General Motors Place

General Motors Place, usually known as GM Place, in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the top sports venue in the city of Vancouver. It is the home of the Vancouver Canucks NHL hockey team and the former Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA, and has hosted both sporting events and other entertainment events since 1995. Visitors such as Queen Elizabeth, former President Clinton, and the Dalai Lama have visited. It will also be the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics hockey event.

GM Place is one of the premier sports and entertainment facilities in all of North America. Highly praised for its comfortable seating and superior sightlines, visitor hospitality lies at the heart of this 475,000 sq. ft. building. It has seen over 15 million visitors over the years. The arena seats 18,630 for ice hockey and 19,193 for basketball. It has 88 luxury suites, 12 hospitality suites, and 2,195 club seats.

GM Place has had an interesting history of events over the years, including:

The first event held there was a Bryan Adams concert
The 1996 World Cup of Hockey
The 1998 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2001 World Figure Skating Championships
Destiny’s Child played their final concert as a group at the arena on September 10th, 2005
The first show in The Police’s Reunion Tour
Janet Jackson’s Rock Witchu Tour kicked off at this venue on September 10, 2008.
2009 Juno Awards on March 29, 2009

Because it will be hosting one of the main Olympic sports, and also because it’s home to so many events, and because it’s literally minutes from BC Place Stadium, where the opening and closing Olympic ceremonies will be held, there are a number of hotels that are close to GM Place. There is a mixture of luxury and budget hotels to choose from, including: Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre; Hampton Inn And Suites By Hilton; Ramada Limited Downtown Vancouver; Dominion Hotel; The Westin Grand Vancouver; L’hermitage Hotel; Delta Vancouver Suites Hotel; St Regis Hotel; Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver; Comfort Inn Downtown Vancouver; Opus Hotel; Le Soleil Hotel; and the Days Inn Downtown.

Of course there are plenty more hotels, so that each visitor can select the hotel that’s right for them.