Rogers Arena

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The arena rose from a downtown parking lot in 1995, bankrolled by C$160 million in private cash to replace the creaking Pacific Coliseum. It was built not just for the Canucks, but to welcome the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies—a short-lived romance that ended when the Grizzlies fled to Memphis in 2001. Originally dubbed General Motors Place, fans called it 'The Garage,' a nickname that stuck even after GM bailed on the naming rights in 2010. That July, Rogers Communications officially renamed the building Rogers Arena on July 22, following an announcement on July 6. The arena also briefly housed the Vancouver Ravens of the NLL from 2002 to 2004, and later welcomed the Vancouver Warriors as an expansion team in 2019 (the Vancouver Stealth had relocated to San Jose in 2017). For the 2010 Winter Olympics, the building shed all corporate branding and became 'Canada Hockey Place'—a temporary rebrand that saw the men's and women's hockey teams both capture gold. In 2011, PepsiCo inked a five-year deal to be the exclusive snack-and-drink provider, and ever since, concerts have been marketed as 'Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena.'

In Their Own Story

The Zamboni hums its low, mechanical lullaby across the freshly cut ice. A lone linesman checks the markings, chalk dust drifting in the cold air above the surface. Beyond the glass, the concourse is still quiet—only the muffled thud of a puck being tapped against the boards by a maintenance worker. But in twenty minutes, the doors will open. Nineteen thousand voices will flood the bowl. The smell of hot dogs and cold beer will mix with the sharp, metallic tang of fresh ice. And somewhere in the third row, a kid in a worn-out Canucks jersey will press her forehead to the glass and whisper, 'Go Canucks,' as if the words themselves could push the puck into the net. The arena holds its breath. Then the lights drop, the organ swells, and the city becomes one body, one heartbeat, one roar that rattles the steel beams above.

Reader's Guide

The glass doors slide open, and the roar of the crowd hits you like a wave—warm, electric, alive. Grab a beer from a concourse kiosk, but don't linger: the best view is from section 117, where the glass curves low and you can hear the players curse as they slam into the boards. Arrive early to watch warm-ups; the puck slaps the ice with a crack that echoes through the empty upper bowl. If you're lucky, a player will flip a puck over the glass to a kid in the front row. The seats are steep, the sightlines sharp—even from the nosebleeds, you can see the sweat on a goalie's mask. And when the siren blares for a goal, the entire building tips: 19,000 people leap as one, and for a second, you forget you're in a building at all. You're just part of the noise.

Did You Know?

• The arena was originally named General Motors Place and was commonly known as 'GM Place' or 'The Garage'.
• During the 2010 Winter Olympics, the arena was temporarily renamed 'Canada Hockey Place' due to regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites.
• The arena was built at a cost of C$160 million in private financing.
• On January 8, 2025, the first Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) game in Vancouver was held here, with 19,038 in attendance.
• Prior to the 2010–11 Canucks season, four-storey high theatrical scrims and 16 projectors were installed—the first setup of its kind in North American sports.

From Expansion to the Garage: The Arena's Founding Years

When the NBA announced its 1995 expansion into Canada, awarding franchises to both Vancouver and Toronto, the city urgently needed a modern indoor venue worthy of professional sport. The result was a C$160 million privately financed arena at 800 Griffiths Way in downtown Vancouver, completed in 1995 to replace the aging Pacific Coliseum as the city's primary indoor sports facility. Named General Motors Place under a sponsorship deal with General Motors Canada, the building was affectionately dubbed "GM Place" or simply "The Garage" by locals. It was designed from the outset to be home to both the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies. The GM naming rights endured until July 6, 2010, when the automaker chose not to renew and Rogers Communications secured a ten-year agreement, rebranding the venue as Rogers Arena. The arena also briefly served as home to the Vancouver Ravens of the National Lacrosse League between 2002 and 2004, a franchise whose operations were later suspended despite revival efforts in 2007 and 2008.

Olympic Ice and Stanley Cup Nights

The arena's most storied chapter arrived in February 2010, when it hosted both the men's and women's ice hockey tournaments at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Because Olympic regulations prohibited corporate branding on event venues, the building was temporarily renamed Canada Hockey Place. Canada claimed gold in both competitions on its ice, a moment that will forever define the facility's identity. The hockey legacy extends far beyond the Games: the venue hosted the 1998 NHL All-Star Game, the 2006 and 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Boston Bruins completed a four-game sweep of the Canucks in a decisive Game 7. Queen Elizabeth II dropped the ceremonial first puck during a 2002 exhibition pitting the San Jose Sharks against Vancouver. The arena's hockey story continues to evolve; on January 8, 2025, it hosted its first Professional Women's Hockey League game, drawing 19,038 spectators as the Montreal Victoire edged the Toronto Sceptres 4–2.

The Grizzlies, the Warriors, and a Basketball Thread

The Grizzlies were the arena's original basketball tenants, and their arrival was inseparable from the NBA's 1995 Canadian expansion. Their first home game, a November 5, 1995 overtime thriller against the Minnesota Timberwolves, ended in a 100–98 Vancouver victory. Over six seasons the Grizzlies built a following before relocating to Memphis ahead of the 2001–02 season; their final contest in Vancouver, a 95–110 defeat to the Houston Rockets on April 14, 2001, closed that chapter. Basketball nonetheless retained a foothold. The arena became home to the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League, and in October 2014 it hosted its first NBA game since the Grizzlies' departure—a preseason matchup in which the Toronto Raptors beat the Sacramento Kings 99–94. The thread continued in August 2025, when the venue staged the first WNBA regular-season game ever played in Canada, featuring the Seattle Storm.

Renovation, Technology, and the Voices of Workers

Beginning before the 2022–23 NHL season, the arena entered a three-phase modernization program. Phase one completely renovated the players' dressing rooms and team staff areas. Phase two, completed ahead of the 2023–24 season, installed a new centre-hung video board and a ribbon board above the lower bowl, with a VIP restaurant planned between the two tunnels leading to the benches. The final phase—replacing all seating in both the upper and lower bowl—was originally targeted for the 2024–25 season but has been delayed into 2025. The venue also made technological history in October 2010, when Canucks Sports & Entertainment installed four-storey theatrical scrims and sixteen projectors, the first such configuration in North American sports; their last use was during the 2015–16 season. Labor disputes have equally shaped the arena's story. In 2007, arena employees successfully switched their union affiliation from UNITE HERE Local 40 to the Christian Labour Association of Canada after a prolonged battle, and in 2009 concession workers, cooks, and event staff protested over their pay.