Emma Woods might be new to the Toronto Sceptres, but she has a leg up on all her teammates when it comes to experience in their new home rink.
The Sceptres are moving into the 8,140-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum for the full 2024-25 season after playing three games there in the playoffs last year.
So, it won’t be new to all the Sceptres, but Woods will have them all beat on familiarity.
Woods and her twin brother Calvin were spent two seasons with the Marlies between 2020 and 2022, filling water bottles and doing odd jobs just to be around the game a little more.
She’s very familiar with the Sceptres’ new home to the point that she might even be sharing a few tips with her new teammates come Saturday’s 2 p.m. season opener against Boston.
“I don’t know if I have any real secrets to tell them,” she said. “Maybe a few shortcuts here and there, but maybe that will be a discussion for the locker room.”
As for her memories of that time at Coca-Cola Coliseum, Woods played down her role.
“It was either me or my brother would just sub in and help with the equipment staff,” she said. “I wasn’t doing much. Filling some water bottles, folding some towels, but I was part of the team and definitely got to know the building.
“I think it has some good character,” Woods said “It’s not just a brand new build that kind of lacks that. It has the history and some character and the biggest thing for us is getting more people in the stands, have more seats and obviously we accomplished that moving to Coca-Cola. There will be good energy I’m sure.”
Here’s a little of what fans can expect:
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGE IN THE MOVE?
The obvious answer is seating capacity. The Sceptres go from the Mattamy Athletic Centre, which seats about 2600, to more than triple that at 8,140 seats. And just like at Mattamy all available season tickets have been sold for the season. Some single-game tickets are available.
WHAT ARE THE PLAYERS MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
Again, it starts with the extra bodies in the building, but it’s more than that.
“Honestly, the Jumbotron, the lights, the sound system,” defender Renata Fast said. “Not only is it the bigger capacity, and we love that part, but I think it’s just everything around the in-game entertainment. They get the crowd going more and just for us it just feels more professional being in that full bowl, like Coca-Cola has.”
“I think the biggest thing is the noise and the energy,” goaltender Carly Jackson said. “We get to multiply that by three. We felt it at Mattamy and it’s awesome playing in front of your home crowd. I think that brings a team so much energy and to have a crowd behind you the way ours is, is a huge advantage. Now to triple that in a game is just going to fuel us that much more.”
WHAT ABOUT BEHIND THE CURTAIN?
Toronto will take over the visiting locker room for the AHL Marlies. The Scepters’ opponents will have a locker room at the end of the rink adjacent to the Zamboni entrance.
The Sceptres actually have more space at the Coliseum than they had at Mattamy.
“We just have more space to do our video and places to roam and do our workouts,” Jackson said. “But it’s definitely cool to be on a bigger stage.”
HOW ABOUT THE AMENITIES FOR FANS?
With just two concession stands at Mattamy, grabbing some between-periods refreshments could be challenging. There are both fixed and temporary locations throughout the building at Coca-Cola Coliseum, which should cut down on the lines. In addition to that time-saver, just getting into the building is easier. The old rink was located on the third floor of Mattamy, which meant stairs and/or escalators to deal with. Not the case at Coca-Cola Coliseum, where you walk in at ice level.
And while no one has been able to confirm just how many merchandise areas will be available at Coca-Cola Coliseum where fans can purchase the new Sceptres gear, it has to be better than the two tables they had at Mattamy.
HOW MANY HOME GAMES THIS SEASON?
For the regular season the Sceptres will play 13 games at their new rink. The remaining two home games will be played at Rogers Arena in Vancouver (vs. Montreal on Jan. 8) and at Rogers Place in Edmonton (vs. New York on Jan. 25).
WHAT IS THE DOWNSIDE OF THE MOVE?
Not that the Sceptres were the only users of Mattamy but at Coca-Cola they will share the home dates with the Marlies. The bulk of two months, more than half the month of November and all of January are unavailable to either team. For the first part of November the arena is used for the Royal Winter Fair, while all of January sees the Toronto International Boat Show move into the arena where the skating surface becomes a man-made lake for the month.
Training camp this year occurred in November and was easily handled at the team’s practice facility Ford Performance Centre. But no access to the home rink in January means an extended road trip with the last home game on Dec. 31 and then not returning to Coca-Cola until Feb. 1.
In between they will play seven games, starting in Vancouver on Jan. 8. They then head back east to New York to take on the Sirens on Jan. 12, travel northeast to Ottawa for a game on Jan. 14 and head southeast to Boston on Jan. 22. It’s about here the travel gets really tough with a game in Edmonton three days later vs. New York and then three days after that all the way back east to Minnesota before finishing up the marathon journey two days later in Montreal.
ANOTHER ADVANTAGE
Proximity to Coca-Cola Coliseum could be huge for the Sceptres in terms of saving time. While none of the women on the team lived anywhere near Mattamy last season, the bulk of the team lives just across the tracks from Coca-Cola Coliseum in Liberty Village.
Fast says she’s going to actually miss the commute to Mattamy.
“I think just knowing it was old Maple Leaf Gardens and as much as the commute was hard sometimes, I liked taking the streetcar and the subway and getting up into the centre of the city,” Fast said. “Just knowing how that building came to be was pretty special, so I think I’m going to miss that. I actually enjoyed that commute, like being a Torontonian and travelling to the game. I had a good routine. It was fun, but now we can walk which is even cooler.”
WHAT ABOUT GETTING THERE?
The Coliseum has more than 5,000 parking spots ranging in price from $12-$15. But the easiest and cheapest way is to take the GO train and get off at Exhibition station ahead of the five-minute walk to the arena.
WHAT DOES A MOVE OF THIS MAGNITUDE SIGNIFY?
We’ll let Jackson, who is much smarter than we are, handle this one.
“I think for us it’s just knowing that we are growing,” Jackson said. “I think there’s power behind that, right? You can feel it but to have the proof now that we’re selling out games in a triple-sized barn. I think that is huge too.”