Montreal Forum

The Montreal Forum (In French:Le Forum de Montréal) was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996. The Forum was built by the Canadian Arena Company in 159 days.

Located at the northeast corner of Atwater Street and Saint Catherine Street near the Atwater (Montreal Metro), the building was historically significant as it was home to 24 Stanley Cup championships (22 of the Canadiens and two of the Montreal Maroons, for whom the arena was originally built). It was also home to the Montreal Royals and Montreal Junior Canadiens.

History
The Forum opened on November 29, 1924 at a total cost of Canadian$1,500,000 ($19,083,333.33 as of December 11, 2008 by inflation. with an original seating capacity of 9,300. It underwent two renovations, in 1949 and 1968 . When the Forum closed in 1996 it had a capacity of 17,959, which included approximately 1,600 in standing room.

Construction
The idea to build the Forum in 1923 is credited to Sir Edward Beattie, president of the Canadian Pacific railway. At the suggestion of Senator Donat Raymond, William Northey developed a plan for a 12,500 seat capacity rink. Plans were scaled back for financial reasons to a rink of 9,300 seats. Even at the reduced size, the rink could not immediately find financing. The Forum would eventually be financed by H. L. Timmins. The site selected was the site of a roller skating rink named the Forum, and the name was kept. The site had previously been the site of an outdoor ice hockey rink, used by Frank and Lester Patrick, Art Ross and Russell Bowie.

Ice hockey
While hosting the Canadiens and Maroons on Thursdays and Saturdays, the Forum also hosted the Quebec Senior Hockey League, featuring the Montreal Victorias, Montreal Royals and the Montreal Canadiens amateur team on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Quebec Junior Hockey League played on Monday nights, the Bank League on Tuesdays and the Railways and Telephone League played on Friday nights.

As well, the Forum was used by the university teams in Montreal, especially McGill University. The Metropolitan Montreal Junior League filled many dates in the 1950's and 1960's.

In 1947 the Montreal Royals won the Allan Cup in the building.

The Montreal Forum hosted Memorial Cup games in 1950, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973 & 1976, with the Montreal Junior Canadiens winning on home ice in 1970. In 1972 The Montreal Forum hosted game 1 of the famous "Summit Series" between Team Canada and the USSR. The USSR won the game 7-3 in a very warm building despite the air conditioning.

Only two visiting teams ever won the Stanley Cup on Forum ice: the New York Rangers did so in 1928, defeating the Maroons, while the Calgary Flames defeated the Canadiens in 1989.

On March 11, 1996, the Montreal Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, beating the Dallas Stars 4-1 on a Monday night. After the game, many previous hockey greats were presented to the crowd. Five days later, the team had settled into their new home, the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre), as they took to the ice, and celebrated with another win, against the New York Rangers.