A Toronto-area rink was slated for demolition this year, prompting the hockey community – including retired NHL star Eric Lindros – to speak out in defense of the historic arena. On Monday, hockey fans were the winners.
Hockey lovers and people in a Toronto community received a big win regarding the fate of a historic rink that's hosted movies, commercials and former NHLers when they were kids.
Weston Lions Arena, a beloved rink in Toronto's northwest end that was slated for demolition this year, made a last-minute turn for the better Monday. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) said the ice surface will be preserved and revitalized as it builds a multi-faceted community hub that will greatly serve area residents on and off the ice.
Monday's announcement preserves an iconic rink that's appeared in countless commercials and dramatic programs, including the movie Score: A Hockey Musical.
The arena's trademark blue-and-red wooden seats and large wooden trusses make it easily identifiable. Weston Lions Arena is even one of the contending rinks for this year's Kraft Hockeyville award, so Monday's news will no doubt bolster the push to get rink improvements in place as soon as possible.
The people who deserve a lot of credit for saving the Weston Lions Arena include Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros, who loudly spoke out about a rink where he coached his children and even grew up playing in himself. Former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes also played there growing up.
But for the most part, the people who spoke out were Canadians who decided this issue was important and made their voices heard in Toronto city council depositions, in petition comments, and on hockey message boards.
Eventually – because grassroots initiatives can work – their message eventually broke through.
MLSE, the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario collaborated to change plans and keep an ice pad in the new hub.
"(This is) another example of when you work together, folks, things get done," Ontario premier Doug Ford told the media on Monday.
Meanwhile, local city councillor Frances Nunziata – who initially was not seen as a fighter to keep the ice rink intact – said in a statement that "(a) revitalized Weston Lions Arena will feature a new ice pad and full sports-based program that will be built adjacent to the arena to serve the local community first, while protecting the arena's heritage features."
But let's give all of the parties credit – MLSE, the city and province have all clearly heard from Torontonians and hockey fans in general who spoke up to save Weston Lions arena from the wrecking ball.
THN.com covered the story in December, but this issue had been slowly but surely becoming more apparent to Weston community members for some time before then. And the message from the community was unmistakable – in a city that's supposed to be the mecca of hockey, tearing down a perfectly fine arena when they could renovate it just wasn't defensible.
That's not to say people weren't grateful that MLSE essentially took on the costs of the facility and initially wanted to convert it into a destination for other recreational and sports facilities. But the increasingly popular line of thought in and around Weston was that residents could have all those other sports facilities and keep the hockey rink.
And for MLSE – a company that has benefitted from owning the highest-valued hockey team in the world – to be seen as choosing other sports programs over hockey… well, let's just say it probably didn't sit well with anyone in charge of the image of the company.
MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley – who grew up only a short distance from Weston Lions Arena – made a statement of his own.
"As MLSE works in partnership with the province and the city to support both the Weston Lions Arena and the surrounding Weston community, the aim of this expanded partnership is to preserve the ice rink as a focal part of the arena, while supporting the revitalization of the facility and delivering life-changing programming to benefit the community," Pelley said.
In the end, nobody wanted to be on the side that would put the ice rink on the scrap heap.
Weston Lions Arena has been around since 1949, surviving an infamous flood in 1954 and emerging as a part of the community valued by hockey fans of all stripes. And because of a collaborative decision, the arena will be around long enough for its centennial anniversary, and future generations of Weston-area people will get to enjoy it for the foreseeable future.
In the fight to save Weston Lions, the people won. That's a tremendous victory for every hockey fan.
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