Every NHL home arena ranked by capacity — all 32 buildings, from ThrillZing’s venue database. Hockey arenas are the most standardized venues in major-league sports, which makes the outliers at both ends all the more interesting.
The Bell Centre in Montreal tops the list at 20,962, the largest arena in the league and one built first and foremost for hockey; Canadiens crowds have been filling it since 1996. Chicago’s United Center is second at 19,717.
All 32 NHL Arenas by Capacity
The complete 2026 ranking is below. Each arena links to its full ThrillZing venue profile.
| # | Arena | Team | Opened | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bell Centre | Montreal Canadiens | 1996 | 20,962 |
| 2 | United Center | Chicago Blackhawks | 1994 | 19,717 |
| 3 | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit Red Wings | 2017 | 19,515 |
| 4 | Scotiabank Saddledome | Calgary Flames | 1983 | 19,289 |
| 5 | Amerant Bank Arena | Florida Panthers | 1998 | 19,250 |
| 6 | Xfinity Mobile Arena | Philadelphia Flyers | 1996 | 19,173 |
| 7 | Benchmark International Arena | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1996 | 19,092 |
| 8 | KeyBank Center | Buffalo Sabres | 1996 | 19,070 |
| 9 | Rogers Arena | Vancouver Canucks | 1995 | 18,871 |
| 10 | Scotiabank Arena | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1999 | 18,819 |
| 11 | Capital One Arena | Washington Capitals | 1997 | 18,573 |
| 12 | Lenovo Center | Carolina Hurricanes | 1999 | 18,547 |
| 13 | American Airlines Center | Dallas Stars | 2001 | 18,532 |
| 14 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus Blue Jackets | 2000 | 18,500 |
| 15 | Rogers Place | Edmonton Oilers | 2016 | 18,347 |
| 16 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2010 | 18,187 |
| 17 | Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles Kings | 1999 | 18,145 |
| 18 | Enterprise Center | St. Louis Blues | 1994 | 18,096 |
| 19 | Madison Square Garden | New York Rangers | 1968 | 18,006 |
| 20 | Grand Casino Arena | Minnesota Wild | 2000 | 17,954 |
| 21 | TD Garden | Boston Bruins | 1995 | 17,850 |
| 22 | Ball Arena | Colorado Avalanche | 1999 | 17,809 |
| 23 | T-Mobile Arena | Vegas Golden Knights | 2016 | 17,500 |
| 24 | SAP Center | San Jose Sharks | 1993 | 17,435 |
| 25 | UBS Arena | New York Islanders | 2021 | 17,255 |
| 26 | Honda Center | Anaheim Ducks | 1993 | 17,174 |
| 27 | Bridgestone Arena | Nashville Predators | 1996 | 17,159 |
| 28 | Climate Pledge Arena | Seattle Kraken | 2021 | 17,151 |
| 29 | Canadian Tire Centre | Ottawa Senators | 1996 | 17,010 |
| 30 | Prudential Center | New Jersey Devils | 2007 | 16,514 |
| 31 | Canada Life Centre | Winnipeg Jets | 2004 | 15,225 |
| 32 | Delta Center | Utah Mammoth | 1991 | 14,111 |
Chicago, Montreal, and the Big Rooms
The United Center sits second at 19,717, a shared basketball-hockey building sized for two tenants. The Bell Centre is different — it was built for the most storied franchise in hockey, in a city where the Canadiens outdraw everything, and its 20,962 capacity, the biggest in the NHL, reflects that.
Below the top handful, the league packs into a remarkably narrow band: more than half the NHL plays in buildings holding between 17,000 and 19,800.
The Small Rinks
Salt Lake City’s Delta Center has the league’s smallest hockey capacity at 14,111; it was built for basketball and is still being rebuilt for the Utah Mammoth, who gained more than 1,500 full-view seats for 2026-27. Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg is the smallest of the buildings designed for hockey at 15,225 — and routinely one of the loudest, which says something about what capacity numbers can’t measure. The Scotiabank Saddledome (19,289), opened in 1983, is the league’s second-oldest arena after Madison Square Garden and is slated for replacement by a new arena in Calgary.
The newest rinks — UBS Arena (2021) and Climate Pledge Arena (2021) — both hold around 17,000, following the same smaller-but-richer design logic reshaping arenas across sports.
Explore more: the oldest NHL arenas, the oldest NBA arenas, all stadium guides.
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Biggest NHL Arenas FAQs
What is the biggest NHL arena?
Montreal’s Bell Centre, home of the Canadiens since 1996, is the biggest NHL arena at 20,962. Chicago’s United Center is second at 19,717.
What is the smallest NHL arena?
Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, home of the Utah Mammoth, has the NHL’s smallest hockey capacity at 14,111 for 2026-27. Among arenas built for hockey, Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre is the smallest at 15,225 seats — though it’s regularly ranked among the loudest buildings in the league.
What is the oldest arena in the NHL?
Madison Square Garden, opened in 1968 and renovated top to bottom between 2011 and 2013, is the oldest NHL arena still in use; Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome (1983) is next. Most of the league’s buildings date from the arena boom of the mid-1990s.
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Photo: Datch78 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.