| Air Canada Centre | |
|---|---|
| The ACC, The Hangar | |
| Location | 40 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2X2 |
| Broke ground | March 12, 1997 |
| Opened | February 19, 1999 |
| Owner | Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment |
| Construction cost | C$265 million ($342 million in 2012 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects (BBB Architects) |
| Project Manager | Clarendon Projects Ltd.[2] |
| Structural engineer | Sayers & Associates Limited[3] |
| General Contractor | PCL Constructors Western, Inc. |
| Capacity | Basketball: 19,800 Ice hockey: 18,819 Lacrosse: 18,819 Concerts: 19,800 Theatre: 5,200 Wrestling: 16,105 |
| Tenants | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) (1999–present) Toronto Raptors (NBA) (1999–present) Toronto Rock (NLL) (2001–present) Toronto Phantoms (AFL) (2001–2002) 2015 Pan American Games |
|
The Air Canada Centre (ACC) is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar (the latter nickname came from its sponsorship by Air Canada).
It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
It was also home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League (AFL) during their brief existence.
In 2006, the ACC was the 11th busiest arena in the world.[4]
From its initial design to completion, it revolutionized many concepts included in new arenas and stadiums since then, such as luxury suites accessible on the ground floor, splitting the main scoreboard into several sections, rotating all sponsor signage in the bowl at once (to allow dominant messaging), and multiple restaurants in and out of the main arena bowl view.
The arena is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., the same group that owns both the Leafs and Raptors, and is 665,000 square feet (62,000 m²) in size. Air Canada Centre is connected to Union Station and the underground pedestrian PATH system, providing easy access to public transportation (TTC's Union subway station and GO Transit) for fans attending events. There are also 13,000 parking spaces within immediate walking distance.
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The Air Canada Centre was started by the Toronto Raptors under its initial ownership group headed by Canadian businessman John Bitove. The groundbreaking was performed in March 1997.
While construction was in progress, the Raptors and their partially completed arena were purchased by MLSE. Prior to this development, the Maple Leafs had been contemplating building their own arena to replace the aging Maple Leaf Gardens. MLSE subsequently ordered major modifications to the original design, which was basketball-specific, such that the arena become more suitable for hockey.
Air Canada purchased naming rights to the arena for $30 million dollars over 20 years.[5]
The site was once occupied by the Canada Post Delivery Building. The current building retains the striking Art Deco façades of the east (along Bay Street) and south (Lake Shore Boulevard) walls of that structure, but the rest of the building (facing Union Station) was removed to make room for the arena, through the process of facadism.
The 15-storey tower on Bay Street stands at 55 metres and provides connections in the atrium to Union Station, Bay Street, and York Street (via Bremner Boulevard). The Air Canada Centre is connected to the PATH network.
The first Maple Leafs home game took place on February 20, 1999 versus the Montreal Canadiens, won by the Leafs 3-2 on an overtime goal by Steve Thomas. The first Raptors game took place the following night versus the Vancouver Grizzlies (later moved to Memphis). The Raptors won 102-87 in front of a sell-out crowd. The facility hosted the 2000 NHL All-Star Game and the championship game of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
The centre has hosted many WWE events over the years. In 2004, it hosted WWE SummerSlam 2004. In 2006, it hosted WWE Unforgiven 2006 headlined by Toronto native Edge against John Cena. It has also hosted many WWE Raw, ECW, and WWE SmackDown! tapings. The Air Canada Centre also featured World Championship Wrestling's first-ever WCW Monday Nitro telecast from Canada, on March 29, 1999, as well as WCW Mayhem 1999. It was also supposed to host the Royal Rumble in 2012 however, it was changed to be in St. Louis, Missouri. On September 13, 2011, SmackDown returned to the ACC for the September 16 edition where Edge returned as the Special Guest Superstar for one night and the Edge Appreciation Night was held immediately following the show's taping to honor the former World Champion that was filmed for the upcoming Edge DVD set for an early 2012 release.
The Toronto Rock also moved to the ACC from Maple Leaf Gardens for the 2001 NLL season. The Rock's first game was a 17-7 win over the Ottawa Rebel on December 21, 2000.
On October 3, 2003, the ACC had a power outage during the third quarter of a Raptors pre-season game against the Greek club Panathinaikos. The game was called final, because the power was not restored in time, and Toronto already had a thirty-point lead.
The Air Canada Centre has played host to a number of musicians.
Bon Jovi hold the record for having played the most shows in the Air Canada Centre during one tour. On their 2007–2008 Lost Highway Tour, they played five shows in Toronto. They were breaking their own earlier four-night record at the ACC that tied with U2, The Spice Girls, The Police and Rush.[6]
The Tragically Hip played the first ever concert at the arena on February 22, 1999 to a sold out crowd.[7]
Pearl Jam played two shows at the arena in September 2011, as part of the band's 20th anniversary celebrations.[8] In the past, Pearl Jam have played the arena in 2000, 2005, and two shows to kick off their 2006 world tour.
On April 7, 2008, Avril Lavigne played at the arena to a sold-out crowd as a part of her 2008 Best Damn Tour, The concert went onto video named The Best Damn Tour - Live in Toronto
On August 13 and 14, 2011, Britney Spears filmed two sold out shows on her Femme Fatale Tour for a DVD release, and was broadcast on EPIXHD in November.
Other musicians who played in the Air Canada Centre include Lady Gaga, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Cher, Nickelback, Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, The Backstreet Boys, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, David Bowie, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Foo Fighters, Rammstein, Linkin Park, Tool, System of a Down, P!nk, TLC, Van Halen, Kylie Minogue, Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Muse, Roger Waters, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, John Mayer, The Killers, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and AC/DC.
In 2003, the Liberal Party of Canada held their leadership convention at the Air Canada Centre.
In late 2005, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment announced that they would be renovating the western side of the Air Canada Centre during the 2008 off-season, to connect it with the Maple Leaf Square development. Maple Leaf Square is jointly owned by MLSE, Cadillac Fairview and Lantera Developments. The $500 million development includes two restaurants, Hotel Le Germain at Maple Leaf Square boutique hotel, extensive retail shopping including a 9,000-square-foot (840 m2) Leafs, Raptors, and Toronto FC store, two 54-storey condominiums, a Longo's supermarket, a High-Definition broadcast studio, and a public square. It opened in 2010.
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by SkyDome |
Home of the Toronto Raptors 1999 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Maple Leaf Gardens |
Home of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1999 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Maple Leaf Gardens |
Home of the Toronto Rock 2000 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Hartford Civic Center |
Home of the Toronto Phantoms 2001 – 2002 |
Succeeded by last arena |
| Preceded by St. Pete Times Forum |
Host of the NHL All-Star Game 2000 |
Succeeded by Pepsi Center |
| Preceded by Ford Center |
Host of Unforgiven 2006 |
Succeeded by FedExForum |
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