Bell Centre

Bell Centre
	;
Former names	New Montreal Forum (before construction–1996), Molson Centre, Centre Molson (1996–2002)
Location	1909 Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H4B 5G0
Coordinates	45°29′46″N 73°34′10″W / 45.49611°N 73.56944°WCoordinates: 45°29′46″N 73°34′10″W / 45.49611°N 73.56944°W
Broke ground	June 22, 1993
Opened	March 16, 1996
Expanded	1981
Owner	Molson family
Operator	Molson family
Construction cost	C$270 million
Architect	LeMay & Associate, LLC.
Project Manager	IBI/DAA Group
Structural engineer	Dessau
Services engineer	SNC-Lavalin
General Contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols
Capacity	Hockey: 21,273; Basketball: 22,114; Concerts: 15,000; Amphitheatre: 10,000 to 14,000; Theatre: 5,000 to 9,000; Hemicycle: 2,000 to 3,500; MMA: 16,000 to 23,152
Field dimensions	780,000 square feet (72,000 m2)
Tenants
	Montreal Canadiens (NHL) (1996–present); Montreal Impact (NPSL) (1997–2000); Montreal Rocket (QMJHL) (2001–2003); Montreal Express (NLL) (2002)

Inside the Bell Centre during a Canadiens game

The Bell Centre (known as Centre Bell in French) is a sports arena in Montreal, Quebec. The arena opened on March 16, 1996, and is the current home to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena was originally known as Molson Centre from 1996 to 2002. Bell Canada currently has naming rights for the arena. The arena has also held several WWE events, which includes the Survivor Series in 1997, where the infamous Montreal Screwjob between Bret Hart, Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels took place, as well as other pay-per-views including No Way Out in 2003 and Breaking Point.

References

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