By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - There will be blades on the ice again at Toronto's storied Maple Leaf Gardens.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is announcing $20 million in federal funding toward a plan to turn the hockey shrine into an athletic facility, rink and grocery store. Ryerson University and Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX:L) are also partners on the project.

Flaherty says the Ryerson Sports and Recreation Centre will have, among other things, a NHL-size skating rink and adds the funding will keep Maple Leaf Gardens a special place for generations of Canadians to come.

Earlier this year, Ryerson students voted to pay an extra $126 per year in athletic fees for new facilities that will help fund Ryerson's portion of the deal.

Maple Leaf Gardens opened in 1931, hosting its first Maple Leaf game on Nov. 12 that year, when the Maple Leafs lost 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Loblaws has said it will maintain the existing facades of the arena, as well as existing rooflines with the majority of development taking place within the building's interior.