World City Guide

Sport

Toronto is first and foremost an ice hockey town, so it comes as no surprise that the Hockey Hall of Fame, BCE Place, 30 Yonge Street (tel: (416) 360 7765; website: www.hhof.com), is located here. The city lives and dies according to the success and failure of the Toronto Maple Leafs (tel: (416) 703 5323; website: www.mapleleafs.com), one of the NHL’s most historic franchises. The Leafs play at the Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay Street (tel: (416) 815 5500; website: www.theaircanadacentre.com), as do the Toronto Raptors (tel: (416) 366 3865; website: www.raptors.com), the city’s professional basketball team. The Toronto Blue Jays (tel: (416) 341 1234; website: www.bluejays.com) is the city’s professional baseball team, competing in the same American League division as teams like the New York Yankees. The team plays at the SkyDome, 1 Blue Jays Way (tel: (416) 341 3663; website: www.skydome.com), the world’s first retractable-dome stadium – considered a marvel of beauty and engineering when it was built but slowly gaining the status of a dysfunctional eyesore. During the July to November Canadian Football League season, the Toronto Argonauts (tel: (416) 489 2746; website: www.argonauts.ca) also plays at the SkyDome.

Tickets for single games for any of the above teams are best purchased from Ticketmaster Canada’s sportsline (tel: (416) 872 5000; website: www.ticketmaster.ca).

Canadians are a sports-loving people. In summer months, Torontonians can be found outdoors – jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, playing any number of team sports or having a game of tennis. In winter months, the public tennis courts are iced over and become outdoor community rinks, where anyone (who can skate) is welcome to play in one of the impromptu games of ice hockey. The City of Toronto Fun Guide (website: www.toronto.ca/parks/torontofun.htm), available at any recreation centre, details the activity options available around town.

Fitness centres: The YMCA, 20 Grosvenor Street (tel: (416) 975 9622; website: www.ymcatoronto.org), is a very large, modern venue situated in the heart of the city centre, offering facilities such as a sauna, whirlpool, pool, squash courts and a weight room for C$15 per day.

Golf: Although the season is defined by an icy winter, golf is an immensely popular sport in the city and there are over a hundred courses in the greater Toronto region. Within the city, visitors can play at the Don Valley Golf Course, intersection of Yonge Street and William Carsen Crescent (tel: (416) 392 2465; website: www.toronto.ca/parks/recreation_facilities/golfing/donvalley.htm) for C$50–55 for 18 holes. A short distance northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Brampton, Lionhead Golf and Country Club, 8525 Mississauga Road, Brampton (tel: (905) 455 8400; fax: (905) 455 5815; e-mail: info@golflionhead.com; website: www.golflionhead.com), is a public course offering two 18-hole courses – its ‘Legends’ course is considered the most difficult in the country. The price of play is C$125–160, or C$75 after 1700. Most central is City Core Golf, 2 Spadina Avenue (tel: (416) 640 9888; website: www.golfcitycore.com), a driving range and green that is only a short putt away from the SkyDome. Play costs C$24 per hour.

Skating: With ice hockey as the national sport, it is not surprising to find many Torontonians enjoying a leisurely skate during the winter. Next to Toronto City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square is iced over when the temperature drops. There is also a rink in the fashionable Hazleton Lanes shopping mall in Yorkville. Information on the city’s ice rinks is available (tel: (416) 338 7465).

Swimming: During the summer, Toronto’s beaches attract large crowds to walk, rollerblade and cycle along the meandering boardwalk or frolic in the blue waters of Lake Ontario. Outdoor swimming pools are also popular. Gus Ryder Sunnyside Pool, Budapest Park, 1755 Lakeshore Boulevard West (tel: (416) 392 6696), and the Riverdale Outdoor Pool, Riverdale Park, 550 Broadview Avenue (tel: (416) 392 0751), are two such options and both offer free entrance. Indoor swimming can be found at the YMCA (see above). Information on the city’s pools is available (tel: (416) 338 7665).

Tennis: Tennis courts in the downtown area are open to the general public until 1700, after which time various clubs take over. Tennis courts are located in Lytton Park and Otter Creek Park, on Cheritan Avenue.