Mount Royal Arena



The Mount Royal Arena was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the corner of Mount Royal and St. Urbain Streets. It was home of the National Hockey League (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1920 to 1926 and the Montreal Maroons in 1924, before the Montreal Forum was built. It had a capacity of 6,000 seated, 10,000 when including standing room. It was a natural ice rink without artificial ice machines.

The Arena was supposed to open for the opening game of the 1919-20 NHL season with the Quebec Bulldogs visiting on January 5, 1920. However the game had to be postponed because a local water shortage prevented the building of the ice sheet. The actual opening was on January 6 with a doubleheader of the Montreal City League.

It opened for pro hockey partly unfinished on January 10, 1920 for a game between the Canadiens and Toronto, won by Montreal 14-7. A week later, parts of a balcony broke before a game with the Ottawa Senators, and police stopped sales at 6,500. The rink had been built quickly to house the Canadiens who had lost their arena, Jubilee Arena to fire in 1919.

The Canadiens eventually moved from the arena because of its limited capacity. For years the team wanted an artificial ice surface, but was not able to get one in this rink until 1924. Owner Thomas Duggan concentrated on getting American franchises into the NHL rather than fulfilling his statements that he would bring artificial ice to the arena. After the Canadiens left in 1924 the arena was filled with the Mount Royal Intermediate League, the Mount Royal Junior League, and the University of Montreal home games, among others.In the late 1930's, arenas began opening in the Montreal suburbs. The St. Laurent Arena, Lachine Arena, and Verdun Auditorium took business away from Mount Royal. They were far more modern, smaller, and cheaper to rent. Also the land the Mount Royal Arena became very expensive as the area filled up with residences and industry.

In 1937 the arena was converted into an auditorium, later into a commercial building. While an auditorium, Enrico Caruso sang there and Norman Bethune once gave an important speech to rally his supporters. On February 29, 2000, it was destroyed by fire. A supermarket now stands on the arena's former site.