The Paul Sauvé Arena was an indoor arena located at 4000 Beaubien Est. in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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 ...

, 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 (March 24, 1907 – January 2, 1960), a Quebec Premier with the Union Nationale. The arena hosted some of the most important events in modern Quebec political history. It was the site of the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

election victory celebrations on November 15, 1976 and on April 13, 1981. Additionally, it was the site of two of the most important moments of the 1980 referendum. On May 14, 1980 Pierre Trudeau delivered his "first among equals" speech that was his major contribution to the campaign battle, and

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

delivered his passionate concession speech on May 20, 1980. The Paul Sauvé Arena was, most popularly, the home to Quebec professional wrestling. In the mid-1960s,

Johnny Rougeau Jean Rougeau (June 9, 1929 – May 25, 1983) was a professional wrestler better known as Johnny Rougeau. Rougeau started wrestling in 1951 as Johnny Rougeau after an amateur wrestling career. In 1956, he was joined by his brother, Jacques Rougeau ...

and partner Bob Langevin created "Les As de la Lutte" (Wrestling Aces, known in English as All-Star Wrestling) and made the arena its main venue for wrestling shows, which ran from 1965 to 1975; its successor,

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") 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 (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

, also used the arena as its home base for regular cards from 1980 until it folded in 1987 due to competition from the WWF. The arena was also home to a founding franchise in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

. The

Rosemont National Rosemont may refer to: * Rosemont (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * ''Rosemont'', a 2015 film Places In Australia * Rosemont (Woollahra), located in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra and listed on the NSW State Heritage Register In Cana ...

played two seasons (from 1969 to 1971, finishing 8th and 9th) before moving to Laval. In the late 1960s the Montreal Canadiens lacrosse team played in the arena, and rock concerts including those performed by Jimi Hendrix,

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, and Eric Burdon and The Animals. Finally, boxing was always a big draw, and the arena saw many memorable fights. On a more prestigious note, it also hosted preliminary

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

matches at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

. Before decay, costs and low attendances doomed the arena, it was used for curling hall, and later a bingo hall, a gymnasium, a bowling alley, and trade shows.

References

1976 Summer Olympics official report.
pp. 134–7. Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Venues of the 1976 Summer Olympics Volleyball venues in Canada Sports venues in Montreal History of Montreal Demolished buildings and structures in Montreal Olympic volleyball venues Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Boxing venues in Quebec Defunct sports venues in Canada Sports venues completed in 1960 Sports venues demolished in 1993 1960 establishments in Quebec 1996 disestablishments in Quebec Lacrosse venues Demolished sports venues {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub