ford performance centre

Toronto now has a sports arena called the Ford Performance Centre

It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies training facility will now be repping the Ford name, but it's not the one you might think. 

No, the sports centre is not being named after the province's controversial Premier ⁠— instead it's getting its new name from a partnership with Ford Motor Company of Canada (phew). 

The training centre originally opened in September of 2009 as the Mastercard Centre for Hockey Excellence. 

Now called the Ford Performance Centre, it operates in partnership with MLSE, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Lakeshore Lions Club, the City of Toronto and the Toronto District School Board.

On top of being the main ice facility in the GTA for professional athletes, the Ford Performance Centre will also host the Ford Drills and Skills program, a youth hockey program that offers an on-ice training experience for 16 youth hockey teams as well as a chance to meet a Leafs personality and tickets to Leafs and Marlies games.

"It is very fitting to have a long-standing partner like Ford, with their demonstrated commitment to performance and excellence, featured in the name of this facility that is so important to the success of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and development within the community," said Jordan Vader, Vice President of Global Partnerships and Retail at MLSE, in a statement. 

"The youth coming through the Ford Performance Centre’s doors may one day be the next generation of hockey stars and we are thrilled to expand our partnership with Ford to allow them the opportunity to skate on the same ice as their Maple Leafs and Marlies heroes."

Lead photo by

Ford Performance Centre


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