Bell Centre Game Day Guide
Montréal Canadiens · Montreal, QC
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
General bags may not exceed 15 x 10 x 4 cm; backpacks, coolers, and sports bags are prohibited regardless of size.
The bag rule can vary by event, so check the specific event page. All guests undergo mandatory electronic screening at entry.
- Gate opening
Bell Centre doors generally open 90 minutes before Canadiens games.
Confirm the specific event because opening times can change.
- Mobile tickets
Canadiens ticket delivery may be mobile through the Canadiens app, by emailed e-ticket, by mail, or by will call when that option is offered.
The purchase agreement says emailed e-tickets may be printed and presented at the event.
- Re-entry
Re-entry is not permitted after a guest leaves Bell Centre.
- Prohibited items
Prohibited items include backpacks, coolers, sports bags, oversized bags, hard briefcases, weapons, aerosols, pepper spray, outside food and drink, professional cameras, recording gear, selfie sticks, drones, noisemakers, fireworks, lasers, computers, and tablets.
Event promoters may add restrictions, and security may reject other suspicious items.
- Nursing and lactation
The Wellness Space on the M2 Loto-Quebec level includes a nursing room, chairs, and a microwave.
The space is accessible through Gates 4 and 10 and also includes a rest area and quiet space for autistic children.
- Tickets for children
Children younger than 24 months may enter free if they sit on an accompanying adult's lap; children 24 months and older need a ticket and their own seat.
Staff may request proof of the child's age.
- Guest services
Customer Experience counters are behind Sections 123 and 327.
Guests may also ask a supervisor or usher for help. Free child-identification wristbands are available at the counters, and post-event comments can be sent to cec@centrebell.ca.
- Service animals
Service animals are permitted at Bell Centre; other animals are prohibited.
- Smoking and vaping
Smoking and vaping are prohibited inside Bell Centre, and leaving to smoke does not allow re-entry.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Bell Centre, hour by hour.
Explore downtown Montreal
Take the metro to Lucien-L'Allier and walk the streets around the Bell Centre. Crescent Street and Sainte-Catherine are packed with restaurants and bars.
Pregame on Crescent Street
The bars on Rue Crescent are the epicenter of Habs pregame culture. Expect jerseys, chanting, and electricity, especially for Leafs or Bruins games.
Doors open
Enter the Bell Centre and walk the concourse. The Canadiens' championship banners and retired numbers hanging from the rafters set the tone.
Find your seat
The arena fills completely, all 21,105 seats. The energy is palpable. The anthem singer is a Montreal tradition.
Game time
Three periods of the most passionate hockey atmosphere in the NHL. Fans react to every save, every hit, every shift. The Bell Centre is LOUD.
Grab a poutine
Poutine and smoked meat sandwiches are the signature arena foods. Montreal's culinary influence is everywhere.
Rue Crescent or Old Montreal
Win or lose, the bars on Crescent Street stay packed. Or walk to Old Montreal for late-night dining in one of the city's most beautiful neighborhoods.
Tips & Fan Reports
Go as early as you can and walk every level of the building. It is full of fascinating Canadiens history. The atmosphere at the Bell Centre is something every hockey fan should experience at least once.
Bell Centre is one of the loudest arenas in the NHL. The 'Ole, Ole' chant during wins is an experience.
Crescent Street (5 min walk) is Montreal's nightlife strip. Dozens of bars and restaurants for pregame.
Dress warmly for the walk from metro to bars, Montreal winters are brutal.
The Bell Centre is the largest NHL arena and one of the loudest. The atmosphere is a bucket-list hockey experience.
Montreal's food scene is world-class. Skip the arena food and eat on Rue Sainte-Catherine before the game.
Take the metro, Lucien-L'Allier station is connected directly to the arena. No walking outside in Montreal winter.
Event parking opens at noon, long before the 90-minute door, so the garage is not the constraint.
Studded tires are barred year-round, worth knowing in a Montreal winter.
Locketgo lockers in the Lucien l'Allier tunnel take a bag you cannot carry in.
Before the Game
The Bell Centre is at 1909 avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal and publishes no tailgating policy. Its parking is an indoor garage, and the pregame is downtown Montreal. Two restrictions are unusual enough to plan around: pickup trucks are not accepted in the garage during hockey games at all, and vehicles with studded tires are forbidden at any time of year. Event-night parking opens at noon and runs C$20 to C$45 depending on the event, against a flat C$20 daily rate on non-event weekdays. Doors generally open 90 minutes before face-off, so 5:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game.
Where to Go Before the Game
The indoor parking garage
Open to the public 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on non-event weekdays at a flat C$20 daily rate, and from noon on event nights at C$20 to C$45 depending on the event. Pickup trucks are refused during hockey games.
Known for From noon on event nights · C$20-C$45 · No pickup trucks at hockey
Locketgo lockers, Lucien l'Allier tunnel
Rentable lockers in the Lucien l'Allier tunnel near entrance C, the place for a bag you cannot take in, though the Bell Centre does not accept responsibility for stored items.
Known for Near entrance C · In the tunnel · Bag storage
1909 avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal
The arena's own address in downtown Montreal, with the Lucien l'Allier and Bonaventure metro stations and the surrounding downtown streets forming the pregame.
Known for Downtown Montreal · Metro connections · Arena address
Pregame Rules
What Bell Centre allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Indoor parking is open to the public on non-event days Monday to Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., at a fixed daily rate of C$20.
- On event nights indoor parking opens at noon, at C$20 to C$45 depending on the event.
- Pickup trucks are not accepted during hockey games.
- Vehicles with studded tires are forbidden at all times.
- Locketgo lockers are in the Lucien l'Allier tunnel near entrance C. The Bell Centre is not responsible for lost or stolen bags.
- Doors generally open 90 minutes before game time: 5:30 p.m. for a 7:00 p.m. game.
Weather
Bell Centre is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NHL season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 56°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 7°F. October is the wettest month at 3.7 inches and January the driest at 1.9 inches.
That January low ranks 2nd coldest of the 32 NHL venues, and October here ranks 18th wettest.
October
3.7 inchesNovember
2.5 inchesJanuary
1.9 inchesMarch
2.1 inchesApril
2.8 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages, including alcohol, glass bottles, and cans, are prohibited at Bell Centre.
- A coat for the walk in
January lows average 7°F between the lot and the door at Bell Centre.
- A rain layer for the walk in
October averages 3.7 inches of rain outside Bell Centre.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: Bell Centre doors generally open 90 minutes before Canadiens games.
- Pregame
Bell Centre official site: Getting Here, FAQ and Security, with the Canadiens' own FAQ
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Bell Centre and Montreal Canadiens FAQ, security, accessibility, ticket, and purchase-agreement pages reviewed for Canadiens game-day policies.