Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is leading millions of dollars in upgrades to Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, with an emphasis on improving the fan experience.
Home to the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs–and also used for a variety of other events–Scotiabank Arena is receiving several improvements. A premium area named the Chairman’s Suite is receiving renovations, while additional entrances are being added for premium guests.
Those are not the only changes taking shape at the facility. A new pedestrian bridge is being constructed to ease the flow of pedestrian foot traffic, and to allow daily access to areas within Scotiabank Arena that are currently just open when an event is taking place. In addition, a new video screen is being installed in Jurrasic Park–the popular gathering space outside the arena that saw plenty of activity during the Raptors’ recent championship run. More from the Toronto Star:
A pedestrian bridge is being built over Bay Street from CIBC Square, currently under construction. It will connect with a new second floor to the galleria on the north side of the arena, as well as the city’s underground Path network.
The bridge should help ease the post-game flow of fans, some of whom dodge traffic to get to the other side on their way to a transit hub located to the east. Via the galleria, it will also allow daily access to the arena’s Hot Stove Lounge and other special dining areas now just open during events.
The galleria improvements should be completed in the next 12 months, part of a larger plan that will take four to five years. The goal is to make the changes with the least amount of interruption to the facility.
On the west side of the arena, a new video board is going up at Jurassic Park. The new screen is 40 per cent bigger, measuring 10.7 by 18.6 metres compared to the 9.1-by-15.5 old one.
Scotiabank Arena originally opened in 1999. It had been known as Air Canada Centre up until last summer, when a new naming-rights agreement with Scotiabank went into effect.
