Varsity Arena, located at 299 Bloor Street West,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

retrieved from http://rrs.osm.utoronto.ca 2007-10-22 is an indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

that opened on December 17, 1926, and is primarily home to the ice hockey teams of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, the Varsity Blues. It also hosted the

Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season. Haro ...

of the WHA from 1973 to 1974 and the

Toronto Planets The Toronto Planets were a team in the Roller Hockey International league. The Planets played their home games at Varsity Arena during the league's first season in 1993, but folded at the conclusion of the season. The Planets finished in first pla ...

of the RHI in 1993. It is located beside

Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of the University of Toronto. Athletic events have been hosted on the site since 1898; the ...

. One of the first indoor arenas to be built without pillars in the seating area blocking the line of sight, Varsity Arena sat close to 4,800 in double wooden chairs at the time of its construction. It was designed by Professor T. R. Loudon along with architects Messers. Pearson and Darling and had an interior volume of . Originally the floor under the ice surface consisted of iron pipes covered in sand. The

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

was reduced to 4,116 by renovations in 1985–86, which expanded the ice sheet to professional standards and eliminated fire code violations that had been found in 1977. The current gross floor area is . It is also the home of the University of Toronto Intramural hockey league, which comprises (as of the Winter term of 2006) of 46 men's and eight women's teams of varying skill levels (from recreational to near-varsity calibre) competing in six men's and two women's divisions. Prior to 2009, the university also used the arena to host examinations. The first goal in the arena was scored by future NHL player Dave Trottier of the Varsity Grads in a two-period exhibition game against the Varsity Blues on opening night."Skating and hockey open U. of T. arena," ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', December 18, 1926, p. 10.

References

External links

Varsity Arena history from http://hockey.ballparks.com
{{Sport venues in Toronto Ice hockey venues in Toronto Indoor arenas in Ontario Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada University of Toronto buildings World Hockey Association venues Darling and Pearson buildings University sports venues in Canada Continental Basketball Association venues 1926 establishments in Ontario Sports venues completed in 1926