Bell Centre
- This article is about the Montreal arena. For the Wisconsin town, see Bell Center, Wisconsin.
| Centre Bell | |
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| Former names | Molson Centre, Centre Molson (1996–2002) |
| Location | 1909 avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3B 5E8 |
| Broke ground | June 22, 1993 |
| Opened | March 16, 1996 |
| Owner | Molson family |
| Construction cost | C$270 million |
| Architect | Consortium of Quebec Architects |
| Capacity | Ice hockey: 21,273 Concert: 15,000 Theatre: 5,000 to 9,000 Hemicycle: 2,000 to 3,500 |
| Tenants | |
| Montreal Canadiens (NHL) (1996-present) Montreal Impact (NPSL) (1997–2000) Montreal Rocket (QMJHL) (2001–2003) Montreal Express (NLL) (2002) |
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The Bell Centre (French: Centre Bell), formerly known as the Molson Centre (French: Centre Molson), is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec. It has been the home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens hockey team since March 16, 1996. The team departed from the historic Montreal Forum after their last game on March 11 of the same year. Construction began on the site on June 22, 1993, 13 days after the Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum for their 24th and most recent Stanley Cup. The name of the arena initially reflected Molson, Inc., a brewing company which was owner of the Canadiens at the time. Some members of Montreal sports media, namely Jack Todd, pushed for the nickname "The Keg" as fitting for the new arena but it was never widely adopted. Molson elected not to keep the naming rights when they sold the team and the name was officially changed on September 1, 2002, after Bell Canada acquired the naming rights.
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.[1] In 2008, it was the 6th busiest arena in the world based on ticket sales for non-sporting events.[2]
The Bell Centre is currently owned by a partnership group headed by Geoff Molson and his brothers, Andrew and Justin. The group also owns the Montreal Canadiens.[3]
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Location
The Bell Centre is located in Downtown Montreal, on the corner of the avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal and De la Montagne street. It is easily accessible by public transportation, linked to both Lucien L'Allier and Bonaventure metro stations, as well as to the Greater Montreal commuter train network, Agence métropolitaine de transport. It is also connected to the underground city. The Bell Centre is well located due to its very close proximity to a vast array bars and restaurants.
Arena information
The building covers an area of 1.568 hectares (15,680 square metres, 168,778 sq. ft). It is located in downtown Montreal and is across the street from the 1250 René-Lévesque skyscraper and next door to Windsor station. It has a seating capacity of 21,273, making it the largest National Hockey League (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.[4]
Capacities of the Centre are:
- Arena (hockey): 21,273
- Concert: 15,000
- Amphitheatre: 10,000–14,000
- Theatre: 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 Daktronics scoreboard was installed prior of the 2008-2009 season. The new scoreboard is the biggest in the NHL.
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 300 section known as the white section, the 400 section divided into the grey section rows AA-FF and lastly, the blue section consisting of rows A-D.
The 200 section, known as Club Desjardins 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 Molson 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.
Interior
The interior of the Bell Centre is themed heavily by the Montreal Canadiens. Team photographs from every season can be found throughout, as well as bronze busts of famous players.
Events
The final two games of the three-game 1996 World Cup of 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 Hockey. The Bell Centre was the host of the 2009 NHL All-Star Game and hosted the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
The Bell Centre has also held several WWE events, including the 1997 Survivor Series, where the infamous Montreal Screwjob took place, as well as other pay-per-views including 2003 No Way Out. The arena hosted Breaking Point on September 13, 2009.
The Bell Centre was the venue of the first UFC event (UFC 83) to take place in Canada on April 19, 2008. The show was headlined by a rematch between Welterweight champion Matt Serra 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. The Bell Centre was also host to UFC 97 on April 18, 2009 where the pound for pound king and Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defended his belt against fellow Brazilian Thales Leites in a lackluster performance which was won by Anderson Silva via unanimous decision.
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 Stadium is used, or less frequently, Parc Jean-Drapeau.
Sell-outs
Concerts by Celine Dion 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 would have played the Bell Centre 31 times since 1996 [5]. 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[6]. 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.[7] They have even managed to sell out the amphitheater for Canadiens away games. 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 Penguins, 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 playoffs, during game #6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 10, 2010 [8], 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 (G) October 7, 1995
- 2 Doug Harvey (D) October 26, 1995
- 3 Émile Bouchard (D) December 4, 2009
- 4 Jean Béliveau (C) October 9, 1971
- 5 Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion (RW) March 11, 2006
- 7 Howie Morenz (C) November 2, 1937
- 9 Maurice "The Rocket" Richard (RW) October 6, 1960
- 10 Guy Lafleur (RW) February 16, 1985
- 12 Dickie Moore (LW) and Yvan Cournoyer (RW) November 12, 2005
- 16 Henri Richard (C) December 10, 1975
- 16 Elmer Lach (C) December 4, 2009
- 18 Serge Savard (D) November 18, 2006
- 19 Larry Robinson (D) November 19, 2007
- 23 Bob Gainey (C) February 23, 2008
- 29 Ken Dryden (G) January 29, 2007
- 33 Patrick Roy (G) November 22, 2008
While Lach and Henri Richard both wore the number 16, they were given separate banners unlike Cournoyer and Moore.
On October 18, 2005, the Canadiens also raised the following numbers on a single banner in honour of the former MLB team Montreal Expos, who left the city for Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season:
- 8 Gary Carter
- 10 Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub
- 30 Tim Raines
Gallery
 Outside the Bell Centre. |
 Inside during a game. |
 Canadiens and Bruins players getting ready for the faceoff at the Bell Centre. |
 Canadiens win a game at the Bell Centre. |
 Inside the Bell Centre arena with the old scoreboard. |
 Canadiens locker room in the Bell Centre. |
External links
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Montreal Forum |
Home of the Montreal Canadiens 1996 — present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Philips Arena |
Host of the NHL All-Star Game 2009 |
Succeeded by RBC Center |
References
- ↑ Le quatrième amphithéâtre au monde - L'incontournable Centre Bell | Nouvelles | Arts & scène | Canoë
- ↑ "MTS Centre 19th-busiest showbiz venue in world". The Winnipeg Free Press. 2009-01-24. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mts_centre_19th-busiest_showbiz_venue_in_world38266214.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ↑ Hickey, Pat (2009-12-01). "NHL approves Molson family purchase of Montreal Canadiens". National Post. http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2290955. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ↑ http://www.centrebell.ca/en/la_cage_aux_sports
- ↑ "Céline Dion: un huitième spectacle ajouté" (in French). Matin. La Presse Canadienne. 2008-02-09. http://www.matin.qc.ca/articles/20080209141033/celine_dion_huitieme_spectacle_ajoute.html. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ↑ Link text, additional text.
- ↑ NHL attendance
- ↑ "Une fièvre des séries drôlement forte" (in French). La Tribune. Cyberpresse. 2010-05-22. http://www.cyberpresse.ca/la-tribune/la-nouvelle/sports/201005/22/01-4282994-une-fievre-des-series-drolement-forte.php. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
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