Hockey Canada owned a luxury condo in downtown Toronto for years
Hockey Canada owned a luxury condo in downtown Toronto between 2010 and 2017, Postmedia's John Kryk reported on Tuesday.
The two-bedroom condo was located across the street from Scotiabank Arena, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hockey Canada confirmed that it owned the property in Maple Leaf Square and sold it in 2017 after holding it for seven years.
Exclusive: Hockey Canada owned a luxury condo in downtown Toronto last decade, 2010-17, where out-of-town executives & directors et al stayed while in town. Confirmed by the not-for-profit organization. My story:#hockey @HockeyCanada #mapleleafsquare https://t.co/puILvgfjBk
— John Kryk (@JohnKryk) September 7, 2022
In a statement to Postmedia, the organization said that the condo was purchased to, "alleviate costs associated with staff and directors travelling to Toronto, including for the 2015 and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships."
The announcement that Toronto would co-host those tournaments, however, only came in 2013, three years after Hockey Canada bought the unit.
Karen Phibbs, the director of Hockey Canada between 2013 and 2015, admitted to Postmedia that she had no knowledge of the property. Bob Nicholson, now chairman of the Edmonton Oilers, was the director of Hockey Canada when the luxury condo was purchased in 2010.
Hockey Canada and its leadership have been under heavy pressure recently after the organization reached a settlement over an alleged sexual assault involving eight junior hockey players at an event celebrating the 2018 Canadian World Junior team in London, Ontario.
Weeks later, Halifax police opened an investigation into an alleged group sexual assault that took place in 2003 involving members of that year's world junior hockey team. A man who admitted seeing a video of the assault claimed to have recognized two of the players involved and reported their identities to the police.
There have been calls made for change in Hockey Canada's leadership following the disturbing revelations, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others in the federal government.
Hockey Canada made headlines once again over the weekend during Canada's gold medal win at the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championships. During an intermission interview with TSN's Tessa Bonhomme, Hockey Canada's interim chairman of the board Andrea Skinner expressed her support for CEO Scott Smith and her faith in the direction the organization is headed in, drawing backlash online and in the media. Despite repeated calls to resign from his position, the embattled Smith then made an appearance to hand out the gold medals to the victors after the game, causing major backlash of its own.
More from Yahoo Sports