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The MAC turns five

A building steeped in history gets new life as a student and community hub

IN 2012, Toronto’s historic Maple Leaf Gardens reopened as Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC). Now celebrating its fifth anniversary, the world-class athletics and recreation facility stands as one of the most ambitious legacies of Ryerson’s community engagement mandate.

The MAC has revitalized a building that is central to Toronto’s history. In its active years from 1931 to 1999, Maple Leaf Gardens was the official home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and held historic concerts with Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Beatles. After shutting its doors in 1999, the site lay inactive until a partnership between Ryerson University (funded by a student levy), the Government of Canada’s Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, Peter Gilgan (founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes), and the Loblaw Companies Ltd. (which opened a store on ground level).

The venue’s impact has been felt around the world. The more than 220,000-square-foot facility includes an NHL-sized ice rink, a multi-purpose court for basketball and volleyball, fitness centre, studio and high-performance gym for Ryerson teams and athletes. Ryerson athletes give back to the community with Rams Care, a youth mentorship program created in partnership with Toronto Community Housing, Nike Canada and the Jays Care Foundation.

Its facilities are used for intramural sports, student recreational club participation, varsity team practices and games, and community skates. Over the past five years, the MAC has been the venue for the 2015 CIS Men’s National Basketball Championships, the 2015 Pan Am Games, the 2017 CIS Women’s National Volleyball Championships and the 2017 Invictus Games. A $750,000 donation from Sportsnet created a state-of-the-art broadcast centre for RTA’s sport media program, and cutting-edge scholarships.

“This is a model site for the innovative repurposing of a heritage building, keeping its historical significance intact and maintaining its vital relationship to its community,” said Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam.

— Will Sloan

50

FEET ABOVE STREET LEVEL, MAKING IT THE HIGHEST-ELEVATED SKATING RINK IN TORONTO

2,300

THE NUMBER OF SEATS IN THE NHL-SIZED RINK

Students from the RTA School of Media work at the Sportsnet RTA Production Centre, creating TV broadcasts and colour commentary segments for varsity home games and hosted championships.