Verdun Auditorium

Last updated

Verdun Auditorium
Auditorium de Verdun
The Verdun Auditorium.jpg
Verdun Auditorium in 2008
Verdun Auditorium
Address4110, boulevard LaSalle
Montreal, Quebec
H4G 2A5
Coordinates 45°27′45″N73°33′43″W / 45.462448°N 73.561878°W / 45.462448; -73.561878
Public transit Montreal Metro.svg Montreal public transit icons - Metro 1.svg De L’Église
OwnerCity of Montreal
Capacity Hockey: 3,795 seated (4,114 total)
OpenedNovember 28, 1939
Tenants
Montreal Alliance (CEBL) 2022–present
Montréal Victoire (PWHL) 2024
Montreal Force (PHF) 2022–2023
Montreal Junior Hockey Club (QMJHL) 2008–2011
Verdun Dragons (LNAH) 2001–2006
Montreal Dragons (NBL) 1993
Verdun Collège Français (QMJHL) 1991–1994
Verdun Juniors (QMJHL) 1982–1984
Verdun Éperviers (QMJHL) 1977–1981
Verdun Maple Leafs (QMJHL) 1920s–1972

The Verdun Auditorium (French: Auditorium de Verdun) is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building opened on November 28, 1939 and holds 4,114 seats. It is 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. [1] In November 2023, it was announced that Verdun Auditorium would become the new home of Montréal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) starting in 2024. [2]

Contents

On January 25, 2008, the QMJHL approved the sale of the St. John's Fog Devils to Montreal businessman Farrel Miller, [3] who relocated the team to Montreal, where it was known as the Montreal Junior Hockey Club. In Summer 2011, the team moved to Boisbriand to become the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The auditorium also hosted a concert by Nirvana on November 2, 1993. This was the band's last show in Montreal before frontman Kurt Cobain died five months later. [4]

The Verdun Auditorium has hosted professional wrestling events, [5] including shows promoted by Johnny Rougeau's All Star Wrestling, the Vachon Brothers' Grand Prix Wrestling and Lutte Internationale, and was the location of the first World Wrestling Federation event to be held in Montreal, though that event drew poorly against the better-established Lutte Internationale. [6]

Major upgrades of the arena were undertaken in 2018 with plans for completion in 2020. [7] These $42 million renovations made upgrades to the safety of the facility, as well as a restoration of the brick façade.

In May 2022, the arena hosted the first home game of the CEBL's Montreal Alliance. The Alliance won 80-70 over the Scarborough Shooting Stars in front of a near-sell out crowd. [8]

On July 20, 2024, TNA Wrestling held their 2024 edition of their annual Slammiversary pay-per-view at the Verdun Auditorium followed by tapings for their Impact! and Xplosion weekly shows the following day. [9]

History

Construction of Verdun Auditorium Construction de l Auditorium de Verdun.jpg
Construction of Verdun Auditorium
1939 La glace de l Auditorium de Verdun 1939.jpg
1939

In 1938 Verdun Auditorium opened its doors to the public. It wasn’t until 1946 that hockey was hosted at the Auditorium. Today it remains one of the oldest arenas in Montreal.

Events

Concerts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League</span> Junior ice hockey league in Canada

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Officially the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League until 2023, the league includes teams in Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colisée de Québec</span> Multi-purpose arena in Quebec City

Colisée de Québec is a defunct multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the home of the Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, during their time in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League. It was also the home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1999 until its closing in 2015. The Colisée hosted the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament each February until its closure in 2015, with almost 2,300 young hockey players from 16 countries participating annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall Royals</span> Canadian junior ice hockey team

The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with other Cornwall Royals teams that played in the QSHL, MMJHL, or OHA-B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewiston Maineiacs</span> Ice hockey team in Lewiston, Maine

The Lewiston Maineiacs were a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Lewiston, Maine, United States. The team played its home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. They were the second QMJHL team in the United States, and the only one to play a full season. They won the President's Cup in 2007, becoming the only American based franchise to accomplish the feat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drummondville Voltigeurs</span> Junior ice hockey team in Drummondville, Quebec

The Drummondville Voltigeurs are a Canadian junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was originally granted for the 1982–83 season, and is based in Drummondville, Quebec, playing its home games at the Centre Marcel Dionne. The team won the QMJHL's President's Cup in 2009 and 2024.

The Paul Sauvé Arena was an indoor arena located at 4000 rue Beaubien Est in Montreal, Quebec, in its Rosemont district. Built in 1960 and demolished in 1992–93, the arena had a capacity of 4,000 people. It was named after Paul Sauvé, a Quebec Premier with the Union Nationale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorel Éperviers</span> Ice hockey team

The Sorel Éperviers were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981. The team was one of the founding members of the QMJHL. They mostly played at the Colisée Cardin in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, but also spent a few seasons at the Verdun Auditorium in the Montreal suburb of Verdun, Quebec. Rodrigue Lemoyne served as the team's general manager. Ray Bourque is the only former Épervier in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Memorial Cup</span> Canadian junior mens ice hockey championship

The 1985 Memorial Cup took place on May 11–18 at the Shawinigan Municipal Auditorium in Shawinigan, Quebec and at Centre Civique in Drummondville, Quebec. It was the 67th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament was originally only to be played in Shawinigan, but support columns in the seats of the ancient Auditorium made televising the games impossible and the tournament was moved to Drummondville after the second game. Participating teams were the host team Shawinigan Cataractes, as well as the winners of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League which were the Verdun Junior Canadiens, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Prince Albert Raiders. Prince Albert won their first Memorial Cup, defeating Shawinigan in the final game.

