page_title: Maple Leaf Gardens
section_title: Harold Ballard takes control: 1972–1990
hierarchical_section_title: Maple Leaf Gardens / History / Harold Ballard takes control: 1972–1990
caption_attribution_description: Maple Leaf Gardens, a former hockey arena in Toronto, Canada.
context_page_description: Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed as an arena to host ice hockey games, but has since been reconstructed for other uses. Today, Maple Leaf Gardens is a multi-purpose facility, with Loblaws occupying retail space on the lower floors and an arena for Toronto's Ryerson University, known as Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens, occupying the top level.
  Considered one of the "cathedrals" of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1931 to 1999. The Leafs won the Stanley Cup 11 times from 1932 to 1967 while playing at the Gardens. The first NHL All-Star Game, albeit an unofficial one, was held at the Gardens in 1934 as a benefit for Leafs forward Ace Bailey, who had suffered a career-ending head injury. The first official annual National Hockey League All-Star Game was also held at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1947.
context_section_description: On July 7, 1974 the arena was the host of a Professional wrestling tournament which was called World Cup Wrestling. Various International stars competed in like Dara Singh, Pat Roach, Danny Lynch, Tiger Jeet Singh, Prince Mann Singh, Randhawa, Than Yen Chang, Majid Ackra, Kashmir Singh, Tony Parisi, Chris Tolos, Golden Boy Apollo, and Terry Yorkston etc. In the main event match, world champion Dara Singh defeated Danny Lynch and retained his title.
  Concert Promotions International was founded in 1973, by Bill Ballard, with Michael Cohl and David Wolinksy and brought many big-name music acts to the Gardens. The arena played host to The Rolling Thunder Revue Tour, with two consecutive shows, on December 1–2, 1975, headed by Bob Dylan. Bob Marley and The Wailers performed here on June 9, 1978 and November 1, 1979 in support of his Kaya Tour 1978 and Survival Tour 1979 respectively. The Bee Gees performed here on August 31, 1979. ABBA played here on Sunday, October 7, 1979, their last ever concert appearance in North America. The Who performed what was supposed to be their last concert in December 1982 at this venue and was filmed for the concert film The Who Rocks America (1982). It was also at this venue where The Who performed their final concert to a paying audience with drummer Keith Moon on October 21, 1976. The Jacksons performed here on August 5, 1981 during their Triumph Tour. The video for The Reflex by Duran Duran was shot at Maple Leaf Gardens in March 1984. Hometown Canadian rock trio Rush recorded a live video for their Grace Under Pressure Tour at Maple Leaf Gardens. The arena played host to Amnesty International's legendary Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on September 15, 1988. The show was headlined by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and also featured Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour and k.d. lang. Pearl Jam performed at the arena on September 21, 1996 (the only Canadian date on the tour). From 1973 until the closing of Maple Leaf Gardens CPI brought the top rock and pop acts to Maple Leaf Gardens.
  The Leafs continued to sell out every game through the Ballard era, even as the team's performance went into steep decline. The rink-side red seats were replaced with gold seats in 1974. In August 1979, to make room for private boxes, Ballard had his staff tear down the 48-year-old gondola from which Foster Hewitt regularly broadcast games across Canada and threw it into an incinerator. In an editorial, the Toronto Star called Ballard's actions the "barbaric destruction of one of Canada's great cultural monuments."  Then in 1982, the centre-hung scoreboard that had been in use since 1966 was replaced by a new centre-hung scoreboard with a colour matrix message/animation screen on each side, which remained in use for the rest of the Maple Leafs' stay at the Gardens. Originally an American Sign and Indicator scoreboard, it was upgraded by Daktronics in the 1990s.
  Prior to the launch of the Ottawa Nationals of the World Hockey Association (WHA), the team had discussions with Ballard about locating the team in Toronto, but the talks did not get very far. The team was a flop at the box office, averaging about 3,000 fans a game, and in March 1973—just before the end of the season—the City of Ottawa demanded payment of $100,000 to guarantee the club dates at the Ottawa Civic Centre. The team decided to leave Ottawa and played their home playoff games at Maple Leaf Gardens, attracting crowds of 5,000 and 4,000 in two games before being eliminated by the New England Whalers. At the end of the season, the team moved to Toronto permanently, and was sold to John F. Bassett, son of former Leafs owner John Bassett. They were renamed the Toronto Toros in June 1973. Bassett wanted the team to play at a renovated CNE Coliseum, while Bill Ballard—Harold's son, who was running the Gardens while his father served a prison sentence—wanted the team at the Gardens and opposed the plan to upgrade the Coliseum. The Toros ended up at Varsity Arena for the 1973–74 season. The following season, the Toros moved to t
caption: In 1982, the arena replaced its old centre-hung scoreboard with a newer model.
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