Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment's (MLSE) auction of
items from Maple Leaf Gardens "yielded [C]$1.2 million
before the 15-hour bidding finally" finished yesterday,
according to Lance Hornby of the TORONTO SUN. But MLSE was
"concerned about the rumbling around town yesterday that
designated charities would be short-changed, that alumni
lost their Gardens mementoes to bidders and that the Hockey
Hall of Fame was denied some desired items." While three
causes -- the Maple Leafs Community Fund, the club's alumni
and a foundation for abused children -- "were to get a
share" of the sales, "a story has circulated" that MLSE
would "keep as much" as 80% of the profits. MLSE Dir of
Consumer Products/Auction Coordinator Jeff Newman: "That is
absolutely not true. We've been trying to get a message
through from the very start that this auction was just part
of a process, about 25% of everything we plan to do (in
conjunction with selling the Gardens and its fixtures).
There will be a significant sum for charity" (TORONTO SUN,
11/21). The NATIONAL POST's Tom Maloney writes, "They
auctioned off Maple Leaf Gardens like a bankrupt restaurant
yesterday, and how sad it was" (NATIONAL POST, 11/21).
