Many years ago, I used to work downtown at the Air Canada Building. Diagonally across from it was Eaton's. On a day shift, on a Friday, I'd walk over and head up to the restaurant on the top floor for lunch. The roast beef with Yorkshire pudding was so good, as was the open-faced turkey sandwich with veggies and mashed potatoes. I'd also check out the grocery store in the basement. I loved shopping there before heading home. I also have fond memories getting a pair of Esprit cargo pants that I wore until they weren't wearable and heat-changing nail polish. I moved to Rochester, MN. Eaton's shuttered for good across Canada. This building was demolished. When I moved back to Winnipeg after my stateside working stint was over, MTS Centre was built where Eaton's was. Winnipeg lost its NHL hockey team, the Jets. We gained getting the Manitoba Moose, which was the the AHL farm team of the Vancouver Canucks first, and now the Jets. Both the Moose and Jets used to play at Winnipeg Arena before that arena got demolished and MTS Centre, affectionally called the Phonebooth, became the Moose's home. I was a season ticket holder for the Moose for a couple of years (same as what I have with the Minnesota Wild, which are a handful of tickets each season) before I moved back to the greater Toronto area. I would often go to Marlies games when the Moose were in town. Well, MTS Centre is now called Canada Life Centre. Yep, the insurance company that used to be Great West Life. So many changes. Don't ask me what the arena's nickname is. The Policy? I don't know. Last month, I took in a Manitoba Moose game after over a decade. I parked on Hargrave, a block away from the arena. I used to park at Eaton Place before it changed its name to City Place. Change is totally a constant here. The interior of this venue has been spruced up with the Jets 2.0 also sharing the same space as the Moose. It's bright and welcoming. The doors open an hour before the game starts. We were lining up in the lobby. There is only one entrance. If you're a kid playing hockey at intermission, you can bypass the crowd and go in. Lucky kids! Staff were extremely helpful and nice. You first go through a security scan. You then present your ticket on your phone. It was such an easy process. I'm so used to not bringing a bag thanks to going to Xcel Energy Center that I didn't bring one here. Instead, I got a Moose-branded bag that made my day. I never got swag in the past. I used the washroom a couple of times. Washrooms are more spaced out at this centre, but the one that I used was clean and nicely maintained. I got a fountain drink at one of the concession stands. As usual, it was overpriced, but I needed one. I paid with a credit card and had a nice woman get me my Diet Coke. It lasted during the entire game. I got a decent seat almost dead centre. Unfortunately, the guy sitting next to me decided to shake his leg and it was touching mine that I told him to move it not once, but twice. He might like the earthquake feeling, but I don't want to be forced to join him. So odd! Anyway, it was great watching a Moose game, despite the team losing to the Milwaukee Admirals. Although I don't take in AHL games as much as I used to, it's nice that I tend to see one every year. I visited the Jets Gear store to check out the merchandise after the game was over. It didn't have a lot of Moose items. I still have a couple of Moose front-zip hoodies. I wish that this store had some so I could spruce up my Moose wardrobe. Mick E. Moose is the team mascot for both the Jets and Moose. Dancing Gabe, a fixture at Jets 1.0 home games, is still kicking around for Moose and Jets 2.0 games. Unfortunately, I was not in town to catch a Jets game. However, supporting the Moose by seeing a game was a ton of fun and long overdue. Canada Life Centre is a decent arena to take in a hockey game. Prices are reasonable and there isn't a bad seat in the house. I look forward to returning to hopefully see the Jets or another Moose game, or take in a concert. (102) read more

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Who approved the mens bathrooms w only 1 way & one way out? Yikes worst people flow I have seen & crazy to maneuver the confuse between periods. But...what a GREAT place to watch a game!!! We sat in Sec 106, row 2, seats 17-18 - awesome to be so close to the players even if it was hard to see the players in the far corner. Also great to be in the end the Jets shoot twice & by the box. To see the full rink row 7 would be about right. Fans were super friendly - they were playing the Hawks - although it probably helped I was wearing my Bobby Hull jersey! Beers were easy to get ($11.62 USD) and popcorn was like movie theater! Also really cool how you walk inside from the Delta hotel and the main level is actually at street level - so the stadium goes down to the ice. Great times & highly recommend a game. read more

