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

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the "Varsity Centre & Arena", a sports complex at the

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

's St. George Campus, and opened on December 17, 1926. The arena is primarily home to the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...

men's and women's ice hockey teams. Varsity Arena 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 WHA season, 19 ...

of the WHA from 1973 to 1974 and the Toronto Planets of the RHI in 1993. It is located beside

Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate stadium located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the "Varsity Centre & Arena", a sports complex at the University of Toronto's St. George Campus. Athletic events have been hosted on the site ...

Overview

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 Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', 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 University of Toronto buildings World Hockey Association venues Darling and Pearson buildings University sports venues in Canada 1926 establishments in Ontario Sports venues completed in 1926