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| - What a honor it is to be the first to review the Bell Centre (or should I say Centre Bell). Although it will forever in my heart be the Molson Centre (or should I say Centre Molson).
The first time I came to the then Molson Centre was in 1997 when it was relatively new. J'adore le sport du hockey, and as one of a small minority of Americans that worships ice hockey I respect this building and this cities passion for hockey more than can be expressed in words. The building itself looks like a warehouse from the outside, but it's actually very beautiful on the inside. And it's HUGE!!! The barn holds over 21,000, making it one of the largest NHL arenas. In order to pack that many people in, however, the seating in the upper levels is STEEP. How steep you might ask? I've literally seen someone throw up once and I've encountered several people who were afraid of heights that felt uncomfortable sitting up high. It can feel like you could fall out of your seat and onto the ice. It's amazing looking at all the Stanley Cup banners and retired numbers in the rafters, and if hearing 'O Canada' sung in French (partly in French anyway) doesnt give you goosebumps, you simply have no heart. As a Devils fan, I come back every year to watch Montreal's native son Martin Brodeur give Les Habitants a proper spanking (sorry Habs fans, had to get a dig in).
Le Centre Bell also has pretty good acoustics for a large building. I saw U2 here and was impressed with how good the sound was. One of the coolest things about the place is that you can walk from downtown Montreal all the way down to the Bell Centre underground, which really pays dividends in the Montreal winter when it's 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of -23F.
Le Centre Bell receiving 5 stars is a no brainer.
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