The 20-year-old Bell Centre is undergoing a major, nearly C$100M "facelift inside and out, with much work already done and plenty more on tap during the next three years," according to Dave Stubbs of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. Canadiens Owner, President & CEO Geoff Molson yesterday "rolled out ambitious plans," noting that "every seat in the arena bowl has been replaced, with the arena’s capacity for hockey having grown by one in the process" to 21,288. WiFi has "frustratingly been hit-and-miss many nights," but now it "should be reliable throughout the building." Still to come are the "redesign of corridors and new video screens," as well as "revamping" of food concessions, loges and salons. Molson has "presented a plan to the city of Montreal to transform" the surrounding streets outside the arena "into a pedestrian avenue, complete with a glassed-in entryway" to the Bell Centre. Today's ribbon-cutting will "officially open La Place des Canadiens on the east side of the Bell Centre." This is the "rebranded 'Centennial Plaza,' which stood on the west side of the arena -- complete with statues of the legends, retired-jersey monuments, historic-moment markers and thousands of fan-purchased bricks" -- until it was "given the boot by the first phase of the Tour des Canadiens high-rise condo project." Molson said that details of a major sports restaurant, to be housed in the condo attached to the arena, "soon would be announced" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 10/15).
SINGULAR FOCUS: The GAZETTE's Stubbs notes Molson has a "multitude of balls in the air, also juggling the operation of the concert- and festival-promotion businesses of Evenko and Spectra." Since June Molson has been BOD Chair of Molson Coors Brewing Company. But he "stresses that the Canadiens are his core business that will not be compromised in any way while he spreads himself through his corporate duties and charitable foundation work." He said of taking the Molson-Coors job, "It’s a little more work but it’s not going to distract me from my regular job, which is to run this (Canadiens) organization." Meanwhile, Stubbs notes player salaries "are paid in U.S. dollars, while all of the team’s revenue, except that which comes from the NHL, is Canadian." Molson: “It’s a very complicated thing. ... There are moving parts but for sure, we have to do as much as we can to manage a deteriorating Canadian dollar over the long term. It makes it harder." He added, "I don’t sacrifice anything for the hockey team. What I do is I push other areas of our business to be as focused and aggressive on growth as possible" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 10/15).
