Scotiabank Arena vs. Maple Leaf Gardens

[ACC1224]

You were lucky to have season tickets, you must live in Fort Erie or St. Catherines. I live in Hamilton and it usually took an hour to the border and 10 or 15 minutes to cross the border. Back then you didn't need a passport, all you had to do was show your tickets and they said "have a good time", unfortunately it's more of a hassle, but I still go.

Grew up in Thorold, home to Owen Nolan and Connor Timmins.
Played hockey and soccer with Timmins dad, Danny and his Grandfather coached us in soccer all the way up.

If you ever want Leaf tickets just send me a PM and we can work something out.

 

[leafs in five]

Is this sarcasm? I've been people post this here on a number of occasions.

it is not, I was unfamiliar with that reputation if it does exist. I have always thought the ice at MSG for one was much worse, at least based on how it looks on TV.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I once sat in the last row of Greys, right in the middle next to a guy working the camera. Amazing seats!

My mom's boss has the single Gold seat directly behind the low-angle camera at centre ice, and I got it a few times. Great seat, and I could often catch replays on his monitor.

 

[Gary Nylund]

it is not, I was unfamiliar with that reputation if it does exist. I have always thought the ice at MSG for one was much worse, at least based on how it looks on TV.

I have seen people say our ice is the worst a number of times. People love to complain though so I have no idea if it's true or not. Not sure how to determine which ice is "the worst" so maybe it's fair to say that ours is "among the worst".

 

[rumman]

I remeber that too, if you've ever been to the Aud in Buffalo you'd remember that they were very steep. We used to get the Orange section, which were the nose bleeds and they were so steep that when you stood up you felt like you could fall into the next row. You can't drink too much or you may fall.

I forgot about the Aud’s seating, great sight lines if I remember correctly, but I wasn’t even in my teens when I saw the one and only game there, not sure which section we were in…….

I saw three different Who 'final tour' concerts from the end Blues, but I didn't need to bring my own drugs - just inhaling second-hand smoke was enough.

I think I saw a Who final tour show at the CNE, they’re still doing final shows today, sadly without Moonie or the Ox…….

 

[rumman]

Anyone else have the pleasure of skating at Maple Leaf Gardens? I attended two Whipper Billy Watson charity skate there, pleanty of Leaf players were in attendance on ice. Man, I thought that was the coolest thing ever……..

 

[mobilus]

I used to rent Copps Coliseum once a year for a game of pick-up with friends. When the Leafs moved to the ACC, the Gardens could be rented out like any other rink, so we skipped Copps one year and paid a little more to have our pick-up game at the Gardens. What a sight at ice level. The building seemed so much smaller from the ice than being in the seats, because the stands were so steep. The ice pad felt like it were in a pit. The height of the roof seemed to be double what it felt like even from the golds.

I would have completely failed as an NHL player because if I were a Leaf during the Garden years, I would have spent half of each game just staring at the building. It was a magnificent cathedral.

 

[Fogelhund]

The Gardens had character and atmosphere, but in was also outdated, and decrepit. Scotiabank is a far better, more modern venue, and, better for revenues, better for washrooms, food, beer.. everything really.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

The Gardens had character and atmosphere, but in was also outdated, and decrepit. Scotiabank is a far better, more modern venue, and, better for revenues, better for washrooms, food, beer.. everything really.

This is pretty much it.

ACC/SBA is a generic, cookie-cutter type arena that is perfect for the corporate world we live in now.

The Gardens was run-down and severely outdated after its 65-year history, but it had a charm to it and it felt like hockey.

Too bad that charm and rusticness can't carry over and translate to the modern arenas being built these days.

 

[slozo]

Been to both, although I was still a shiftless young man in his mid 20s the last time I went, with my dad I remember, which would have been a year or two before it closed in '99.
I remember the beer was much cheaper but we still complained about the cost.
I remember a MUCH smellier and longer line to the mens urinals.
I remember it feeling more cramped, had a "fuller" look to it.

But honestly, I don't pin emotions or anything like that on buildings . . . it's the people inside it and how good or bad the team is that creates the atmosphere and excitement.

Can I choose to go back to Gardens prices and view the game at Scotiabank Arena?
If only.

 

[tuckerintensity]

The Gardens for sure. It wasn't an amazing place in terms of epic views or amenities, and it certainly has some horrible history, but it had atmosphere and nostalgia. The Hangar is so blah. Honestly, one of the most meh arenas I've been to. It has no character inside, it's just another building. You see what arenas are doing now (see Little Caesars) and you wonder if we just built too early, before there were some truly great new buildings to see what can really be done.

 

[WillyC]

If you’ve ever sat in the Blues at MLG… you’ll never experience a view like that anywhere.

Almost felt like you were hovering over the rink.

Not the most expensive seats… but some of the best, IMO.

 

[Suntouchable13]

The Gardens for sure. It wasn't an amazing place in terms of epic views or amenities, and it certainly has some horrible history, but it had atmosphere and nostalgia. The Hangar is so blah. Honestly, one of the most meh arenas I've been to. It has no character inside, it's just another building. You see what arenas are doing now (see Little Caesars) and you wonder if we just built too early, before there were some truly great new buildings to see what can really be done.

What’s with Toronto and bland arenas/stadia? The Skydome was the same story. Some beautiful ballparks were built right after it. Built too early.

