page_title: Maple Leaf Gardens
section_title: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment: 1991–2003
hierarchical_section_title: Maple Leaf Gardens / History / Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment: 1991–2003
caption_attribution_description: Maple Leafs vs. Blackhawks 1st Playoff Game 1994
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: Ballard died in April 1990. The executors of his will were Steve Stavro, Don Giffin and Don Crump. In 1991, Stavro paid off a $20 million loan that had been made to Ballard in 1980 by Molson. In return, he was given an option to buy Gardens shares from Ballard's estate. Molson also agreed to sell its stake in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to Stavro. That deal closed in 1994, and shortly after, Stavro bought Ballard's shares from the estate for $34 a share or $75 million. The purchase was the subject of a securities commission review and a lawsuit from Ballard's son Bill Ballard, but the deal stood and Stavro and his partners in MLG Ventures became the new owner of the Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens.
  MLG Ventures took Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. private and the two corporations amalgamated. becoming Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. after its acquisition of the Toronto Raptors in 1998. Initially, the majority owner of MLSE, holding 51% of the company, was MLG Holdings, a corporation controlled by Stavro, with minority shareholders Larry Tannenbaum (25%) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (20%). The other 49% of MLSE was owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. In 2003 Stavro sold his shares and MLG Holdings was dissolved, leaving Teachers' as majority owners of MLSE.
  During the 1990s, MLSE considered a number of sites for a new, modern arena to replace Maple Leaf Gardens, including the southeast corner of Bay and Dundas Streets near the Toronto Eaton Centre (the current site of the Ryerson University School of Business). By this time, Maple Leaf Gardens was considered too small and lacking in revenue-generating luxury boxes.
  The Leafs had no plans to occupy the Air Canada Centre, then under construction by the owners of the Toronto Raptors, and it appeared for a time as though the stalemate between the two sports franchises would result in two new arenas being constructed in Toronto – one for hockey, one for basketball. When MLSE acquired the Toronto Raptors, however, the Air Canada Centre, which was still under construction, was retrofitted to accommodate both hockey and basketball.
  The Raptors played their final game at the Gardens on February 9, 1999. A few days later, on February 13, 1999, the Toronto Maple Leafs ended a 67-year tradition when they played their last game at Maple Leaf Gardens, suffering a 6–2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Leaf Doug Gilmour scored a fluke goal in that game and notorious tough guy Bob Probert scored the final NHL goal in MLG history during the third period. During the emotional post-game ceremony, legendary Canadian singer Anne Murray performed The Maple Leaf Forever, clad in a Leafs jersey. Canadian band The Tragically Hip were
  the final musical artists to play at the venue.
  The Gardens was the home arena for the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The Rock won the Champion's Cup in both seasons, making them the building's last championship team. The 2000 NLL Championship game was ultimately the building's last professional event to be held at the MLG. They held training camp at the Gardens in 2001 and then moved to the ACC. Maple Leaf Gardens was then mostly dormant for a decade.
caption: Game 1 of the 1994 First Round between the Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks at the Gardens after the Leafs scored a goal.
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