Bell Centre

The Bell Centre (French: Centre Bell), formerly known as the Molson Centre (French: Centre Molson), is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been the home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens hockey team since March 16, 1996. The team departed from the historic Montreal Forum after their last game on March 11 of the same year. Construction began on the site on June 22, 1993, 13 days after the Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum for their 24th and most recent Stanley Cup. The name of the arena initially reflected Molson, Inc., a brewing company which was owner of the Canadiens at the time. Some members of Montreal sports media, namely Jack Todd, pushed for the nickname "The Keg" as fitting for the new arena but it was never widely adopted. Molson elected not to keep the naming rights when they sold the team and the name was officially changed on September 1, 2002, after Bell Canada acquired the naming rights.
Since it opened in 1996, it has consistently been listed as one of the world's busiest arenas, usually receiving the highest attendance of any arena in Canada. In 2008, it was the 6th busiest arena in the world based on ticket sales for non-sporting events.
The Bell Centre is currently owned by a partnership group headed by Geoff Molson and his brothers, Andrew and Justin. The group also owns the Montreal Canadiens.
In 2008, Céline Dion held 6 soldout concerts in a row (15th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 23th and 25 August) on her Taking Chances World Tour, selling 167,957 tickets and grossing $23,135,338.
==Events==
==External links==
* Bell Centre Official Site
* Bell Centre at Wikipedia
* Bell Centre at Pro Fight DB
Category:Venues in Canada