Mount Royal Arena

{{Short description|Indoor arena in Montreal, Quebec}}

{{infobox stadium

| stadium_name = Mount Royal Arena

| image = Image:Arena Mont-Royal.jpg

| location = Mount Royal Avenue and St. Urbain Street, Montreal, Quebec

| coordinates = {{coord|45|31|8|N|73|35|12|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| broke_ground = 1919

| opened = 1920

| closed = 2000

| owner = Thomas Duggan
George Kennedy

| tenants = Montreal Canadiens (1920-26)

| seating_capacity = 6,000 (10,000 including standing room)

| surface = natural ice

}}

The Mount Royal Arena ({{langx|fr|Aréna Mont-Royal}}) was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the corner of Mount Royal and St. Urbain Street.Mouton(1987), p. 111 It was home of the National Hockey League (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1920 to 1926, before moving to the then two-year-old Montreal Forum. It had a capacity of 6,000 seated, 10,000 when including standing room. It was a natural ice rink, without machines to freeze the ice mechanically.

It opened, partly unfinished, on January 10, 1920, for a game between the Canadiens and Toronto,Coleman(1966), p. 366 won by Montreal 14–7. A week later, parts of a balcony broke before a game with Ottawa, 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 uneven natural ice surface. The team wanted a mechanically frozen ice surface but was never able to get one in the rink, as owner Thomas Duggan concentrated on getting American franchises into the NHL, rather than fulfilling his statements that he would install ice-making equipment in the arena.

After the Canadiens left, the arena was converted into an auditorium and then into a commercial building. While an auditorium, Enrico Caruso sang there, and Norman Bethune, back from Spain in June of 1937, gave an important speech to rally supporters of the Loyalists.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/costly-morning-fire-claims-early-home-of-nhls-canadiens/article4160992/|work=The Globe and Mail |date=March 1, 2000 |title=Costly Morning Fire Claims Home of the Montreal Canadiens |last=Peritz |first=Ingrid |page=A03}} On February 29, 2000, it was destroyed by fire. A Maxi supermarket now stands on the arena's former site.