Aviva Centre

Aviva Centre

Former names	Rexall Centre (2004–2015)
Location	1 Shoreham Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Owner	Tennis Canada
Capacity	12,500 (Stadium Court[1]) 11,000 – 14,000 (concerts)
Field size	28,240 M²
Surface	Hard, Outdoors
Construction
Built	2004
Construction cost	USD $ 45 million
Architect	Robbie Young & Wright Architects Inc.
Project manager	O.P. McCarthy & Associates Inc.
Tenants
Rogers Cup (Men) (ATP 1000) (2004-present) Rogers Cup (Women) (WTA Premier 5) (2004-present) 2015 Pan American Games

Aviva Centre, formerly Rexall Centre, is a tennis stadium in Toronto, Ontario. The 12,500-capacity Stadium Court is the largest stadium at the tennis complex. Aviva Centre is the venue for Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, a professional tournament on the ATP World Tour and WTA circuits, held annually. The facility also is a year-round tennis training facility. The main stadium is occasionally used for seasonal concerts. Aviva Centre is located on the grounds of York University in North York, Toronto.

Description

Built in 2004, the main venue holds 12,500 spectators.^[2] There are 11 other small courts next to the stadium. All twelve courts use the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface, the same surface as the US Open Grand Slam event. The stadium has 39 executive suites and two party suites.^[3]

Aviva Centre is also the home of the Toronto offices of Tennis Canada and the Ontario Tennis Association. The grounds serve as the national and provincial tennis training centre year-round, offering 16 courts (eight of which are indoors). The stadium is also used for the staging of interuniversity competitions and practices and winter training. During the academic year, a discounted fee on indoor courts is offered to York students weekdays during daytime hours. Besides, the York University Convocation Ceremony holds every year in this stadium, too.

The facility is located on the western edge of the York University campus, south-east of Jane Street and Steeles Avenue West, at the intersection of Shoreham Drive, and Pond Road. To the west of the facility are forested park lands along the Black Creek. The Saywell Woods and Stong Pond are located to the south and east of the facility.

History

Aviva Centre exterior

The stadium was built to replace the National Tennis Centre, which was demolished in 2003. The facility opened on July 26, 2004. The first match at the stadium was an opening round match between Andre Agassi and Tommy Haas attended by 10,500.^[4]

In 2011, the stadium became the venue for the BlackCreek Summer Music Festival, a series of concerts of jazz, opera, popular and symphonic music.^[5]

In 2014, the venue was named as the host of the tennis events at the 2015 Pan American Games.^[6]

Mystery tunnel

In February 2015, Toronto Police Service announced the discovery of a "mystery" tunnel located a few metres from the facility, which later became viral.^[7][8] It was later revealed to be a "man cave." The two men in their mid-20s who excavated the cave had no criminal intent and are not affiliated with York University, Rexall Centre (as it was then called), or the Pan Am Games.^[9] The Toronto Sun identified one of the men as 22-year-old Elton McDonald. He faced an $800 fine instead of receiving a criminal record. McDonald's employer said that he borrowed and lost his tools used to dig the tunnel.^[10]

Access

The facility is located on Shoreham Road, which connects to Jane Street, just south of Steeles Avenue. There are an estimated 7,000 parking spaces in the vicinity.^[5] The 106 York University bus runs past the facility and connects to the Downsview subway station.

See also

• Venues of the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games
• List of tennis stadiums by capacity

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aviva Centre.

• Aviva Official Website
• Black Creek Summer Music Festival

Coordinates: 43°46′17.60″N 79°30′43.40″W / 43.7715556°N 79.5120556°W / 43.7715556; -79.5120556