 

[ACC1224]

If you’ve ever sat in the Blues at MLG… you’ll never experience a view like that anywhere.

Almost felt like you were hovering over the rink.

Not the most expensive seats… but some of the best, IMO.

My favourite seat. I was lucky enough to sit there for every Canada game played at MLG during the 1991 Canada Cup.
First time watching Lindros, what a monster he was.

 

[hoglund]

What’s with Toronto and bland arenas/stadia? The Skydome was the same story. Some beautiful ballparks were built right after it. Built too early.

All through the 80s every big city were building domes and it was popular then and when Vancouver got BC Place Toronto had to get a dome stadium.
Toronto was the last to build a dome and a couple of years later Baltimore and Cleveland built old fashioned baseball parks and that was the new favourite. Toronto should've played at exhibition stadium another year or two and they would've built a grass old fashioned stadium.

 

[freshwind]

if i recall correctly bitove was building the acc for the raptors, hockey and the leafs were secondary in all the original planning and cam on board after the initial plans were made

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Scotiabank has no soul

 

[therealkoho]

Was to the Gardens many many times, the first game Leafs beat the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the 62/63 SCF. Sadly it's the only SCF game I've ever attended.

I can count on two hands how many times I've been to SBA. I live up near Ottawa and attend a lot of Senators games, although I'm tailing off as I get older.

So I've been to
MLG/SBA
BAHSTIN GAHDIN
BWMA
FORUM
LANSDOWNE/CTC
Detroit Arena
Chicago Stadium
Igloo Pittsburgh
Pacific Coliseum

and that's about it

 

[ACC1224]

if i recall correctly bitove was building the acc for the raptors, hockey and the leafs were secondary in all the original planning and cam on board after the initial plans were made

They had already started building which is why there are some seats with a restricted view

 

[TheTotalPackage]

They had already started building which is why there are some seats with a restricted view

The ACC was also going to be just all grey seats for the Raptors. It wasn't until the Leafs bought the team that they changed the renditions to include the different coloured tiered seats, mostly resembling what it was like at the Gardens.

 

[tuckerintensity]

All through the 80s every big city were building domes and it was popular then and when Vancouver got BC Place Toronto had to get a dome stadium.
Toronto was the last to build a dome and a couple of years later Baltimore and Cleveland built old fashioned baseball parks and that was the new favourite. Toronto should've played at exhibition stadium another year or two and they would've built a grass old fashioned stadium.

Lots of covered stadiums have been built since then that are very nice and still feel like real ballparks (Houston, Seattle, Milwaukee, etc).

I don't know how many people had this kind of dome, either, this was something else and the first of it's kind (likely opened the door, or roof as it were, for the stadiums mentioned above).

Either way, the SkyDome is also a shithole that even with all the changes, still doesn't feel like a ballpark.

Was to the Gardens many many times, the first game Leafs beat the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the 62/63 SCF. Sadly it's the only SCF game I've ever attended.

I can count on two hands how many times I've been to SBA. I live up near Ottawa and attend a lot of Senators games, although I'm tailing off as I get older.

So I've been to
MLG/SBA
BAHSTIN GAHDIN
BWMA
FORUM
LANSDOWNE/CTC
Detroit Arena
Chicago Stadium
Igloo Pittsburgh
Pacific Coliseum

and that's about it

What was Chicago Stadium like? That always seemed like a cool building on television.

 

[ACC1224]

The ACC was also going to be just all grey seats for the Raptors. It wasn't until the Leafs bought the team that they changed the renditions to include the different coloured tiered seats, mostly resembling what it was like at the Gardens.

I still remember going on a tour, standing on the concrete where the ice would be, before it was complete and then sitting in a construction trailer and picking out our seats. It all seemed surreal, couldn't believe we were getting tickets.

We had to take Raptor tickets to get a pair together, which we had no interest in, so we took two single greens, two rows apart. We've moved twice since then and in our current seats since the lockout ended.

 

[Rare Jewel]

I've always found the ACC/SBP far too bright and clean-looking. The multi-coloured seating is also ugly.

One reason the Bell Centre has the ambiance that it does is because of how big and cavernous it is. The black/gold colour scheme of the TD garden seating is also a nice touch and doesn't immediately give you the feel of consumerism as the SBP does.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

I've always found the ACC/SBP far too bright and clean-looking.

It's weird, because the way the ACC/SBP translates on TV has always been horrible. The Gardens was the best lit arena I have ever seen, and it translated as such on TV. Don't know what filter they use, but since the first game until now 25 years later, the ACC/SBP looks like it is played in a snow globe. Always dark and tinted. Just awful.

Then you go to the arena, and as you say, it's super bright.

 

[Rare Jewel]

It's weird, because the way the ACC/SBP translates on TV has always been horrible. The Gardens was the best lit arena I have ever seen, and it translated as such on TV. Don't know what filter they use, but since the first game until now 25 years later, the ACC/SBP looks like it is played in a snow globe. Always dark and tinted. Just awful.

Then you go to the arena, and as you say, it's super bright.

Interesting. Yeah, on TV, I find the audio is actually more of an issue for me.

You can never tell if they're pumping arena noise in, which seems more the case with TSN games, or it sounding dull/muted on Sportsnet/HNIC games.

It's more of a gripe about TV production than the design of the arena, but it makes the experience from an inconsistent one.