Address | 1950 Rue Claude-Gagné |
---|---|
Location | Laval, Quebec |
Coordinates | 45°33′21″N73°43′18″W / 45.5558°N 73.7218°W |
Public transit | Montmorency station Terminus Montmorency |
Owner | City of Laval |
Operator | Evenko and Harden |
Capacity | 10,062 (main arena) 2,500 (Olympic-size rink) 500 (practice rink) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 2014 |
Opened | 2017 |
Construction cost | $200 million |
Architect | Lemay |
Tenants | |
Laval Rocket (AHL) (2017–present) Montréal (PWHL) (2024–present) Les Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL) (2018–2019) | |
Website | |
Official Website |
Place Bell is a multi-purpose arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The complex includes a 10,000-seat main arena, which is the home of the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL), and two smaller community ice rinks, one of which has Olympic-size ice. The arena was also home to Les Canadiennes de Montréal for the final season of play in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The arena is hosting select games for Montréal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) during the inaugural 2023–24 season.
Then-mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt, announced the project on February 13, 2012. [1] The facility is managed by Evenko, the same company that operates the Bell Centre in Montreal, home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As in the case of the Bell Centre, the naming rights for the Laval arena were acquired by Bell Canada. [2] The cost of the project roughly doubled after it was first announced. Originally announced to cost $92.6 million, the estimate was revised less than a year later to $150 million. In March 2014, Laval's new mayor, Marc Demers, estimated that the cost of Place Bell would be $200 million, because of costs not factored by the previous administration. The Government of Quebec committed to contributing $46 million; Demers asked that the province assume more of the costs, as it did for other arena projects. [3] [4]
Initial plans called for the arena to be built in the city's Quartier de l'Agora district, next to the Laval courthouse, but the unstable soil in that location led to a move. In October 2012, the city announced that the project would be located adjacent to the Montmorency station of the Montreal Metro Orange Line. [5] Construction started in late 2014 and was completed in 2017. [5] [6]
On July 11, 2016, the Montreal Canadiens announced that its AHL affiliate, then known as the St. John's IceCaps, would relocate to Place Bell in 2017. [7] On September 8, 2016, the Canadiens announced that the team would be named the Laval Rocket. [8] The Rocket hosted their inaugural game at the arena on October 6, 2017, defeating the Belleville Senators by a score of 3–0. [9] Canadiens owner Geoff Molson and team legend Guy Lafleur both took part in the pre-game ceremonial puck drop; Daniel Audette scored the franchise's first goal, while Charlie Lindgren recorded the shutout. [9] The Rocket's first home playoff game took place on May 12, 2022; the Rocket defeated the Syracuse Crunch by a score of 4–1. [10]
In 2020, it was announced that Place Bell would host the 2022 AHL All-Star game. [11] The 2022 game was ultimately cancelled, and Place Bell hosted the 2023 game on February 6, 2023, instead. [12]
On September 20, 2018, it was announced that the Les Canadiennes de Montréal of the CWHL would be moving to the arena from the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, playing both in the main arena and the community rink. [13] Les Canadiennes also moved their daily operations and training camp into the complex. The team played one season at Place Bell before the league and team ceased operations following the 2018–19 season. In their lone season at Place Bell, Les Canadiennes advanced to the Clarkson Cup final by defeating the Markham Thunder in the semi-final at Place Bell; they lost the championship final to the Calgary Inferno. [14] [15]
In 2022, Place Bell began hosting NCAA basketball, including the annual Northern Classic Division I tournament, which takes place each November. [16] [17] The 2023 event featured six Division I teams. [18]
In 2023, it was announced that Montréal of the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) would host select 2023–24 games at Place Bell, with the majority of its home games hosted at Verdun Auditorium. [19] The first game at Place Bell took place on January 16, 2024, with Montréal defeating visiting New York by a score of 3–2. [20]
Team | League | Since | Championships |
---|---|---|---|
Laval Rocket | American Hockey League | 2017 | 0 |
Montréal | Professional Women's Hockey League | 2023 | 0 |
Team | League | Years |
---|---|---|
Les Canadiennes de Montréal | Canadian Women's Hockey League | 2018–19 |
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). For the 2023–24 season, 31 of the 32 NHL teams have official affiliations with an AHL team, with only the Carolina Hurricanes having no such affiliation. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises. Twenty-six AHL teams are located across the United States whereas the remaining six are situated in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
Bell Centre formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montreal Forum. It is owned by the Molson family via the team's ownership group Groupe CH, and managed via Groupe CH subsidiary Evenko.
Mary Brown's Centre is an indoor arena and entertainment venue located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The arena opened in May 2001, replacing Memorial Stadium. At full capacity the arena can seat 7,000 people.
The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Savard, a small minor-hockey rink, attached to its side. The Auditorium has hosted various Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) teams, including the Verdun Juniors, Verdun Éperviers, and Verdun Collège Français. In 1993, it hosted the Montreal Dragons for their lone season in the short-lived National Basketball League. Since 2022, it has been the home to the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The Auditorium was slated to become the home arena of Les Canadiennes de Montréal in 2019; however, the CWHL folded in May of that year. In November 2023, it was announced that Verdun Auditorium would become the new home of Montréal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) starting in 2024.
The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the Whitecaps were originally part of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011.
The Canadian Women's Hockey League was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and internationally in the United States (2010) and China (2017) throughout its tenure. The league discontinued operations on May 1, 2019, after 12 seasons.
Les Canadiennes de Montréal were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2007 as the Montreal Stars, they competed in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in every season. The team appeared in and won the Clarkson Cup the most times out of any CWHL teams with four championships.
Marie-Philip Poulin is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain of Montreal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also the captain of the Canadian national ice hockey team.
Brianne Alexandra Jenner is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team.
The Calgary Inferno was a women's ice hockey team that joined the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) for the 2011–12 season. The team played its home games at Joan Snyder Rink at WinSport Canada in Calgary, Alberta. After two seasons without an official name, in 2013 the team picked a moniker drawing from Calgary's National Hockey League franchise, the Calgary Flames, with whom they had a partnership. For the 2013-14 season, it was announced that all Inferno home-games would be streamed live by PCSN.tv.
Jillian Pauline Saulnier is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently with PWHL New York of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is a two-time Olympian for Canada, winning a gold medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2018.
The Laval Rocket are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Laval, Quebec. The team began play in the 2017–18 season, with home games held at Place Bell. They are affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL.
The 2017–18 CWHL season is the 11th season of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. This is also the first season in which the teams pay their players a salary. It would also prove to be the final full season in which Brenda Andress served as commissioner of the league, tendering her resignation on July 18, 2019.
Anthony Richard is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 100th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Richard has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
Jan Myšák is a Czech professional ice hockey centre for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 48th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Logan Mailloux is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 31st overall, by the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft under controversial circumstances.
Arber Xhekaj is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with Montreal in October 2021.
The Professional Women's Hockey League is a professional women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter Group. It consists of six franchises, three each from Canada and the United States, who play a regular season to earn one of four places in a postseason tournament that determines winner of the Walter Cup. Differences between the PWHL and other professional hockey leagues include a 3-2-1-0 points system, terminations of penalties following a short-handed goal, best-of-five shootouts, and greater restrictions on body checking. The league's matches are broadcast nationally in Canada by the CBC and TSN, their French-language affiliates Radio-Canada and RDS, and Sportsnet. In the United States, it is broadcast in syndication, while worldwide it is streamed on YouTube.
Montreal are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They play home games at the Place Bell in Laval and the Verdun Auditorium in Verdun.
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