The QMJHL Arena Guide - Colisée Jean-Béliveau, Longueuil Collège Français

Concrete brutalism was an architectural school popular in the 1960's and 1970's. It emphasized the brute strength of exposed concrete, free of ornamentation or any kind of human scale. Brutalist buildings are little-loved today by the general public, but every once in a while, brutalism produced a building that worked for one reason or another, and one of those buildings is the Colisée Jean-Béliveau in Longueuil. Opening on October 12, 1968, the rink is designed with a U-shaped roof similar to the famous Moose Jaw Civic Centre in the Western Hockey League.

The Colisée is located on parkland in the midst of a new suburban development, with a small parking lot and a tennis bubble dome behind it. There is no marquee sign, and the only thing announcing its function to the outside is a bronze statue of Jean Béliveau outside the front door. Once inside, the arena lobby is tastefully done in cream and red, and includes a small resto-bar and a lot of Collège Français memorabilia, as the team still exists in the LHJAAAQ.

The inside layout of the Colisée is a twin-grandstand model, with only standing-room in the ends. The far side only has six rows of seats, but the near side extends far up to the heavens on an Everestian angle. There are three large steps between each row of seats, and the climb all the way to the top is a great cardio workout. Once up there, the other side of the arena is completely cut off from view, with only the ice not blocked off by the angle of the roof.

Longueuil hosted the QMJHL between 1982 and 1994, with the Chevaliers (Cavaliers) playing from 1982-87 before moving to Victoriaville, and the Collège Français playing 1988-94 before folding. With a low capacity and no luxury suites or modern amenities, it seems unlikely that it will ever host the QMJHL again even on a temporary basis. But the arena still gives new meaning to the phrase "sitting on top of the action". While the concrete architecture is ugly, I'd still love to see a game there while holding onto the walls for dear life and looking straight down at the ice.