Place Bell

Place Bell is a big arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It has a main arena with space for 10,172 people, which is where the Laval Rocket team plays. The Laval Rocket is part of the American Hockey League, a league where hockey players practice and play to get better.

The arena also has two smaller ice rinks for local teams to use, and one of them is big enough for Olympic games. In the past, another women’s hockey team called Les Canadiennes de Montréal also played there.

Recently, a new women’s team named Montréal Victoire used Place Bell for some of their games in the 2023–24 season. Starting in the 2024–25 season, it became their main home, so they will play most of their games there.

History

Construction

The mayor of Laval announced the project to build Place Bell on February 13, 2012. The arena is run by the same company that manages the Bell Centre in Montreal, home of the Montreal Canadiens. Bell Canada bought the naming rights for the arena. The cost of building the arena went up a lot after it was first announced. It was first said to cost $92.6 million, but later it was thought to be $150 million. Then, in 2014, the new mayor said it would cost $200 million. The government of Quebec agreed to give $46 million to help pay for it.

The arena was first planned to be built next to the Laval courthouse, but the soil there was not strong enough. So, in October 2012, the city decided to build it next to a subway station in Montreal. Building started in late 2014 and finished in 2017.

Major tenants

On July 11, 2016, the Montreal Canadiens said their minor league team, then called the St. John's IceCaps, would move to Place Bell in 2017. On September 8, 2016, they announced the team's new name: the Laval Rocket. The Rocket played their first game at the arena on October 6, 2017, and won 3–0 against the Belleville Senators.

In 2020, Place Bell was set to host the 2022 AHL All-Star game, but it was cancelled. Instead, the arena hosted the 2023 game on February 6, 2023.

In 2018, Les Canadiennes de Montréal, a women's hockey team, moved to Place Bell. They played there for one season before their league stopped. In that season, they reached the Clarkson Cup final but lost.

In 2022, Place Bell began hosting NCAA basketball games, including the Northern Classic Division I tournament each November. The 2023 event had six Division I teams.

In 2023, it was announced that Montréal Victoire, a new professional women's hockey team, would play some of their home games at Place Bell starting in the 2023–24 season. Their first game there was on January 16, 2024, and they won 3–2 against the New York Sirens.

Starting in the 2025 season, Place Bell will also host some home games for the Long Island Nets, the minor league team of the Brooklyn Nets. For these games, the team will be called Les Nets Montreal.

Tenants

Current

Former