- It was Claude Julien's first game as the Habs head coach. Not fair to judge him on one game and the team will get better under his leadership, but they looked woefully uninspired on Saturday.
- Shea Weber and Dustin Byfuglien are men among boys. I have seen each of them play individually at other buildings. However, they both really stood out as large, large men in this game.
- Patrik Laine is something special. He is not the greatest all around player, but when he has the puck on his stick everyone notices. Everything he does is silky smooth and you always feel like magic is about to happen with him. I cannot wait to see more of his games.
The Bell Centre is oddly unique. I have visited about a dozen NHL arenas now, and there is something very cookie cutter about each of them. They all hold about 20,000 people, There is a lower and upper level with clubs or suites in between. All offer the basic concessions and plenty of beer. The Bell Centre was a little different in many ways.
Going In
We had to pickup our tickets at the box office. I have never been to an arena with an indoor box office. It was kind of a smart move on their part. This made it so you were waiting in line in a climate controlled area, as opposed to the wet and cold outdoors. Unfortunately they were not smart enough to add a door, ticket taker and security guard between the box office and the arena. This meant we had to go back out into the cold and wait in the security line to re-enter the arena. It would have been much better for us fans to just enter the arena through the box office.
Getting through security was an oddity. Instead of there being distinct lines as you approached the building, it was just a huddled mass and people were pushing and cutting in front of each other to get through the doors. Kind of a dangerous mess. Once you got to the front of the huddled mass, you were surprised to find a person waiting to scan your ticket, instead of a security guard. Every other arena I have been to has had security first and then someone taking tickets. At the Bell Centre someone scans your ticket then you walk through the metal detector and pass security. I guess there is not much advantage one way or the other. The slight upside is this way anyone that does not have a ticket never makes to security, so it is less traffic to get through the metal detectors.
We had no issues at security. My wife brought a purse which kind of worried me, as I forgot to check their security policies before going, but they just checked the purse. Always, always, always check a stadium or arena's security policies before going to a game. I cannot stress this enough. You would not believe the amount of people I have seen left out of an event because they tried to bring something simple that was not allowed. Every place is different, so always check on their website.
On The Concourse
Once we got through security, we took a lap around the main concourse (first level). I wanted to see everything, I am kind of a nerd about this stuff. This is where the Bell Centre became a little different. Almost all the walls, flooring and counter spaces were white. Most arenas use gray or team colors because it helps hide the dirt and helps your eyes find the things they really want you to see (signage, merchandise and concessions). The white was not sparkling, they did a pretty good job keeping it clean, but you still saw a lot of scuffs or dirty spots. However, for a 20 year old arena they have done a great job keeping it clean.
The staff uniforms really jump out at you. The ticket takers and ushers are all in business professional attire. It was all Canadiens team colors with a sport coat, dress pants (skirts for ladies), white button down shirt and red neck tie. You do not see many arena staff dressed so sharply. It was a big contrast from the box office staff that were all wearing team t-shirts and khaki pants. The thing that caught me off guard was the ratio of male staff to female staff. Generally at an arena you will notice about 70% of the staff is men, except for maybe concessions. At the Bell Centre it was reversed. Close to 80% of the staff were female and seemed to be millennials. Even the security was an unusually high number of female staff.
We did make the inevitable trip to the restroom. I am not sure I have ever seen an arena devote so much space to their restrooms. When you walk into the entrance off the concourse you expect to be only a few steps from your final destination. That is not the case in Montreal. There is a tunnel, then a long line of sinks (probably more than necessary), finally you come to a large room full of facilities. It seems to be more than enough. This is good news because most arenas and stadiums do not have nearly enough facilities to properly get through the between period rush. I am not sure how the women's rooms were laid out. I assume very much the same.
One of the coolest parts of the Bell Centre is what I would call their "game room". There was a seemingly unmarked set of stairs that went down below the main concourse. These stairs led us into "Youppiville". Youppi is the Candiens very orange mascot and Youppiville is a children's play area. It is filled with coloring books, photo pose areas and cartoons drawn on the walls. Very well done and a nice touch. Children are the often forgotten driving force behind the reasoning people buy tickets. My father bought season tickets because he had three sons that loved going to hockey games. If you make kids love going to games, they will drag their parents back. The biggest added bonus to Youppiville was a coat check. Every arena and stadium in the northern United States or Canada should have a coat check, at the very least they should offer this in their club levels. They charged about three Canadian dollars per coat. Most arenas could easily get away with charging $5.00 or more. It is an easy added revenue stream and desired customer amenity.
The Canadiens have the richest history of any NHL team. So of course they must capitalize on this and do a nice job with their "Hall of Fame". Every former Canadiens player, that is deemed good enough, has a plaque and picture displayed in the Hall of Fame section of the concourse. This includes some of my personal favorites; Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson and Maurice "Rocket" Richard. This is a must visit area for anyone making their first trip to the Bell Centre. Even if you are not a Habs fan, you will still be impressed with the history of the organization and will enjoy reading about each of these great players.
Concessions
I think it is fair to say the lowlight of the Bell Centre is their concessions. I love arena food. It is all very basic and bad for you. Even when its bad, it is still good. That was not the case in Montreal. Whoever their concessionaire is needs replaced. They have the most basic of basic and it was the lowest quality you can find. I had a hot dog, french fries and two Molson beers. My other options were pizza and popcorn. You could get one kind of hot dog, no footlongs, bratwursts or sausages, and it was cold. Not even served on a hot dog bun, but rather on what looked like a rolled slice of bread. The french fries were cold and soggy, obviously hours old.
You had one choice for draft beer, Molson. Sort of understandable being that you are in Canada, but they could have at least given us some other Molson brand options instead of just one tap of Molson. There was a concession stand they turned into a liquor bar. This is getting more prevalent throughout sporting venues. I think it is a bad idea, but you cannot argue the added revenue. Actually I probably would have opted for some Canadian Club over my Molson if it was not an afternoon game. I did not think my wife would appreciate me getting lit in the middle of the day.
There was no variety to their concessions. They know they have a monopoly on food inside the building, so no reason to make anything that costs money. I get it. However, we are in the age where going to a game is about the experience, not watching the game. Concessions are a big factor in that. People want odd food items and over sized drinks. I couldn't even find Nachos.
In The Seats
The concessions may have been the worst part, but they barely edged out the seats. We sat in the upper level of the Bell Centre, only a few rows from the top of the arena. So we knew we were getting the real fan experience. However, I have never found worse seating at an NHL arena.
First, the seats are about 2 inches narrower than most arena seats. Probably how they squeezed 21,000 seats into a building built to comfortably hold 18,000. So you are literally shoulder to shoulder with the people you are next to. There is no digging into your pockets after you sit down, you are just sitting and watching the game.
Second, there are rails between every row in the upper level. Probably designed to keep people from falling over the rows after they had too many drinks at the liquor bar. I understand the railing is an added safety feature, but it kills the viewing experience. Not to mention when you combine the railing with tiny seats, it encourages fans to lean forward and rest on the railing. The guy in front of me did this for the entire third period and his head blocked my view of the Jets offensive zone. The seats are at a steep angle so you are looking straight down at the ice. There was no way for me to look around his head.
Third, the rows start with double letters. So row "AA" is the first row in the upper level and row "A" is the 27th row. We bought tickets in row "D" because we thought they would be pretty good seats with only a couple rows in front of us. We were a little disappointed when we had to climb the steps all the way to the ceiling. I actually prefer the upper level seats because you can watch the full play develop and focus on whatever area of the ice you find interesting.
Sorry for the list of grievances about the seating. My last two points about the seating are just unique aspects of the Bell Centre. First, the Press Box actually hangs out over the seating area. Our seats were actually behind the floating Press Box. That is how I got the below picture of the media seats. I was sitting in my seat when I took them. Second, there was almost no ADA or disability seating that I could see. I am not sure what the ADA requirements are in Canada. In the United States arenas are required to have a certain percentage of their seating be ADA compliant. So usually there is an ADA row in every third or fourth section of the arena. I only noticed one row in the Bell Centre that was dedicated to ADA seating. It happened to be in the lower level directly behind the home goalie, so they were great seats. I was not searching for these seats, so I could be wrong. It just seemed odd.
Conclusion
The Bell Centre is a unique venue. I highly recommend every serious hockey fan take in a game there. Montreal likes to think of themselves as hockey Mecca. In some ways they probably are, because the team has won so many Stanley Cups. However, never hesitate to remind a Canadiens fan that they have not won anything since 1993. I am just kidding Habs fans, take a joke.
If I went back I would do a couple things differently. First, I would get tickets in the lower level. Just to avoid the railings in the upper level. Second, I would eat before I went to the game. There are plenty of great cafes and restaurants in the area. Much better than what you can get inside the Bell Centre.
I loved the atmosphere of the arena. The staff was great, getting around was easy and there was plenty of activity to keep us occupied. It also found a good balance of being a true hockey arena and entertaining beyond just the game. If you have ever been to the old school arenas (barns) that were built in the 60s and 70s you know those are just about watching the game and going home. They were a fun atmosphere, but uncomfortable. The new arenas have a lot of entertainment and amenities, but almost distract from the game. The Bell Centre does a great job of balancing this and appeasing both ends of the spectrum.
Getting There
We walked to the game. We were staying downtown and it made for a nice walk. Taking the subway to the game would be equally simple, as Montreal has very good and easy to understand public transportation. I cannot recommend driving and parking near the arena. Driving around Montreal seems very difficult and there is very limited/expensive parking close to the Bell Centre. Going In
We had to pickup our tickets at the box office. I have never been to an arena with an indoor box office. It was kind of a smart move on their part. This made it so you were waiting in line in a climate controlled area, as opposed to the wet and cold outdoors. Unfortunately they were not smart enough to add a door, ticket taker and security guard between the box office and the arena. This meant we had to go back out into the cold and wait in the security line to re-enter the arena. It would have been much better for us fans to just enter the arena through the box office.
Getting through security was an oddity. Instead of there being distinct lines as you approached the building, it was just a huddled mass and people were pushing and cutting in front of each other to get through the doors. Kind of a dangerous mess. Once you got to the front of the huddled mass, you were surprised to find a person waiting to scan your ticket, instead of a security guard. Every other arena I have been to has had security first and then someone taking tickets. At the Bell Centre someone scans your ticket then you walk through the metal detector and pass security. I guess there is not much advantage one way or the other. The slight upside is this way anyone that does not have a ticket never makes to security, so it is less traffic to get through the metal detectors.
We had no issues at security. My wife brought a purse which kind of worried me, as I forgot to check their security policies before going, but they just checked the purse. Always, always, always check a stadium or arena's security policies before going to a game. I cannot stress this enough. You would not believe the amount of people I have seen left out of an event because they tried to bring something simple that was not allowed. Every place is different, so always check on their website.
On The Concourse
Once we got through security, we took a lap around the main concourse (first level). I wanted to see everything, I am kind of a nerd about this stuff. This is where the Bell Centre became a little different. Almost all the walls, flooring and counter spaces were white. Most arenas use gray or team colors because it helps hide the dirt and helps your eyes find the things they really want you to see (signage, merchandise and concessions). The white was not sparkling, they did a pretty good job keeping it clean, but you still saw a lot of scuffs or dirty spots. However, for a 20 year old arena they have done a great job keeping it clean.
The staff uniforms really jump out at you. The ticket takers and ushers are all in business professional attire. It was all Canadiens team colors with a sport coat, dress pants (skirts for ladies), white button down shirt and red neck tie. You do not see many arena staff dressed so sharply. It was a big contrast from the box office staff that were all wearing team t-shirts and khaki pants. The thing that caught me off guard was the ratio of male staff to female staff. Generally at an arena you will notice about 70% of the staff is men, except for maybe concessions. At the Bell Centre it was reversed. Close to 80% of the staff were female and seemed to be millennials. Even the security was an unusually high number of female staff.
