A special section of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL is
dedicated to the new Air Canada Centre, and David Shoalts
reports that when the facility opens on Saturday night,
"fans will enjoy state-of-the-art amenities in everything
from the width and cover of their seats to the sound system
to the Sony JumboTron video scoreboard to the variety of
food and drink to the impressive sightlines." The C$265M,
19,500-seat arena, which was privately financed by Maple
Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) through its partners,
includes 1,020 club seats and 153 private suites, six
restaurants and an underground parking deck. MLSE President
Richard Peddie: "A building is never perfect. But we think
we've done a pretty good job." Maple Leafs RW Tie Domi: "Oh
man, this is the best in the whole league, the best ever.
It's night and day from Maple Leaf Gardens. And there's no
comparison to any of the new places around the [NHL]."
Shoalts notes that the "most remarkable thing" about Air
Canada Centre is the "intimacy," and that the steeper
inclines for the seats allow the fans to be "right on top of
the action" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/17).
SILLY PEDDIE? NO! Peddie says that MLSE will be
profitable in its first year operating the Air Canada Centre
and the Raptors because "our philosophy is less is more."
Peddie said he has learned from the mistakes of the SkyDome,
which he managed from '89-'93: "Air Canada Centre is not as
sexy as SkyDome. ... [But] we're also a lot closer to the
subway and way cheaper to run." So far, 149 of the 153
luxury suites have been sold and the arena is booked for 60
events this year and Peddie hopes to reach 200 events before
the end of the year (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/17)
