When Carmichael continued to hold out, discussions began over Eaton-owned property at Carlton and Church, a site Smythe preferred due to its direct access to streetcar service. Charles Carmichael demanded $75,000 for his property at 60 Wood Street, even though its value was closer to $10,000.

Eaton’s owned land along Church Street between Alexander and Wood streets, but there was one holdout lot within the land parcel. The department store opened its College Street location (now College Park) that year and was open to drawing more customers from a nearby arena, even if its clientele might not be the type of people they hoped to attract to their frou-frou new store.

Smythe and Maple Leafs director Ed Bickle negotiated with Eaton’s throughout 1930. John David Eaton and Lady Flora Eaton at opening of Eaton’s College Street store, October 1930. Smythe admitted the Spadina plan mystified him, but it provided the motivation to prod the team’s directors to speed up the site finding process. The same site was part of an arena proposal made by a set of unrelated financial investors was announced in early 1931, which was opposed by nearby residents spearheaded by future Toronto mayor Nathan Phillips and a pair of local clergymen. The company then looked at land that had belonged to Knox College on Spadina Crescent north of College Street, but faced opposition from nearby businesses. The first site considered was at Yonge and Fleet (present-day Lake Shore Boulevard) on property owned by the Toronto Harbour Commission. We need at least twelve thousand seats, everything new and clean, a place that people can be proud to take their wives or girlfriends to.”īy early 1931, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited was established to raise funds for a new building. We need a place where people can go in evening clothes, if they want to come there from a party or dinner. As he told the Star’s Greg Clark, “As a place to go all dressed up, we don’t compete with the comfort of theatres and other places where people can spend their money. He also felt the arena’s drawbacks prevented a higher-quality clientele from attending games. Larger arenas in Chicago, Detroit, and New York allowed those teams to offer higher salaries to top players, which made Smythe fear that Toronto’s limited financial resources would leave the team uncompetitive. By the late 1920s, its small capacity (eight thousand seats) and lack of amenities like reliable heating led Smythe, the Maple Leafs’ general manager and part-owner, to push for a new facility at any opportunity. City of Toronto Archives, Globe and Mail fonds, Fonds 1266, Item 132809.įrom the dawn of the National Hockey League in 1917, its Toronto franchises had called the Arena Gardens on Mutual Street home. Day was on the Leafs roster when the Gardens opened. Hap Day and Conn Smythe, likely celebrating the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup victory, April 16, 1949.

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