Laval Rocket
Rink: Place Bell
Capacity: 10,062
Built: 2017
League: AHL
City: Laval Quebec
Home Of: Laval Rocket
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: November 1, 2025 vs Rochester
Unique Arena: #113
AHL Arena: #18
Built just a stone’s throw from Autoroute 15, Place Bell is a large building that announces its presence on the south side of a large commercial area that has plenty of shopping, schools and a metro station connecting the area to downtown Montreal. On the other side of Place Bell is a large residential area. There are a couple large parking lots adjacent to the rink but an even larger underground parking area as well. The rink is also built into the side of a slight hill so the side you see in the photo above is actually the shorter side of the building from the outside. The main entrance at street level spills you directly into the concourse which is near the top of the main seating bowl but goes under the stands top few rows.
Place Bell has one massive lower bowl which is about the size of most NHL lower bowls. There is also an upper deck, but it is only about five rows of seats in a U shape above the suites at the top of the main bowl. It is very similar to the design that they have in Hershey though the upper-level seats here are closer to the action and therefore give off a better view. There is a separate concourse for the upper bowl, and you enter the upper bowl from the top of it and go down to your seats. The seating bowl has a nice pitch to it which gives most of the seats a great view of the action. The presentation in Laval is pro quality with bilingual PA announcements.
The concourse in Laval can feel a bit tight at times even with two separate concourses because ninety percent of the crowd uses the main bowl. At the far end of the concourse behind one of the nets it narrows up greatly but is a nice bar area with couches that anyone can use. Despite the concourse narrowing up there greatly it might have been the easiest area to navigate. The team store is well stocked with Rocket and Habs gear, but the big crowds make moving around inside quite difficult. It’s not a small store but it feels like it. Montreal like Toronto is a hockey mad city but usually they are mad for their NHL team and their NHL team only. In years gone by the QMJHL has had several franchises play in the Montreal area including Laval and usually these teams play to sparse crowds. However, the AHL Rocket have enjoyed great success at the gate as they are typically top five in average attendance in the AHL with the building being at capacity for most games. One would imagine the fact that this is the Montreal Canadiens main farm team would be the reason for this but it’s still nice to see something other than the Habs directly thrive in the area. The atmosphere is pretty great in Laval too. It’s not your classic Quebec nut case type of crowd as there are a lot of families taking advantage of the non-NHL prices. But still the crowd makes more noise that you usually see at non-NHL games across Canada.
I can’t say Place Bell blew me away but at the same time I can’t think of any glaring negatives about the building either. It’s a great rink full of great fans and it is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the Montreal area. The arena is also now the main home for the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire and they averaged about 9,000 fans per game in 2024-25 so one would imagine it is a similar experience to that of the Rocket.
