The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for $350,000, ($ in dollars), a price said to be $150,000 below market value. The new 12,473 seat (14,550 including standing room) arena was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald. To finance the construction, Smythe launched Maple Leaf Gardens Limited, (MLGL) a management company that would own the arena and the Maple Leafs. A public offering of shares in MLGL was made at C$10 each ($ in dollars), with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased. Ownership of the hockey team was transferred to MLGL in return for shares. Intending right from the start the Gardens would host other events, W. A. Hewitt, sports editor of the Toronto Star, was hired as general manager of Maple Leaf Gardens to oversee all events other than professional hockey. His son, Foster Hewitt, was hired to run the radio broadcasts, and oversaw the construction of the radio broadcast facilities. The contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township. Thomson Bros bid just under $990,000 for the project, the lowest of ten tenders received, mainly due to the fact that amongst the Thomson Brothers' various enterprises they had much of the sub contract work covered (Thomson Lumber, Thomson Bros. Excavation), and others could not compete in this manner. That price did not include steel work, which was estimated at an additional $100,000. Additional savings were made through deals with labour unions, in exchange for shares in MLGL. Construction began at midnight on June 1, 1931. In what is to this day considered to be a remarkable accomplishment, the Gardens was constructed in five months and two weeks at a cost of C$1.5 million ($ in dollars). Team owner Harold Ballard lived in the owner's suite built into the arena's top northeast corner. The Conn Smythe era: 1931–1960 The Gardens opened on November 12, 1931, with the Maple Leafs losing 2–1 to the Chicago Black Hawks. Reported attendance on opening night was 13,542. The Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs that season (they had already won two previously—one as the Toronto Arenas and one as the Toronto St. Patricks). The first professional wrestling show at the Gardens was held on November 19, 1931, and attracted 15,800 people to see world champion Jim Londos in the main event.