Varsity Arena

Varsity Arena is an arena in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 275 Bloor Street West and is primarily home to the ice hockey teams of the University of Toronto, the Varsity Blues, though it also hosted the Toronto Toros of the WHA from 1973-74. It opened on December 17, 1926.

One of the first indoor arenas to be built without pillars in the seating area blocking the line of sight, Varsity Arena sat close to 4,800 in double wooden chairs at the time of its construction. It was designed by Professor T. R. Loudon along with architects Messers. Pearson and Darling and had an interior volume of 151595 cubic metres. Originally the floor under the ice surface consisted of iron pipes covered in sand.

The seating capacity was reduced to 4,116 by renovations in 1985-86, which expanded the ice sheet to professional standards and eliminated fire code violations that had been found in 1977. The current gross floor area is 6560.03 square metres (70611.57 sq ft).

It is also the home of the University of Toronto Intramural hockey league, which comprises (as of the Winter term of 2006) of forty-six men's and eight women's teams of varying skill levels (from recreational to near-varsity calibre) competing in six men's and two women's divisions.

The university also uses the arena to host examinations.

Varsity Arena

See also