The
Bell Centre formerly known as the
Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction. It is best known as the home of the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
ice hockey team.
It is currently owned by a partnership group headed by Geoff Molson and his brothers, Andrew and Justin. The same ownership group also owns the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
and Evenko, an entertainment event promoter. Since it opened in 1996, it has consistently been listed as one of the world's busiest arenas, usually receiving the highest attendance of any arena in Canada. In 2008, it was the 6th busiest arena in the world based on ticket sales for non-sporting events.
History
Construction began on the site on June 22, 1993, almost 2 weeks after the Canadiens defeated the
Los Angeles KingsThe Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
at the Forum for their 24th and most recent
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. The name of the arena initially reflected
MolsonMolson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
, Inc., a
brewingBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
company which was owner of the Canadiens at the time. Molson elected not to keep the
naming rightsIn the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
when they sold the team and the name was officially changed on September 1, 2002, after
Bell CanadaBell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
acquired the naming rights.
Location
The Bell Centre is located in
Downtown MontrealDowntown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is nearly enitirely located at the southern most slope of Mount Royal and is approximately bounded by Sherbrooke Street to the north, Papineau Avenue to the east, Guy Street or until Shaughnessy Village to the west,...
, on the corner of Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal (formerly
Rue de la Gauchetière OuestDe la Gauchetière Street is a street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running through downtown Montreal, the Quartier international and Chinatown....
) and
Rue de la MontagneMountain Street is a north-south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It links Doctor Penfield Avenue in the north and Wellington Street in the south. Notable businesses on Rue de la Montagne, include Ogilvy's and Hôtel de la Montagne.-Name:According to the Commission de toponymie...
. It is easily accessible by public transportation, linked to both
Lucien L'AllierLucien-L'Allier is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the borough of Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Overview:...
and
BonaventureBonaventure is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the borough of Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
metro stations, as well as to the Greater Montreal commuter train network,
Agence métropolitaine de transportThe Agence métropolitaine de transport is the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transportation services across Canada's Greater Montreal Region, including the Island of Montreal, Laval , and communities along both the North Shore of the Rivière des Mille-Îles...
. It is also connected to the
underground cityMontreal's Underground City is the set of interconnected complexes in and around Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
. The Bell Centre is well located due to its very close proximity to a vast array of bars and restaurants.
Arena information
The building covers an area of 1.568
hectareThe hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (15680 square metres or 168,778 sq ft). It is located in downtown Montreal and is across the street from the
1250 René-Lévesque1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque, also known as La Tour IBM-Marathon, is a , 47-story skyscraper in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM Canada and Marathon Realty, hence the former name "IBM-Marathon." It is now named for its address at 1250 René...
skyscraper and next door to
Windsor stationWindsor Station is a former train station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway Station.Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway's headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect...
. It has a
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 21,273, making it the largest
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) arena. It also holds four restaurants, the most popular being La Cage aux Sports, which is one of the largest sports restaurants/bars in Montreal.
Capacities of the Centre are:
- Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
(hockey): 21,273
- Concert: 15,000
- Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
: 10,000–14,000
- Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
: 5,000–9,000
- Hemicycle: 2,000–3,500
The public address announcer for the Canadiens' games is Michel Lacroix, while Charles Prévost-Linton sings the national anthems.
A new
DaktronicsDaktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
scoreboard was installed prior of the 2008-2009 season. The new scoreboard is the biggest in the NHL.
It is one of only two NHL arenas that uses an old-style siren to mark the end of periods instead of a horn: the other is TD Garden in
BostonThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
.
Seating
The Bell Centre is arranged in a three-tier layout: The lower 100 section, commonly referred to as "the reds" since these seats are painted red; the 200 section, known as the Club Desjardins, and the upper 300-400 section. The 300 section is divided into the white section rows AA-FF and the grey section rows A-D. The 400 section is considered the blue section, and consists of rows A-D.
The Club Desjardins section is between two levels of private and corporate boxes. However, tickets are sold for this section at a higher price than for seats closer to ice level because free food and non-alcoholic drinks are provided.