We did make the inevitable trip to the restroom. I am not sure I have ever seen an arena devote so much space to their restrooms. When you walk into the entrance off the concourse you expect to be only a few steps from your final destination. That is not the case in Montreal. There is a tunnel, then a long line of sinks (probably more than necessary), finally you come to a large room full of facilities. It seems to be more than enough. This is good news because most arenas and stadiums do not have nearly enough facilities to properly get through the between period rush. I am not sure how the women's rooms were laid out. I assume very much the same.
Concessions
You had one choice for draft beer, Molson. Sort of understandable being that you are in Canada, but they could have at least given us some other Molson brand options instead of just one tap of Molson. There was a concession stand they turned into a liquor bar. This is getting more prevalent throughout sporting venues. I think it is a bad idea, but you cannot argue the added revenue. Actually I probably would have opted for some Canadian Club over my Molson if it was not an afternoon game. I did not think my wife would appreciate me getting lit in the middle of the day.
There was no variety to their concessions. They know they have a monopoly on food inside the building, so no reason to make anything that costs money. I get it. However, we are in the age where going to a game is about the experience, not watching the game. Concessions are a big factor in that. People want odd food items and over sized drinks. I couldn't even find Nachos.
In The Seats
First, the seats are about 2 inches narrower than most arena seats. Probably how they squeezed 21,000 seats into a building built to comfortably hold 18,000. So you are literally shoulder to shoulder with the people you are next to. There is no digging into your pockets after you sit down, you are just sitting and watching the game.
Second, there are rails between every row in the upper level. Probably designed to keep people from falling over the rows after they had too many drinks at the liquor bar. I understand the railing is an added safety feature, but it kills the viewing experience. Not to mention when you combine the railing with tiny seats, it encourages fans to lean forward and rest on the railing. The guy in front of me did this for the entire third period and his head blocked my view of the Jets offensive zone. The seats are at a steep angle so you are looking straight down at the ice. There was no way for me to look around his head.
Sorry for the list of grievances about the seating. My last two points about the seating are just unique aspects of the Bell Centre. First, the Press Box actually hangs out over the seating area. Our seats were actually behind the floating Press Box. That is how I got the below picture of the media seats. I was sitting in my seat when I took them. Second, there was almost no ADA or disability seating that I could see. I am not sure what the ADA requirements are in Canada. In the United States arenas are required to have a certain percentage of their seating be ADA compliant. So usually there is an ADA row in every third or fourth section of the arena. I only noticed one row in the Bell Centre that was dedicated to ADA seating. It happened to be in the lower level directly behind the home goalie, so they were great seats. I was not searching for these seats, so I could be wrong. It just seemed odd.
The Bell Centre is a unique venue. I highly recommend every serious hockey fan take in a game there. Montreal likes to think of themselves as hockey Mecca. In some ways they probably are, because the team has won so many Stanley Cups. However, never hesitate to remind a Canadiens fan that they have not won anything since 1993. I am just kidding Habs fans, take a joke.
If I went back I would do a couple things differently. First, I would get tickets in the lower level. Just to avoid the railings in the upper level. Second, I would eat before I went to the game. There are plenty of great cafes and restaurants in the area. Much better than what you can get inside the Bell Centre.
I loved the atmosphere of the arena. The staff was great, getting around was easy and there was plenty of activity to keep us occupied. It also found a good balance of being a true hockey arena and entertaining beyond just the game. If you have ever been to the old school arenas (barns) that were built in the 60s and 70s you know those are just about watching the game and going home. They were a fun atmosphere, but uncomfortable. The new arenas have a lot of entertainment and amenities, but almost distract from the game. The Bell Centre does a great job of balancing this and appeasing both ends of the spectrum.
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