Inside the Venue: Air Canada Centre
Location: Toronto
Opened: February 1999
Cost: $265 million
Seating Capacity: 19,800
Architect: Populous
The Ultimate Fighting Championship touches down at the Air Canada Centre with UFC 140 “Jones vs. Machida” on Saturday in Toronto. In the headliner, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will look to defend his 205-pound crown against former titleholder Lyoto Machida and, in the process, ice one of the more remarkable 12-month tears in recent memory. In 2011, the man they call “Bones” has ascended to the top of the light heavyweight division with one-sided victories over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Ryan Bader, 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jones finished all three of them, two by submission.
Owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the Air Canada Centre serves as the home venue for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. The 665,000-square-foot sports and entertainment complex rests near the CN Tower, the theatre district, a number of quality restaurants, 15 major hotels and two major transportation arteries. The Air Canada Centre features 1,020 club seats, 40 platinum lounges, 65 executive suits and 32 theatre suites, along with three restaurants -- the Air Canada Club, the Platinum Club and the Hot Stove Club -- and an in-house brewery. It boasts an $8-million high-definition scoreboard, which was installed in 2008.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Dec. 29), Jeff Dunham’s “Controlled Chaos” (Jan. 12), Jacky Cheung (Jan. 16), Simple Plan (Feb. 19) and Neil Diamond (June 26) will follow the UFC into the Air Canada Centre.
