| Bell Centre | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Operator | Molson family |
| Construction cost | C$270 million ($364 million in 2012 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Consortium of Quebec Architects |
| Structural engineer | SNC-Lavalin[2]/Dessau[3] |
| General Contractor | Huber, Hunt & Nichols[4] |
| Capacity | Ice hockey: 21,273 Basketball: 22,114 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, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction. It is best known as the home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens 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 Canadiens and Evenko, an entertainment event promoter.[5] 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.[6] In 2008, it was the 6th busiest arena in the world based on ticket sales for non-sporting events.[7]
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Construction began on the site on June 22, 1993, almost 2 weeks 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. 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.
The Bell Centre is located in Downtown Montreal, on the corner of Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal (formerly Rue de la Gauchetière Ouest) and Rue de la Montagne. 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 of bars and restaurants.
The building covers an area of 1.568 hectares (15,680 square metres or 168,778 square feet). 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.[8]
Capacities of the Centre are:[9][10]
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.
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 Boston.
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" (named for Desjardins Group), 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 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. 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.
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.
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 and Breaking Point.
The Bell Centre was the venue of the first UFC event (UFC 83) to take place in Canada, held in April 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. Other UFC events have subsequently been held at the Bell Centre, including UFC 97 and UFC 113 and UFC 124
The Bell Centre hosted an NBA basketball game for the first time on Friday October 22, 2010. The preseason game featured the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks.
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.
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 played the Bell Centre 31 times since 1996.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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,[14] making it one of the loudest NHL arenas during hockey games.
The following numbers have been retired by the Canadiens (positions in parentheses) and hang from the rafters:
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 Expos, who left the city for Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season:
| 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 |
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