Varsity Arena Varsity Arena is the home rink of the Toronto Varsity Blues . It is located on the north end of the campus on Bloor Street West near the corner of St . George Street . The arena has a seating capacity of about 4 , 000 . History . Before 1926 , the Toronto Varsity Blues and all other University of Toronto hockey programmes had no real , permanent home . The Blues used a natural rink near Back Campus , as well as the Victoria Rink on Huron Street , and finally the covered rink ( later the Arena Gardens ) on Mutual Street . The commute to and from the rink met with many complaints from players and instructors alike . Intramural hockey was usually played outside on natural rinks . Every year , fields would be flooded to create an ice surface . Sometimes Varsity Stadium ' s field was used for this purpose . This , too , was unacceptable , as the ice was at the mercy of the elements . There began to be talk of a new arena for the University in 1921 . A 7 , 000 seat facility was proposed at a cost of $ 400 , 000 . Investment certificates were sold at $ 150 , $ 125 , and $ 100 which would give the purchaser special rights to all tickets at the Arena in the place of interest ( see right ) . In 1926 , Varsity Arena was built at a total cost of $ 275 , 770 . 40 to the immediate east of Varsity Stadium . The building was designed by Professor T . R . Loudon , who not only coached the rowing team , but also had a hand in designing both Varsity Stadium and Maple Leaf Stadium , along with architects Messers . Darling & Pearson . The exterior design of the building was Georgian , meant to blend nicely with the ROM building on the opposite side of Philosopher ' s Walk . The ice surface was based on that in the Arena Gardens , being 196 ' by 80 ' . When opened , it seated 4 , 800 spectators in double wooden chairs , in an interior volume of 1 , 822 , 084 cubic feet . The Arena was officially opened on December 17 , 1926 , with a demonstration by the Toronto Skating Club , and a hockey game . The game placed the Toronto Varsity Blues , coached by Conn Smythe , against the Toronto Varsity Grads , coached by ( Senator ) Joseph Sullivan . The Grads won 2 - 0 in a forty minute game , not surprising when looking back , given that they would go on to win the 1928 Olympics gold medal . Tickets to this game cost 95 cents for reserved seats , and 70 cents for general admission . Due to bitterly cold weather , it was not a sell out . Varsity was among the first arenas to have no support pillars blocking the view of the ice surface . This has now become standard , but only two years earlier , the Montreal Forum had been built with numerous support pillars behind the red sections . Thus , Varsity Arena had perhaps the best sightlines in the country at the time , and it could be argued that this is still true today . A few improvements were made to the arena in the following decades . The floor underneath the ice surface was originally sand covering iron pipes . The pipes were partially replaced in 1933 , but it was not until 1957 that the Arena received a concrete floor . A new roof was installed in 1950 at a cost of $ 7 , 200 . The Arena was used for many different hockey teams besides the Toronto Varsity Blues . The Ontario Hockey Association used the facility for several of its Toronto - based intermediate and senior groups . As well , a lot of minor hockey teams played there . It was the main backup to Maple Leaf Gardens . In 1973 / 74 , the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association chose Varsity Arena as their new Toronto home . The team met with enough success that they were able to justify moving to Maple Leaf Gardens the next season . In 1977 , Varsity Arena failed a fire inspection , and the City of Toronto ordered that all events except Blues games and examinations be cancelled until the arena could be brought up to code . The building was still structurally sound , but was deemed to be a fire hazard . In 1981 , there was talk of tearing the arena down and starting over again . Instead of this drastic option , the University launched a campaign to raise money towards the nearly $ 3 , 000 , 000 required to renovate the building . About $ 12 , 000 was made available by student groups , and the Varsity Arena Fund Advisory Committee surpassed its goal of $ 250 , 000 , and raised $ 400 , 000 for the renovation . Then , the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation made a generous grant of $ 1 , 450 , 000 through Lottario towards the campaign . The renovations started in 1985 , and included , among other things , widening the ice surface to 196 ' by 85 ' , enlarging the entrance and Arena office , building the Blue and White Lounge on the south , construction a new ice plant , and improvements to the concession areas . The building was found to be very solid , and some demolition work to enlarge the ice surface proved far more difficult than anticipated . The Arena was officially reopened on February 19 , 1986 , just before its sixtieth anniversary .