Place Bell is a multi-purpose arena in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The complex includes a 10,000-seat main arena, which is the home of the

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket (french: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play th ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), and two smaller community ice rinks, one of which has Olympic-size ice. The arena was also home to

Les Canadiennes de Montréal Les Canadiennes de Montréal were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2007 as the Montreal Stars (Stars de Montréal), they competed in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in every sea ...

for the final season of play in the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) 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 ...

(CWHL). The arena is hosting select games for

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

of the

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , ''LPHF'') is a Professional sports, professional Ice hockey#Women's ice hockey, women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter, Mark Walter Group. It con ...

(PWHL) during the inaugural 2023–24 season.

History

Construction

Then-mayor of Laval,

Gilles Vaillancourt Gilles Vaillancourt (born January 9, 1941) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician. He served as the mayor of Laval, Quebec, Laval, Quebec, from June 8, 1989 until November 9, 2012, when he was charged, and ultimately found guilty, with corru ...

, announced the project on February 13, 2012. The facility is managed by

Evenko Evenko is a Montreal-based Promoter (entertainment), event promoter. The company is owned by the Montreal Canadiens' ownership group Groupe CH, which is controlled by the Molson family. It handles event booking for venues such as Bell Centre, the ...

, the same company that operates the

Bell Centre 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 Montr ...

, home of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. As in the case of the Bell Centre, the naming rights for the Laval arena were acquired by

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

. 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 Marc Demers is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Laval from 2013 to 2021. He was elected in the city's 2013 municipal election.Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

committed to contributing $46 million; Demers asked that the province assume more of the costs, as it did for other arena projects. Placebellcrunch

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 The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, ...

Orange Line.François Gagnon
"Laval: la Place Bell changera d'adresse"
'' La Presse'', October 10, 2012 (in French). Construction started in late 2014 and was completed in 2017.

Major tenants

On July 11, 2016, the Montreal Canadiens announced that its AHL affiliate, then known as the

St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...

, would relocate to Place Bell in 2017. On September 8, 2016, the Canadiens announced that the team would be named the Laval Rocket. The Rocket hosted their inaugural game at the arena on October 6, 2017, defeating the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Bellevill ...

by a score of 3–0. Canadiens owner

Geoff Molson Geoffrey Eric Molson (born July 23, 1971), is a Canadian businessman and current president and chief executive officer and co-owner of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Evenko, Bell Centre and L'Équipe Spectra alongside his bro ...

and team legend

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

both took part in the pre-game ceremonial puck drop; Daniel Audette scored the franchise's first goal, while

Charlie Lindgren Charlie Lindgren (born December 18, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Lindgren began his junior career with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USH ...

recorded the shutout. The Rocket's first home playoff game took place on May 12, 2022; the Rocket defeated the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

by a score of 4–1. In 2020, it was announced that Place Bell would host the 2022

AHL All-Star game 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). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

. The 2022 game was ultimately cancelled, and Place Bell hosted the 2023 game on February 6, 2023, instead. 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. 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 The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...

final by defeating the

Markham Thunder The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...

in the semi-final at Place Bell; they lost the championship final to the

Calgary Inferno The Calgary Inferno (previously known as Team Alberta, nickname "Honeybadgers", during the 2011–12 season) 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 g ...

. In 2022, Place Bell began hosting

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

basketball, including the annual Northern Classic Division I tournament, which takes place each November. The 2023 event featured six Division I teams. 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 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 Sa ...

. The first game at Place Bell took place on January 16, 2024, with Montréal defeating visiting

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by a score of 3–2.

Tenants

Current

Former

References

External links

Press release
regarding naming rights agreement
Official Website
{{CWHL Arenas Ice hockey venues in Quebec Sports venues in Laval, Quebec Sports venues completed in 2017 Bell Canada Laval Rocket Les Canadiennes de Montreal Basketball venues in Quebec 2017 establishments in Quebec