Loblaws store opens at former Maple Leaf Gardens

The doors have opened on a new era for one of the city’s most cherished landmarks.

The public got a first look at the retail portion of the revamped Maple Leaf Gardens on Wednesday.

Several eager people were lined up before dawn to be among the first to step inside the renovated building when the doors to the new Loblaws store officially opened at 8 a.m. Some people even started lining up Tuesday night.

“It’s amazing,” said Will Patton, who was the first shopper in the brand new store, after waiting in line for 12 hours. His patience was rewarded with a $100 gift card.

“Now that the paper’s off the window … I see a lot of people putting their face up to the glass now, and I hope they’re having the same reaction I’m having.”

Mike Moreau, who was in line around 5 a.m., said “I think it’s a great step forward. I always thought that Maple Leaf Gardens was a great place to visit.”

The old Gardens now houses the massive Loblaws on the first floor, a Joe Fresh store and an LCBO. The new store will have many special features, including an “Amazing Wall of Cheese”—it’s 5.5 -metres high—and tea experts.

“We never imagined that the store would anchor a historical restoration initiative that would bring ice back to Maple Leaf Gardens and welcome the community back through these doors in such a fitting way,” said the company’s chairman, Galen Weston Jr. at Wednesday’s grand opening.

The Toronto Maple Leafs played their last game at the hockey shrine in 1999. The Buds had called the rink home for seven decades. The building was then purchased by Loblaw Co. Ltd. in 2004.

“I think that the people seem to be satisfied that the memory of this place will be maintained and I think that’s important,’ said former Toronto Maple Leaf player Dick Duff.

A top-notch 2,700-seat hockey rink will open in May as part of a new Ryerson athletic complex on the upper floors of the former building..

The facility at the corner of Carlton and Church streets will also host the university’s basketball and volleyball programs.

The new Ryerson facility is called the Peter Gilgan Athletic Centre at the Gardens. It’s named after the CEO of Mattamy Homes, who gave the university $15 million — one of the largest donations the school has ever received.

That donation spurred on other investments from Loblaw and the federal government. Ryerson students agreed to pay an extra $126 in annual athletics fees to help fund the project.

“This building has a tremendous history and what it needs now is a tremendous future,” said Sheldon Levy, Ryerson’s president.

“All Torontonians have fond memories of this place, and I know I certainly do because throughout the 20th century, the Gardens played host to the city’s great concerts, its great events and its great champions.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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