The ends of the 400 section are further divided into two more groups. At one end is the
MolsonMolson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
Ex Zone. At the opposite end is the Family Zone, featuring lower ticket prices for children.
The grandstands are sloped steeply, to improve sight lines. Seats behind the press gondola, in Sections 318, 319, and 320, feature their own scoreboards on the back of the gondola, due to the normal scoreboard being blocked.
Interior
After some early complaints of a generic feel, especially compared to the Forum, the Canadiens started to incrementally decorate the building with celebrations of the team's history, including a ring of players around the top level of seating. The Molson Ex Zone features a live band stage and its own red theme.
Events
The final two games of the three-game
1996 World Cup of HockeyThe first World Cup of Hockey , or 1996 World Cup of Hockey, replaced the Canada Cup as one of the premier championships for professional ice hockey ....
championship series were held at the Bell Centre (the USA won both games, defeating Canada in the series 2–1). The Bell Centre was also host to two pool games in the
2004 World Cup of HockeyThe 2004 World Cup of Hockey was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the second installment of the National Hockey League -sanctioned competition eight years after the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It was held from August 30 to September 14, 2004, and took place in various venues...
. The Bell Centre was the host of the 2009 NHL All-Star Game and hosted the
2009 NHL Entry DraftThe 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns selecting amateur ice hockey players from junior, collegiate, or...
.
The Bell Centre has also held several
WWEWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
events, including the
1997 Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series was the eleventh annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec....
, where the infamous
Montreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was a controversial, purportedly real life professional wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart, during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event...
took place, as well as other pay-per-views including 2003 No Way Out and
Breaking PointBreaking Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 13, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The name of the event was voted by fans via...
.
The Bell Centre was the venue of the first UFC event (
UFC 83UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held on April 19, 2008, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. UFC 83 was the UFC's first event in Canada...
) to take place in Canada, held in April 2008. The show was headlined by a rematch between Welterweight champion
Matt SerraMatthew John Serra is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu...
and Montreal native Georges St-Pierre. The tickets available to the public sold out in under one minute, and the event set the all time UFC attendance record. Other UFC events have subsequently been held at the Bell Centre, including
UFC 97UFC 97: Redemption was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It broke the UFC attendance record that was set 364 days earlier in Montreal at UFC 83, by 61 people.-Preliminary card:*Light Heavyweight bout: Vinicius...
and
UFC 113UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Background:...
and
UFC 124UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 11, 2010 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec...
The Bell Centre hosted an NBA
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
game for the first time on Friday October 22, 2010. The preseason game featured the
Toronto RaptorsThe Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
and the
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
The Bell Centre is also the primary concert venue for major performances. Most shows put on by big acts visit the arena unless they require more room than is available in a hockey rink-sized facility; in which case the
Olympic StadiumThe Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
is used, or less frequently,
Parc Jean-DrapeauParc Jean-Drapeau is situated to the east of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the Saint Lawrence River. It comprises two islands, Saint Helen's Island and the artificial island Île Notre-Dame....
.
Sell-outs
Concerts by
Celine DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
for August 15 and 16, 2008 were sold out within six minutes. The next day, Dion's management added two more concert dates on August 18 and 20, 2008. A further seven dates were added bringing the total to 11 shows and 246,000 spectators. She set a record in the history of Canadian concerts when all eleven shows sold out within an hour. By her eleventh concert, she played the Bell Centre 31 times since 1996. The Montreal concerts grossed just over $30 million, making it one of the biggest concert events held at any arena in the world.
Montreal Canadiens home games have been consistently sold out since January 2004. Additionally, the Canadiens have among the top attendance figures in the NHL. For the 2009-2010 season, the Habs had the highest attendance played at their home arena. All 21,273 seats were sold in 45 minutes on May 12, 2010 for fans to watch the 7th game in the playoff series versus the
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, which was shown on the big screens. Noise levels in the arena allegedly reached as high as 135 dB when goals were scored by the Canadiens, most notably, during the
2010 Stanley Cup playoffsThe 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season. The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two to win their fourth championship and their first since 1961...
