The Top 5 Hockey Arenas with the Highest Spectator Capacity

  Hockey Arena Team City Capacity Construction Cost
1 Bell Centre Montreal Canadiens Montreal, Quebec 21,500 $270 million (1993)
2 Scotiabank Place Ottawa Senators Ottawa, Ontario 20,503 $200 million (1992)
3 United Center Chicago Blackhawks Chicago, Illinois 20,500 $175 million (1992)
4 Joe Louis Arena Detroit Red Wings Detroit, Michigan 20,066 $57 million (1977)
5 Wachovia Center Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19,519 $210 million (1996)
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 Special Report
  1. Construction on the Bell centre (formally the Molson Centre) began on June 22, 1993 and doors were officially opened on March 16th, 1996. The total area is 168,780 sq. ft. (351' x 479') and besides the building seating holds a Press Gallery (with capacity to accommodate up to 300 media personnel), 4 restaurants, five television studios, and a press conference area. The inaugural game was between the New York Rangers vs. Montreal on Saturday, March 16, 1996 (Montreal won 4-2).
  2. Scotiabank Place contains roughly 23,000 cubic metres of structural concrete (weighing 76,000 tonnes), 1,100 steel pilings, 2,750 tons of reinforcing steel, 2,400 tons of structural steel, 250 interlocking precast concrete exterior blocks (27,000 pounds each), 108,000 square feet of metal siding, 500,000 concrete blocks, 43 kilometres of piping (heating, plumbing and sprinkler), 2,500 kilometres of wiring, 11 acres of drywall, 3,800 square yards of glass, with 75 tons of glass at main entrance (360 panels). Over 500 workers worked at the site during peak construction with 2800 person years of labour during the construction phase. Construction was completed six months ahead of the original schedule. PCL Constructors Eastern was the general contractor for the project.
  3. The plan to build the United Center was created by the late Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf, the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls. Apparently United Airlines is paying about $1.8 million per year until 2014 for its naming rights to the center. The United Center covers 960,000 square feet (89,187 m²) and is located on a 46-acre (19 ha) lot.
  4. Joe Louis Arena's first NHL game was an All-Star Game which was played before 21,002 spectators. Gordie Howe (then of the Hartford Whalers) was introduced on the Wales Conference line-up and received a ten-minute standing ovation.
Tags: Sports Statistics, Top 5 Most

Sources:  Various

List Notes: Statistics are for standing room only. US and Canadian dollars where applicable.
Hockey Arenas with the Highest Spectator Capacity

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