25 years ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs played their final game in the building named for them
Fans started gathering hours ahead to pay homage or find a ticket
It was truly the end of an era when the Toronto Maple Leafs left the arena that bore their name.
On Feb. 13, 1999, the NHL hockey team took on the Chicago Blackhawks in the building that had been their home since 1931.
And the team faithful weren't letting the event pass without a grand sendoff.
"This is a gift from heaven, to be able to come here today," said a fan who had travelled to Toronto from, in the words of reporter Norman Hermant, "the East."
Others came in from Vancouver, Chicago and Edmonton.
Despite being told there were no tickets available for the game, throngs of people waited outside the building hoping for a miracle.
'Need one. Help me out'
Some fans were still holding out hope at game time, but even the worst seats inside the Gardens had gone for $600 (more than $1,000 in 2023 dollars).
"The game is almost a sideline tonight, because of course it's a celebration of the Garden as much as a celebration of the game," said a spectator.
Good thing, too, because the Leafs lost that night by a score of 6-2.
After the game, thousands of people congregated on the street outside the arena and riot police turned out to push them away from the building.
"Go Leafs go!" chanted the crowd, which, Hermant said, was "reluctant to go home on the last night of the Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens."
Hockey is still played in the building today in an athletic centre owned and operated by Toronto Metropolitan University. The lower part of the building is also a Loblaws grocery store.
Bigger and better
The next day, Hermant visited the new home of the Leafs, which was also home to the Toronto Raptors basketball team. It was known by a different name at the time.
"The Air Canada Centre is trying to replace a national institution," said Hermant. "It has more seats, more concessions, more corporate boxes than Maple Leaf Gardens."
Even so, one young visitor wasn't impressed.
"It's bigger, but I like the Gardens better," said a boy in a Leafs jersey.
Nostalgia wasn't enough to maintain a modern NHL franchise, and that was why the Leafs moved to a modern building. They were the last in the league to do so, according to Hermant.
"You have to move on," said another fan. "Every team does it."
"In today's game plan, bigger arenas mean bigger profits," summed up Hermant.
In 2018, the new arena where the Leafs play was renamed Scotiabank Arena. The bank bought the naming rights in a deal that cost $800 million and was planned to last 20 years.
