Opened 8 September 2009 Province Ontario | Phone +1 416-251-5219 | |
Address 400 Kipling Ave, Etobicoke, ON M8V 3L1, Canada Similar MasterCard Centre, Centennial Park Stadium, Colonel Samuel Smith Park, Carnegie Centennial Centre, Ricoh Coliseum | ||
The Lakeshore Lions Arena (Lakeshore Lions Memorial Centre) was a hockey facility run in Toronto's Long Branch neighbourhood in Etobicoke by the Lakeshore Lions Club. It is the former practice facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL hockey team, and the Toronto Marlies AHL farm team.
The old arena was a two storey rink built in 1951 at 300 Birmingham Street. In 2010, it was repurposed as the Humber College Arts and Media Studio.
The Lions opened a new facility, called the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, to replace the old arena in fall 2009, located northeast of the original rink, at 400 Kipling Avenue. The club spent three years on negotiations, and $250,000 on planning.
Brian Hoskins, vice-chairman of the arena board told the Humber EtCetera, "This is a sports facility operated by a not-for-profit service club. All the profits go back to the community. We have to have professional tenants to make it work. Our primary time is occupied here by youth hockey. The Leafs are here from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. when we don't have a lot of use of it. That is why it is such a good marriage for us."