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Sport Toronto is first and foremost an ice hockey town, so it is no surprise that the Hockey Hall of Fame (website: www.hhof.com) is located here. The city lives and dies according to the success and failure of the Toronto Maple Leafs (website: www.torontomapleleafs.com), one of the NHL’s most historic franchises. The Leafs play at the brand-new Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay Street (tel: (416) 815 5500; website: www.theaircanadacentre.com), as do the Toronto Raptors (website: www.raptors.com), the city’s professional basketball team. Basketball is relatively new to Toronto but its popularity is growing with each passing season. The Toronto Blue Jays (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 1234; 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 (website: www.argonauts.ca) also play the SkyDome. Canadians are a sports-loving people. In summer months, residents 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. Fitness centres: The YMCA, 20 Grosvenor Street (tel: (416) 975 9622), is a very large, modern facility in the heart of the city centre offering facilities like a sauna, whirlpool, pool, squash courts and a weight room. Golf: Although the season is defined by an icy winter, golf is an immensely popular sport in Toronto and there are over a hundred courses within a half-hour drive of Downtown. Within the city, visitors can play at the Don Valley Golf Course (tel: (416) 392 2465; website: www.city.toronto.on.ca/parks/recreation_facilities/golfing/donvalley.htm; C$45-49 for 18 holes). A short distance northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Brampton, Lionhead Golf and Country Club (tel: (905) 455 8400; website: www.golflionhead.com; C$150-160, half that price in the evening) offers two 18-hole courses – its ‘Legends’ course is considered the most difficult in the country. Horseriding: Visitors to the 24-hectare (59-acre) Sunnybrook Park, north of the city centre, will find the Central Don Riding Academy (tel: (416) 444 4044), the largest in the city, offering trail rides and lessons. 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. Swimming: Toronto’s beaches attract large crowds during the summer to walk, rollerblade and cycle along the meandering boardwalk, or frolic in the blue waters of Lake Ontario. Outdoor swimming pools are often popular, such as Gus Ryder Sunnyside Pool, Budapest Park, 1755 Lakeshore Boulevard West (tel: (416) 392 6696), and at Riverdale Park, 550 Broadview Avenue (tel: (416) 392 0751). In winter, indoor swimming can be found at the YMCA (see above). |
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