Air Canada Centre

Lore & Background

The building was constructed in 1941 as the Toronto Postal Delivery Building and was temporarily used by the Department of National Defence during World War II. After the war, it was transferred to Canada Post in 1946 and functioned as the main postal terminal for Metropolitan Toronto until 1989. The building was sold to a consortium of developers but reverted to Canada Post ownership in 1993. The soon-to-be Toronto Raptors basketball team acquired the building in December 1994 to construct the new arena. The arena opened on February 19, 1999, at the cost of $288 million ($499 million as of 2022).

In Their Own Story

The lights dimmed over the ice as the crowd settled into their seats for opening night. The smell was different here—cleaner, sharper than the old Gardens—but the roar when the team skated out was familiar. A veteran fan in the lower bowl gripped his scarf, watching the puck drop for the face-off. In this new glass tower, surrounded by corporate banners and digital scoreboards, the same magic that played on Bay Street decades ago still flickered to life under the floodlights.

Reader's Guide

The arena is 61,780.5 square metres (665,000 square feet) in size. It is owned and operated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE). Scotiabank Arena is connected to Union Station's railway, subway and regional bus services and is connected to the Path.

Did You Know?

• In 2018, Scotiabank Arena was the 13th busiest arena in the world and the busiest in Canada.
• It is the most photographed location in Canada on Instagram according to BuzzFeed.
• The arena was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League.