GM Place

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General Motors Place, sponsored by the American automaker General Motors, also known as "GM Place" and "The Garage", is an indoor arena at 800 Griffiths Way in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1995 at a cost of C$160 million in private financing, the arena is home to the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, and was formerly home to the Vancouver Ravens of the NLL and the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA. The Grizzlies have since moved to Memphis and the Ravens organization has folded. The arena seats 18,630 for ice hockey and 19,193 for basketball. It has 88 luxury suites, 12 hospitality suites, and 2,195 club seats. The arena replaced the Pacific Coliseum as the main venue for events in Vancouver.

On November 17, 2004, Francesco Aquilini, head of the Aquilini Investment Group based in Vancouver, signed a deal with John McCaw, owner of the Vancouver Canucks, and became a 50% owner of the team and General Motors Place with McCaw.

In 2006 GM Place was renovated to include a new LCD scoreboard and an around the rink "energy strip" consisting of LED panels.

The arena is served by the Skytrain's Stadium-Chinatown Station.

Past major events

Vancouver Canucks street banners outside GM Place.

• The first event held there was a Bryan Adams concert.
• Host venue for the 2001 World Figure Skating Championships.
• Host venue for the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championships.
• Venue for the 1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
• Venue for the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
• The ninth WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996 and WWF Rock Bottom in 1998.
• GM Place will host the ice hockey events in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. These will be the first Olympic games to be use NHL sized ice.

External link

• [Canucks.com - General Motors Place]

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