[18] To help fill dates at the new arena, Smythe acquired an expansion franchise in the professional International Lacrosse League on behalf of MLGL for the 1932 season,[19][20] which was also given the name the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[54][55] Prior to the 1976–77 season the Maple Leafs decided to share an affiliate with the Chicago Black Hawks in an attempt to reduce costs,[56][57] and pulled out of the Blazers.

[59][60] In 1981 the Cincinnati Tigers of the old Central Hockey League were established under the ownership of MLGL,[59][60][65][69] but the team averaged only 1,500 fans and lost $750,000 in their first season and folded the following spring.

[9][76] In October 1988, with the team losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, MLGL reached an agreement to sell the Marlboros for a reported $500,000, severing their ties with the Maple Leafs.

[96] While the Giants' relocation was ultimately rejected by a U.S. court,[97] Labatt was awarded an expansion team in the American League that became the Toronto Blue Jays for US$7 million later that year.

[104][105] In the early 1970s MLGL announced plans to apply for a second Toronto-based Canadian Football League team, in addition to the Toronto Argonauts, which would play at Varsity Stadium, but the proposal never went anywhere.

[76][114][115][116][117] During his tenure as owner of the Tiger-Cats, Ballard repeatedly threatened to move the franchise to Toronto's Varsity Stadium,[118] which was vetoed by the Argos,[119] and claimed to have lost roughly $20 million over 11 seasons.

[123][124][125] Richman had a tentative agreement to purchase both the Miami Floridians and Pittsburgh Condors of the ABA with a plan to merge them into a single Toronto-based team, but the deal fell through.

[123] MLGL attempted to purchase and relocate the Buffalo Braves, which had played a number of regular season games at MLG over the years, to Toronto in 1974 for $8.5 million,[126][127] and again several times later,[123][128][129][130] but the owners eventually chose to move the team to San Diego.

[146] The team had been suspended following their inaugural season playing at MLG during which the club lost nearly $1 million and the league was forced to take over operations after only three games when ownership pulled out.

Following the inaugural season of the Hamilton, Ontario-based Ontario Raiders of the National Lacrosse League in 1998, in which they lost $250,000 playing at Copps Coliseum, owner Chris Fritz was forced to look for partners.

[181] MLSE announced in April 2005 that they would be working with Cadillac Fairview (a wholly owned subsidiary of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) and Lanterra Developments to build Maple Leaf Square, a major entertainment complex situated next to the ACC.

[208] In 2013 MLSE minority owner Tanenbaum and board member Edward Rogers III partnered with musician Jon Bon Jovi to purchase an NFL team.

Following the death of Bills' owner Ralph Wilson in 2014 the group submitted an offer to purchase the franchise, with speculation that they would move the team to Toronto when their lease permitted it, but were outbid by the Pegulas.

[2][219] According to the National Post, the sale, which came less than a month after the team won the 2017 Grey Cup, "is expected to help the Argos, given MLSE's financial scale and promotional, ticketing and operational advantages.

[232] The team began play in 2015 at a newly renovated 2,000 seat stadium, with plans to expand it to 5,000 by 2017, constructed at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.

[156][263] The acquisition of MLSE by Rogers and Bell in 2012, and associated agreements to divide the company's regional broadcast rights between the two, eliminated the need for the channel[264] and its license expired after the three-year deadline for launch passed in 2013.

[156] The company also considered investing in an English soccer club,[156][277] and in May 2012, after the Leeds United Supporters Trust put out a request for a takeover from majority shareholder Ken Bates, it was reported that MLSE were in talks to buy the Football League Championship team.

[288] Under a two phase process, the stadium's capacity was increased from 21,566 to 30,000 by May 2015, and a canopy roof covering most permanent seating areas was added and the pitch lengthened to accommodate a Canadian football field by May 2016.

[316] In February 2015, MLSE confirmed that they were planning on launching a professional boxing series, featuring 3-4 major fights a year co-promoted with Groupe Yvon Michel.

[317] Originally planned to start with a World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight title fight in April at Ricoh Coliseum, this was delayed due to regulatory restrictions on the amount of gauze that can be used for wrist wraps in Ontario.

[328] Although Conn Smythe was the face of MLGL from its founding in 1931, he did not acquire majority ownership of the company until 1947, following a power struggle between directors who supported him as president and those who wanted him replaced with Frank J. Selke.

He found Ali's refusal to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War to be offensive,[8]: 232  and said that by accepting the fight, MLGL owners had "put cash ahead of class.

[338] Following a Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid at MLG in 1968, Stafford was charged with income tax evasion, and he and Ballard were accused of illegally taking money from MLGL to pay for home renovations and other personal expenses.

[14][65] When Harold transferred ownership of his personal real estate holdings, which were valued at $2.52 million, to HEBL in January 1989, he acquired 4 newly issued common shares in the company plus a promise of a further $896,472 rather than cash.

[344] Though Ballard ran up significant amounts of personal debt during his ownership of MLGL, he made the company very profitable, so much so that MLG became known as the "Cashbox on Carlton Street", referring to the address of the arena.

[352] Due to restrictions against cross-ownership in the NHL, the company set up a trust to hold their stake,[352][353][357] and the league instructed them to sell the shares within an "adequate amount of time.

[334][362] The purchase was the subject of an Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) review, due to allegations that MLGV had engaged in insider trading by failing to disclose that broadcast revenue was expected to substantially increase,[282][339][362][373][374][375][376] and a $50 million lawsuit from Bill Ballard, who claimed that Stavro and others devalued MLGL and withheld information relevant to the value of the company prior to the sale of his stock.

[282][363][377] This left Teachers' as the controlling majority owners of MLSE with 58.4%, and minority partners Bell Globemedia (15.4%), TD Capital with (13.5%) and Tanenbaum, who took over as non-executive chairman, with 13%.

The Competition Bureau announced in May 2012 that it would not challenge the transaction, but that it will "actively review" the situation in light of "serious concerns" expressed by various parties, reserving the right to take action at a later date.