, during game #6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 10, 2010, making it one of the loudest NHL arenas during hockey games.
Retired jerseys
The following numbers have been retired by the Canadiens (positions in parentheses) and hang from the rafters:
- 1 Jacques Plante
Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947–1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey...
(G) October 7, 1995
- 2 Doug Harvey (D) October 26, 1995
- 3 Émile Bouchard
Émile Joseph "Butch" Bouchard, CM, CQ is a former Canadian ice hockey player who played defence with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League from 1941 to 1956. He is member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, won four Stanley Cups, was captain of the Canadiens for eight years and was voted...
(D) December 4, 2009
- 4 Jean Béliveau
Jean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
(C) October 9, 1971
- 5 Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion
Joseph André Bernard Geoffrion , nicknamed Boom Boom, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Generally considered as one of the innovators of the slapshot, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16-year career with the Montreal Canadiens and New York...
(RW) March 11, 2006
- 7 Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...
(C) November 2, 1937
- 9 Maurice "The Rocket" Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
(RW) October 6, 1960
- 10 Guy Lafleur
Guy Damien "The Flower" / "Le Démon Blond" Lafleur, OC, CQ is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted and popular players ever to play professional ice hockey...
(RW) February 16, 1985
- 12 Dickie Moore (LW) November 12, 2005
- 12 Yvan Cournoyer
Yvan Serge "The Roadrunner" Cournoyer is a retired Canadian hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1979. Cournoyer was born in Drummondville, Quebec. He was nicknamed "The Roadrunner" due to his small size and blazing speed, which he...
(RW) November 12, 2005
- 16 Henri Richard
Joseph Henri Richard is a former professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League from 1955 to 1975...
(C) December 10, 1975
- 16 Elmer Lach
Elmer James Lach is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League. He was part of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. He led the league in scoring twice, and was awarded the Hart Memorial...
(C) December 4, 2009
- 18 Serge Savard
Serge Aubrey "The Senator" Savard, OC, CQ is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman, most famously with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League . He is also a local businessman in Montreal, and is nicknamed the Senator.-Playing career:Savard played minor league hockey with the...
(D) November 18, 2006
- 19 Larry Robinson
Larry Clark Robinson is a former ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. Robinson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995 and is currently the defensive coach for the New Jersey Devils...
(D) November 19, 2007
- 23 Bob Gainey
Robert Michael "Le Capitaine" Gainey is the former executive vice president and general manager of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League . He is also a former professional ice hockey player who played for the Canadiens from 1973 until 1989...
(C) February 23, 2008
- 29 Ken Dryden
Kenneth Wayne Dryden, PC, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former NHL goaltender. Dryden is married with two children and four grandchildren and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame...
(G) January 29, 2007
- 33 Patrick Roy
Patrick Edward Armand Roy is a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Saint Patrick," Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, whom he played with for 10 years, and the Colorado Avalanche, whom he played with for 8 years, both of the National Hockey League...
(G) November 22, 2008
While Lach and Henri Richard both wore the number 16, they were given separate ceremonies unlike Cournoyer and Moore. All have their own banner.
On October 18, 2005, the Canadiens also raised the following numbers on a single banner in honour of the former MLB team
Montreal ExposThe Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
, who left the city for
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
after the 2004 season:
- 8 Gary Carter
Gary Edmund Carter , nicknamed "Kid" and "Kid Carter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 19-year baseball career, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League, winning three Gold...
- 10 Andre Dawson
Andre Nolan Dawson , nicknamed "The Hawk", is an American former center fielder and right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different teams, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs .An 8-time National League All-Star, he was named the...
and Rusty StaubDaniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...
- 30 Tim Raines
Timothy Raines , nicknamed "Rock", is a former American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball for six teams from 1979 to 2002 and was best known for his 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos...
External links