The Montreal Junior Hockey Club was a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team was based out of the Verdun Auditorium, in Verdun, Quebec, Canada. The St. John's Fog Devils franchise relocated at the conclusion of the 2007–08 QMJHL season. The team's colours were maroon and white, similar to the Montreal Maroons. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League approved the sale of the Juniors to a group led by former NHL Defensemen Joel Bouchard who moved the team to Boisbriand, Quebec for the 2011–12 season. The team plays its games at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau and is known as the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The 2011–12 QMJHL season was the 43rd season of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The regular season, which consisted of 17 teams playing 68 games each, began in September 2011 and ended in March 2012. This season was Blainville-Boisbriand Armada's first season in the league, as the team relocated to Boisbriand from Verdun where they played as the Montreal Junior Hockey Club from 2008 to 2011. The league lost one of his charter teams when the Lewiston Maineiacs folded during after the previous season, the QMJHL later announce an expansion team to Sherbrooke for the 2012–13 season. In the playoffs, the Saint John Sea Dogs became the seventh team in league history to capture consecutive President's Cup championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Videotron Centre</span> Indoor arena in Quebec City

Vidéotron Centre is an indoor arena in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The 18,259-seat arena replaced Colisée Pepsi as Quebec City's primary venue for indoor events. The arena is primarily used for ice hockey, serving as the home arena of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL and has been prospected as a venue for a new or re-located National Hockey League team in Quebec City, and as part of a Winter Olympic Games bid. The building opened on September 8, 2015. It is now the nineteenth-largest indoor arena in North America, and the third largest that does not host an NHL team.

The Montreal Dragons were a professional Canadian basketball team based in Montreal, Quebec. They competed in the now defunct National Basketball League in 1993, but did not complete their first season and disbanded on June 10, 1993. During their first and only season, the Dragons won 6 games and lost 11 games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau</span>

The Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau is a 3,100 capacity multi-purpose arena in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. It is home to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada ice hockey club in the QMJHL, who were previously known as the Montreal Junior Hockey Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Place Bell</span> Arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada

Place Bell is a multi-purpose arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The complex includes a 10,062-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 hosted select games for Montréal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) during the inaugural 2023–24 season, and became their permanent home for the 2024-25 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutte Internationale</span> Canadian professional wrestling promotion

Lutte Internationale was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac. Lutte Internationale succeeded All-Star Wrestling and Grand Prix Wrestling as Quebec's top wrestling promotion for most of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Bégin</span> Canadian ice hockey coach

Jean Bégin was a Canadian ice hockey coach and convicted sex offender. He worked six seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and one season in the Nationale 1A league in France. He was the first coach in the QMJHL to make three appearances at the Memorial Cup tournament. He won two President's Cups coaching the Laval Voisins and the Verdun Junior Canadiens to QMJHL championships. He later served as an assistant coach on the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team. Bégin was convicted on seven counts of sexual contact with boys in 1989, and served six months in prison. He committed suicide after his release from jail at age 47.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Alliance</span> Canadian professional basketball team

The Montreal Alliance are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada founded in 2021. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Verdun Auditorium. The Montreal Alliance’s mascot is called “Alli-Oop”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Victoire</span> Womens professional ice hockey team in Montreal

The Montreal Victoire are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home games at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.

The 2023–24 PWHL Montréal season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at Verdun Auditorium in Montreal and Place Bell in the suburb of Laval. They also played one game at the Bell Centre on April 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024–25 PWHL season</span> Sports season

The 2024–25 PWHL season is the second season of operation of the Professional Women's Hockey League. Six teams will compete during the season, located in Boston, Saint Paul, Montreal, Newark, Ottawa, and Toronto.

References

  1. ↑ Kelly, Brendan (September 19, 2017). "Les Canadiennes to move into the Verdun Auditorium in 2019". Montreal Gazette .
  2. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (November 28, 2023). "PWHL Officially Announces Venues". The Hockey News . Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ "QMJHL set to return to Montreal next season". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. January 25, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Live Nirvana | Live Nirvana DVD Guide | 11/02/93 - Auditorium de Verdun, Verdun, Montreal, QC, CA". LiveNirvana.com. 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestling Events by Venue". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  6. ↑ "International Wrestling - Montreal". Kayfabe Memories. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  7. ↑ Carpenter, Phil (April 20, 2018). "Verdun auditorium to be renovated". Global News . Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hickey, Pat (May 29, 2022). "Alliance draws noisy, near-sellout crowd in its Verdun debut". Montreal Gazette .
  9. ↑ "Slammiversary & TNA iMPACT! Come to Montreal, Quebec This July". tnawrestling.com . April 21, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.