Scotiabank Arena — Attraction in Toronto

Updated Review: With the latest updates, there are tons of construction and really long line-ups for merchandise that goes all the way between at least 2 gates. If going for merch, recommended to go through Gate 3 as the Ground Floor's store will go all the way and definitely over 30 minute wait time. Tim Hortons has since moved over to the Gate 1's west side and not in the usual spot anymore. They also removed the extra doors (at the old Tim Hortons spot which is now the merchandise store) so there's only a few set of Gate 1 doors to exit now. Lastly, there are lots of changes like non-gender specific bathrooms while the construction is still going on so there are long line ups. Also, check the fan booth if you forgot earplugs for concerts to protect your ears! Sound quality and seating is still consistent before.

Pre-Renovation Review: Great venue, expensive concessions of course, but great views! Scotiabank Arena, formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), hosts many conventions, sports (basketball and hockey), and music events in downtown Toronto. The venue is accessible via the PATH (indoor pedestrian walkway system) and the closest TTC and Transit station would be Union Station.

Entering the venue can be confusing, so make sure you check out which entrance you are at as the security may not allow you to enter at a different one. There are lots of staff dispersed around the venue to ensure you are not lost or in the wrong section. Do note though, most doors open once the event is over like the Tim Hortons doorway. There are three configurations of seating for attendees from Concert, Basketball, and Hockey Mode. Seats are arranged for the floor (concert mode), 100s, 200s, 300s, 500, and 600s. Once inside, there are staff equipped with flashlights to direct you to your seats if you need help at each section entrance. For floor access, there is a premium entrance that requires going downstairs for a pathway; additionally, some bands may choose to enter from this entrance as well.

Concessions are expensive and the cheapest options would be Pizza Pizza or Tim Hortons. Near the Union Station entrance, there is a Pizza Pizza that sells $7.50 per slice of classic slices and premium slices at $8.75. The Pizza Pizza over by the section entrance has speciality slices at $8.75 with different flavours as well. Some other units sell burgers and fries combos that around come up to $19.00 before tax. Tim Horton's increased their menu slightly by price as the Medium Iced Cappuccino to $3.75 when it's usually around $3.45 outside the venue. Do note, they are a cashless venue and prefer MasterCard.

Viewing-wise, there are decent seating arrangements and people in front will not block you when sitting down or standing up with the crowd. The venue has lots of washrooms in every direction of the stadium. It does get chilly since this venue is used interchangeably with hockey games with the ice rink.

For concerts, the sound quality is decent, and loud and can hear it outside of the stadium when you go to the washrooms or get food. Depending on the act, sometimes they put up displays to view video streaming footage from all angles. However, most of the time, they only keep three sides for seating and one side for the stage/performers. For sports games, they open up the seating for all four directions. There is a lot to do at the game and they do a lot of side games and free prizes during breaks. Never a...

Came here on Sunday, October 20th, 2024 for the Cyndi Lauper Farewell concert.

I haven't been here since 2016. They definitely upgraded and changed up the areas around the venue because there is so much more going on here. There's so many locations in the venue to order food from for the show and to get your merch.

This venue is more so for sporting events, but even having concerts here are a lot of fun too. I had nosebleed seats and I could perfectly see both Cyndi and Lu Kala when they were preforming. There's also 2 additional TV screens to look at if you are too far away. So I'm happy that this venue has this level of accessibility so that everyone can enjoy watching the show. The sound quality was great and the atmosphere in the concert itself for the most part was fantastic.

I am going to give this venue 4 stars instead of 5 for a few reasons:

1. Food prices are crazy here. Compared to the prices in the Echo Beach venue, this honestly feels like robbery. $11 for a bag of popcorn? I swear, not even Cineplex out of all places has prices this high.

2. While the main staff were mostly great and friendly (Had a nice pair of quick chats regarding the venue with 2 of the food / snack employees when no one was lined up), I did have a problem with this one employee who got slightly aggressive with me when I was walking towards my seat. Apparently I was walking the wrong way and needed to go a different route, which I did do in the end, but I just felt like that situation could have been handled slightly differently. I also feel like the venue could use additional signs for directions since it's very easy to get lost here (Especially if you have seats on the 2nd floor. I somehow ended up at a bar while I was trying to find my seat).

3. The security team seemed lost? They weren't mean or anything, but one of them asked me where I was headed when I was trying to leave the building (Because apparently, one of the main entrances / exits had to be closed for a security reason (Which was the main area that I originally entered from)). And when I told them that I was trying to get to Raptors Way (Which is the name of the main street that connects to the main entrance of this arena on the west side (Which I was on the west side of this arena when this situation happened by the way)), the security seemed to have no idea where I wanted to go? I understand that it's not the security's job to know the names and locations of every street in Toronto, but I feel like it would be beneficial for them to at least know the names of the few streets that are around the location that they are working at. This would help for any lost customers / concert goers who are new to the location and need to know where to go in order to leave the building appropriately.

While there were some issues I faced here and this location is not perfect, the concert honestly made up for it. I had a fun time and I think when the right time comes, I'll come back here again for...

Paid $800 for two tickets to see Iron Maiden here tonight and the entire experience from the second we walked through the security gates was a joke. Two of our friends we were with got kicked out of the venue because one of them had two biosteel vitamin waters in his bag. After the security guards told them they couldnt bring it in, he and my other friend drank them at the gate then tried to enter. These power tripping security guards then said they were kicked out for being rude to them when they didnt say anything rude and followed every instruction, finished their vitamin waters before entering and were denied entry because this black guy and indian lady security guard were on a power trip and didn’t want to let my friends in over nothing. The cops standing by that we explained the situation to also did nothing. These security guards and cops at this situation are cowards and have zero common sense for what they did. I have video of these power tripping security guards and complaints are being filed and hopefully they will be out of a job for ruining someones night over a vitamin water that they drank before they entered and followed every instruction. This is a joke the way the staff at scotia bank arena acting. On top of that the opener for the concert cancelled, Iron Maiden played an hour and a half horrendous gig and ended up paying $800 plus the $400 my friends lost out on because of these power tripping security guards to only hear 4 decent songs which sounded horrendous because it was the worst sound engineering I’ve heard anywhere. A complete money grab waste of money. Anything you go to at this venue is a scam and a ripoff. Save your money, don’t risk the chance of losing out on hundreds of dollars of your hard earned money buying tickets to this joke of a venue to have some power tripping security guard ruin your night because you brought a water...