Local ice hockey league forced to find new home to make way for MLSE LaunchPad

Concerns raised as council votes to push ahead the knocking down of the Weston Lions Arena for the MLSE Launchpad. Sean Leathong reports.

Weston Lions Arena has been a second home for Lesley Bannard, and the president of the Weston Minor Hockey Association will be forced to leave after this year.

“This is our home. We can’t be happy to be leaving our home of more than 70 years,” she said.

The arena was built in 1949. Walking inside is like entering a time capsule.

The front lobby is tight with a classic snack bar to the right. Walking towards the ice, there are three ticket windows from a time when Junior hockey was played there. The stands on either side are from a bygone era where fans seemed to be on top of the action.

The ice surface is complete with old boards and short glass along the sides that have been well taken care of. Then there is the ceiling — wooden beams concave across the top that make it obvious where the term ‘barn’ came from.

Bannard says, “If we’re unable to get the block of ice we need to effectively run a host league, how do I run a host league?

Working in her office inside the arena’s front lobby, across from the snack bar, Bannard has the task of finding new ice for the Weston house league for next season.

Toronto City Council voted 23-2 on Wednesday in favour of entering an agreement with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) Foundation to create a LaunchPad, which will provide free community programs for kids and adults. MLSE is expected to remove the ice surface.

“I see it from both sides, and I always have,” Bannard said.

“I think what MLSE Foundation does is amazing. I think what they’re bringing this to this community is going to be amazing. And it’s something that my child eventually will be able to take part in ... But at the same time, it’s history. It’s my life that has been in this building. We are blindsided by the initial thing that there would be no ice. That was really, really hard to take.”

Bannard has nearly as much history here as the arena itself. She played here as a child, coming back to coach, and now running the league. Also, Bannard was married at centre ice.

The arena has been featured in movies like “Score: A Hockey Musical.” It has also been used in a commercial for Tim Horton’s, depicting a young Wayne Gretzky.

Bannard says the Weston Lions Club has been served with a notice of termination of their lease, and the Weston Minor Hockey Association must apply to the city to find ice time elsewhere.

At City Hall on Thursday, Ward 2 councillor Stephen Hollyday said council has acted too quickly in deciding to hand the arena over to MLSE.

“The city closed down a long-standing arena after 75 years. They didn’t go after a planning process to determine whether or not they needed the ice. They just jumped at the financial opportunity,” he said

The area’s councillor, Frances Nunziata, said in a statement that the MLSE LaunchPad, which is a “multi-sport indoor gym-based program” for people 6 years old to 29 years old, will provide a much-needed space for the community.

“Our youth are confronted with the lack of safe spaces, violence in their community and limited opportunities to make better choices with their time,” Nunziata said.

“I am convinced that having Launchpad in Weston will become a safe, positive space for our youth to develop, grow and acquire life and employment skills.”

At city council on Wednesday, Nunziata said that her ward has more arenas than any other, but no community spaces like the LaunchPad would provide. She also said the Weston Lions Club was in support of the project.

Nunziata added, “The Weston Lions commented on the motion that they were very much in support of MLSE LaunchPad coming to the arena, and they thought this was an amazing idea, and they embraced the idea.”

The chair of the Weston Lions Club, Sandy Ross, said in a statement that while they are thrilled that they will house the LaunchPad, “we’re sad to lose our beloved arena and home to our major fundraising activity, the Weston Lions Arena Snack Bar.”

The snack bar inside Weston Lions Arena is known for its French Fries.

All of the employees are volunteers. Money raised through sales is donated to a local food bank and used to help kids in need pay for hockey.

“Councillor Nunziata said (Wednesday), as a single mom, she never got to put her kids through hockey. Well, here at Weston, we don’t turn anybody away,” Bannard said.

There are currently 120 children playing in the Weston Minor Hockey League. It is the largest number of players they have every had.

Almost half of the players are enrolled in the small fries program – named after the French fries at the snack bar – for young kids learning to play hockey. The small fries program will help kids in need with free equipment and registration fees.

As of now, Bannard says they have received some ice times at nearby arenas, but not nearly enough. She says they are looking for 10 hours on weekends in order to run a proper house league.

“My fear is that we are going to have to fold into another league,” she said.

Bannard hopes to have ice times at arenas along the same bus route as the Weston Lions Arena because some of their players take the bus to games. She added that some players even walk if the weather is nice.

CTV Toronto contacted MLSE for this story, but they declined to comment.

The Weston Lions Arena project will next move into community consultation, with a design to come later. The arena is expected to shut down as of March 31st, 2026.