BioSteel Centre

BioSteel Centre
Location 30 British Columbia Road
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M6K 3C3
Coordinates 43°37′55″N 79°25′41″W / 43.63194°N 79.42806°W / 43.63194; -79.42806Coordinates: 43°37′55″N 79°25′41″W / 43.63194°N 79.42806°W / 43.63194; -79.42806
Owner City of Toronto
Operator Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Field size 68,000 sq ft
Construction
Opened February 10, 2016
Construction cost $30 million
Architect Guernsey Architects (lead architect)
Baldwin & Franklin (supporting architects)
General contractor EllisDon
Tenants
Toronto Raptors
Canada Basketball

The BioSteel Centre is a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened on February 10, 2016,[1] the facility is home to the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, and operated by the team's owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

The 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m2) facility boasts two full size basketball courts, locker rooms, training and medical facilities, player amenities, and a "technologically advanced cognitive operations centre" powered by IBM Watson, which consolidates and analyzes data from many sources and represented through the centre's interactive displays and on mobile devices.[1]

History

In November 2013, it was reported that MLSE had contracted an architect to design a new practice facility for the Raptors.[2] The team had trained on a practice court located in the ACC since its opening in 1999, and a new facility would allow this space to be repurposed into a restaurant or nightclub.[2][3] An agreement was reached with the City of Toronto to construct the facility at the city-owned Exhibition Place.[4] It will feature two courts, one of which will be open to the public,[5][6] and Canada Basketball will also use the facility.[6][7]

MLSE will pay the entire $30 million construction cost and lease the property from the city for $205,000 annually, subject to reassessments for inflation, for a 20-year term, with two options to extend it by a further 10 years, following which the city would take ownership of the building.[5][8] MLSE has requested that the city exempt the portion of the facility that is available to the public (32%) from city taxes.[5][8] Construction was scheduled to begin in November 2014,[5][6] with the facility completed in time for the team's hosting of the NBA All-Star Game in February 2016.[3][7][9]

The proposal was approved by the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place on August 14,[10] the Executive Committee of the City of Toronto on August 20,[11][12] and the Toronto City Council on August 25.[13][14][15]

In November 2015 it was announced that the facility would be named the BioSteel Centre, after corporate sponsor BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc..[16][17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Raptors Officially Open State-of-the-Art ‘BioSteel Centre’". NBA.com. NBA. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Muret, Don (November 11, 2013). "MLSE hires designer for practice facility; downtown targeted". Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Wolstat, Ryan (April 16, 2014). "Raptors close to making announcement on new practice court". Toronto Sun. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ Peat, Don (July 29, 2014). "Raptors in talks for Exhibition Place practice facility". Toronto Sun. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Appendix A" (PDF). City of Toronto. August 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Caton, Hilary (August 12, 2014). "New Raptors practice facility at Exhibition Place still not a slam-dunk". Inside Toronto. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "High performance basketball development and training centre" (PDF). Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Proposed Basketball Training Centre at Exhibition Place" (PDF). City of Toronto. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Toronto Raptors Practice Facility". ICON Venue Group. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ Warmington, Joe (August 15, 2014). "CNE is forced to change with the landscape". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ Church, Elizabeth (August 20, 2014). "Raptors’ Exhibition Place plan scores victory at Toronto city hall". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  12. ↑ Moloney, Paul (August 20, 2014). "Executive committee approves plan for Raptors training centre at Exhibition Place". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ Peat, Don (August 25, 2014). "Mayor Rob Ford rips Raptors facility approval". Toronto Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "New Raptors training centre approved by Toronto council". CBC News. August 25, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Proposed Basketball Training Centre at Exhibition Place". City of Toronto. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Raptors Welcome BioSteel As Official Partner". Toronto Raptors. 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  17. ↑ Campbell, Morgan (2015-11-12). "Toronto Raptors, BioSteel strike naming rights deal". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2015-11-13.

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