tenants…A nice touch inside was the Street names on the walls, giving fans direction as they exit….Most Saturday Nights, the Leafs play at home. Hockey Night in Canada being headlined by a 7 PM Toronto game is pure tradition in the country….Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) owns the team and have built a Yankee-like brand. MLSE owns the ACC, three other entertainment facilities, four teams, the mixed-use area in front of the ACC and Leafs TV…..A couple in-game scoreboard things that were pretty cool: the “60 seconds of Leaf Nation” segment that featured all of the celebrities who have been at Leafs games….The Air Canada Centre was originally designed to only be a basketball arena for the Raptors, the Leafs were added as a tenant later in the construction….I would love to find out what that design is in front that look like three cinnamon sticks.

Game

Toronto came into this late season game losers of 11 straight at home (a franchise record), while Buffalo was desperately chasing the last playoff spot. The Leafs came out the better team and jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Joey Crabb breakaway goal on the penalty kill. After tying it at one, Phil Kessell’s lightning fast wrist shot gave the Leafs the lead back. The backbreaker was at the end of the period when Toronto bull-rushed the net and got a goal with 0.7 seconds left for a two-goal lead. Buffalo tried fighting back and they cut it to one late. They got the faceoff in the zone as time ticked down, but an end of game shot at the blue line was kicked away by third-stringer Ben Scrivens and Toronto won 4-3.