EDDIE IZZARD

The arena is jointly
owned by telecomms
group Quebecor and
Quebec City Council
and operated by USbased
AEG Facilities
We were driven to design a very intimate bowl to provide fans with the best
possible sight lines – we wanted to place them as close as possible to the action
NEW SPACE
The CA$380m Centre Vidéotron is
located adjacent to ExpoCite – Quebec’s
4 million sq ft business district which
hosts trade shows, events and business
gatherings – and the arena has been
designed as a flexible, iconic and
accessible space.
With a capacity of 18,259 for hockey
games, Centre Vidéotron would rank as
the 15th largest of the NHL’s 30 arenas,
behind Montreal (the largest in the league
with a capacity of 21,273) and Toronto
(18,800) but ahead of those in other
established and larger hockey markets,
such as Boston (17,565) and Edmonton
(16,839). While primarily designed as a
hockey venue, the main amphitheatre’s
flexible design allows seven different
stage configurations to accommodate
a multitude of events, from an intimate
3,700 theatre experience to a 20,000
centre stage concert.
DESIGN
According to Brad Clark, senior principal
of Populous, the design was influenced as
much by Quebec’s extreme climate as it
was by its rich hockey history. “One of the
biggest influences on the design was the
way the city and its population celebrate
the winter months and the cold,” he said.
“Early in the design process, we
established that we wanted to capture the
sentiment of the cold Canadian climate –
the ice and snow – along with the warmth
of natural wood to speak to the area’s
booming timber industry. We really wanted
to incorporate maple wood and timber in
some meaningful way.
“We were creative in using affordable
and sustainable materials and natural
materials were central to bringing the story
to life. Centre Vidéotron is probably one
of the first – if not the only arena – which
incorporates wood into the primary
structure. All of the exterior framing of
the exterior skin is glue and wood, as is
the main atrium curtain wall framing along
the south side. Wood is a very prominent
material in this building, more so than any
arena that we have done to date.”
CLOSE TO THE ACTION
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of
Centre Vidéotron is the way the seating
bowls have been designed. The brief from
Quebecor was clear – seating was to be as
steep and tight as possible, in order to get
the fans close to the action and create an
unforgettable atmosphere.
“The mentality in Canada is quite
different from that in the States when it
comes to sport, especially ice hockey,” says
Clark. “For Canadians, attending a game is
all about the sport and seeing the action,
much more so than in the US, where there
is a lot of secondary activity going on. In
the US, going to a live sports event is seen
more as entertainment, an experience, a
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