Bell Centre

The Bell Centre (French: Centre Bell) 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 (French: Centre Molson) from 1996 to 2002. Bell Canada currently has naming rights for the arena.

Bell Centre

Former names	New Montreal Forum (before construction–1996), Molson Centre, Centre Molson (1996–2002)
Location	1909[1] Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H4B 5G0
Coordinates	45°29′46″N 73°34′10″W
Owner	Molson family
Operator	Molson family
Capacity	Hockey: 21,273 (1996-2014) 21,287 (2014-2017) 21,302 (2017-2021) 21,105 (2021-present) 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 size	780,000 square feet (72,000 m2)
Construction
Started	June 22, 1993
Opened	March 16, 1996
Expanded	1981
Construction cost	C$270 million[2]
Architect	LeMay & Associate, LLC.
Project manager	IBI/DAA Group
Structural engineer	Dessau
Services engineer	SNC-Lavalin
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols
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 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. All Elite Wrestling (AEW) have also hosted episodes of their weekly television shows Dynamite, Rampage, Collision on December 5 and 6, 2023.