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Located in the heart of Winnipeg's downtown, this arena is home to the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. The AHL Manitoba Moose also play here. It's a nice area with high glass walls, bright lights, and a clean organized concourse. It's got skywalks connecting different parking structure and adjacent buildings so u can get a reprieve from the cold weather when your going to a game. This venue also holds major concerts and other Ticketmaster events. The sections and seats are easy to navigate. There's plenty of signs and ushers to guide you through. The seats are comfortable and the angles for hockey games are clear. I've sat in different sections and you can always get a good view of the action. Concession prices have actually come down this season so do take advantage while there's a discount. Overall a great NHL arena. Not the biggest, but definitely one of the loudest with our passionate fans. Go Jets Go !!! read more

Nice downtown arena. Came here for a Jets game and found it very easy to get in and out of. Concourses are a little narrow but it wasn't too bad navigating through the crowds. My seats were very good and also comfortable. Prices were about what you'd expect at a hockey game ($4.50 for a bottle of water) but service was fast and friendly. The building itself is in good shape and looks like it is well maintained. Bathroom was clean and everything was working. Getting picked up by a cab afterwards was a little tough because I couldn't find a dedicated area for pick ups and drop offs and when I called Unicity, they just told me to say where I wanted to be picked up, but that was hard since I wasn't familiar with the streets around the center. It all worked out but it would be good to have some easily identifiable places for pickups so finding your cab after the game was easier. Also, Winnipeg needs Uber. Overall a nice place. read more

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Bell MTS Place, in addition to being the home for the Jets and Moose, hosts several concerts throughout the year. I had the privilege to attend the deadmau5 concert here during Halloween, and found the venue to be generally decent. Security and coat check was relatively smooth and reasonable, with coat check at an affordable cost of $3. Now that it's getting colder, coat check is necessary for dance concerts like this. The seating aisles were quite narrow. It wasn't easy trying to navigate between rows and the floor (I had floor tickets but my friends didn't, so I rotated between the floor and seats most of the night). The sound system, fortunately, was pretty good for an arena. The food and drink selection could be better, but I guess that's to be expected for arena amenities. For a city the size of Winnipeg, the fact they have a NHL-sized arena downtown is really impressive. There's definitely room for improvement, but Bell MTS Place does its job well as the premier entertainment venue in the city. read more

The MTS centre has a new score board. Sweet! There has been some restructuring of the seats which is not appreciated by many fans. They added a row under the light rail. This meant raising the seats in the sections above upwards by about 2 cm. There is not a wide berth between rows, so it seems like you could fall into the fan in front of you if you were not careful. The seats are comfy and the cup holders are nice. The concourse is not wide, so it gets congested. The food vendors are nice. and the bathrooms are clean. Lovely, helpful staff. read more

Canada Life Centre - Stadiums & Arenas Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

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Nice ice area a with lots of delicious food selections!! Easy to find free street parking and lots of indoor parking options too! read more

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Although many locals seem to lament the spending of public dollars on an arena that brought Canada's favorite sport back to Manitoba the Bell MTS Place nonetheless offers a great gameday experience from the clean concourses to on-ice product and seating. Having visited all but 1of the current NHL cities for a game the volume of this arena is amongst the highest and fans are both educated and passionate. read more

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April 30,2023. Omg, My family and I went to a Moose game and had people ( karens) in front of us they didn't like it because we were cheering to loudly at a hockey game. Also didn't like it went we were speaking about how the team was giving up the puck. We were commenting to each other about what was going on at the game. None of their business to begin with. Then we were told by the staff that our entire section was being to mean at the opposition and being to loud. And that the ICE CREW was complaining that we were being to loud and shouldn't say anything to the opposition, because it's mean to boo them!! So now when you go to a hockey game especially when they show to make some noise, Don't make noise, don't jump up when the Moose or Jets score. And don't boo the opposing team because your being mean!! OMG REALLY?! Now you can see just how this place is and how they can't seem to sell out for either team!! You can bet my family and I will NOT be going to see either hockey teams play again. I'm sick of the way this went down I'm like omg!!! That is our team. The staff member just blew it off as like this is fans just having a good time and others didn't like it!!! But from this point on, We will NOT be attending anything at the Canada Life Ctr nor will we pay for tickets for hockey games again. As you CANT go to and cheer for your teams because you're to loud!!!! I wish there was a minus rating on here!!! read more

The outside of the phone booth ain't so pretty but it's the inside that counts isn't it? Came here for my first Jets game on Dec 27th vs. Minnesota and was giddy with excitement! Was very fortunate to experience an onslaught of goals for a 6-4 win form the Jets! The highlight was 6 goals from both teams in the first period alone! Got a couple of beers from one of the concessions and the fill from the bottom should come with a caution to not press the bottom magnet or you get a splash of beer on your shoes! Ate a Jets dog which was a nice treat with perogy bites and onion! Awesome! The sight lines are great and the experience although a bit more sedate than I had visioned was awesome! read more

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I normally don't review arenas but felt like this one was a pretty big letdown. Flew up from Chicago to see the Jets and mark them off my arena list. I like the team and have heard great things about the atmosphere, so I was looking forward to this one more than usual. - Merchandise: Just wanted a long sleeve shirt or something cool but the selection, even at the larger team store at the ground level wasn't great. Lots of clearance Nic Petan stuff if he's your guy ;) - Food: Didn't have any. - Aforementioned atmosphere: Good vibe and definitely enjoyable. - Seats: Too narrow and close together. I am 5' 7"ish and felt uncomfortably close to the people next to me. Had I realized how claustrophobic this would be I may have toughed out the 20 degree F temperatures and left my coat in the hotel. - Beer: This is the biggest offender to me. Bud Light/Budweiser everywhere which...ok, whatever, I'm sure they pay a pretty penny for that right. But there are almost no other options, and the other options are a ripoff! Found a vendor selling Corona and Stella for $10. Figured Stella was at least better than a Bud Light tallboy. Imagine my surprise when the vendor pulled a 12 OZ CAN of Stella out of the cooler. Talk about profit margins! All in all, you have to come here for the Jets. But I highly recommend you don't wear more than a jersey/second layer, do all of your drinking at the local watering hole and shop for your gear online or whatever local places sell it. read more

Even though I attended on a night the home town Winnipeg Jets lost, and have clearly not made the playoffs. I am in love with this facility for sports and entertainment. It is well layed out, and although the corridors can get super busy at intermissions, it never seems so insane that I feel slowed down (important when you need to visit the little boys room :) If you are with someone who goes a lot, ask them to take you for a drink downstairs. They'll be happy to oblige, and you'll find there is way more than just beer poured from a tap. Having said that, there is something for everyone on EVERY level. True North... Well done...well done! read more

Just had a terrible experience with customer service. Was told over the phone by James in Winnipeg that I am only looking to punish and revenge MTS employees when I tried to find out what is going to be done about bad service I received recently. I can't belive he just told this to a paying loyal costumer of 9 years. He also refused to conect me with a supervisor or apologize. He kept escalating the situation for no reason. Gave me the impression they don't need me. Oh well. Goodbye Bell MTS and hello Shaw. Don't do business with them. read more

I've heard all the raves about the Jumbo Jet Dog so I had to give it a go. A good size tube steak for sure with lots of fixings that you can add on your own plus order some extras. I went for it and had the chili added. Mistake!!! First off the hot dog itself was cooked, just barely. The bun that I thought had been toasted was plain and doughy. The real bust was the simulated chili they put on it. Best way to describe it is cool sand. It was dry, tasteless and cool. Very disappointing. read more

GO Jets GO! The MTS Centre has done a lot of renovations for the NHL not that it really needed it. The staff is always friendly and willing to help and is a fantastic venue to go see a show / concert. read more

This building is an eye sore. Only in Winnipeg would people be unable to agree on a modern or historical look for a centre piece of downtown. So instead you get an awful mishmash of brick and steel that successfully leaves no one happy. read more

MTS Centre (now Bell-MTS Place) is home to The Winnipeg Jets & AHL Team Manitoba Moose. The arena has been around for 12 years, in replacement of the once bygone Winnipeg Arena. The Bell-MTS Place has went through many evolutions since opening up back in 2005. Over the years there has been a new score board installed, new seats & a loge added, bathrooms have been expanded and added, and there are many great concessions. Bell-MTS Place is always upgrading including current renovations for the upcoming 2017-18 NHL Season. read more

Given the size of the city I think they got the Mts center right. Not really a bad seat , the parking facilities are an improvement over the old stadium and it is really nice to see the downtown liven up since the stadium was built. It would be nice to get some local food vendors in the mix and maybe some family priced food deals on moose night. read more

I came here when it was the Winnipeg Arena before the original demolition. It was a s*hit venue then. I came at the time in 2004 to see David Bowie on the Reality tour. The acoustics were okay, however, I remember not being too much of a fan of the area of the venue and the atmosphere of the venue. read more

It's a good venue for its size and that means every seat in the upper bowl is decent, especially for sporting events. The food could be better but they are trying. Need to get better beer on tap for sure. Bud is gross and Keith's ain't far behind it. Excellent fan and customer experience all around. read more