Visited Matthews Arena on Friday - UConn Arena concept

[huskypantz]

This was my first visit to a HE arena and I don't have much to go on aside from UConn's rink and QU's little beauty. Matthews has a ton of history (understandable when you have "oldest" in your name), including the birthplace of the NE Whalers and lots of famous folks such as the Roosevelts and JFK visits. Anyway, Matthews (4600 seats) got me thinking about UConn and the hockey arena concepts. I really believe we need to start with a 1-level arena that seats about 3k. Have an upper deck with press boxes (and lux seats if they so choose) only. Maybe that gets you to 3200 or so. Leave the ability to expand the upper deck with 1300-2000 seats as demand requires over the next 10 or so years. My concern is really around building an arena that gets 40% of capacity. Shoot, if we're selling out games then send the top draws to the civic center.

 

[mac2351]

Following the inclusion of Vermont, Hockey East requires a minimum 5000 seat arena on campus.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Rules are made to be waived. UConn is really the only viable candidate that HE had to balance the Notre Dame addition. I know some fans at my alma mater RPI wanted the slot, but I really can't see them leaving the ECAC and UConn is a better fit demographically. Given all of the capital projects going on in the UConn athletic department it will be interesting to see if they can raise sufficient funds on such a tight schedule for a high quality 5K+ building. If it comes down to a 4K building with amenities or a Gampel-like (i.e. bench seats and other corners cut to increase capacity and decrease costs) 5K building will HE agree to the former? My guess is they would, particularly if the XL can be used for a handful of top games (e.g. BC and ND).

 

[freescooter]

I have no idea whether its accurate or not, but I've heard that Hockey East is more than willing to treat the 5000 seat requirement as a recommendation rather than a hard & fast rule. On th eother hand, UConn is seriously looking at something in the 5500-6500 seat range. Originally they were looking smaller but not any more.
Mathews Arena really does have lots of history. As far as hockey goes, it was home to BC, BU and Northeastern (and I think Harvard played there too.) as well as some smaller schools like Tufts back in the early days of college hockey. The Bruins played there in the early days of the NHL, as did the Celtics in the early NBA years. The Beanpot was played there in its first couple of years too. The Massachusetts high school hockey tournament was also held there into the 1970s.

 

[huskypantz]

Is it realistic to think that UConn ice hockey is going to fill a 6000 seat arena when they're third on the menu after MBB and WBB in the winter? Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but seems like that's kind of large, especially based on current demand.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Only one HE team drew 6,000 per game this year - BC - and they just barely did it in a nearly 8,000 seat arena. I'd rather see the building be a little too small than too big. I went to grad school at Cornell and Lynah Rink, while holding slightly under 4,000 fans (it's a little over that now post-renovation) absolutely rocked because it was packed to the rafters and the fans were right on top of the ice. I've been to games at BC and even with 5K+ you don't get that same feeling in a much larger building. Even BU, which now has a 6,000 seat arena of its own draws slightly over 4K per game. I haven't been to Agganis, but I'll bet it doesn't have the same feeling as when they packed the much smaller Walter Brown Arena.

 

[CL82]

Is it realistic to think that UConn ice hockey is going to fill a 6000 seat arena when they're third on the menu after MBB and WBB in the winter? Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but seems like that's kind of large, especially based on current demand.

If the AD is smart, and I've come to believe that, these tickets will be very reasonably priced and promotions will go out to every high school hockey team to promote UConn hockey. If the ticket is reasonable, frugal Nutmeggers, who still miss their beloved Whalers, will hop on board.

 

[FDNY99]

I have also heard the 5500-6500 seating capacity figure. With the issues UCONN is having and will have at the XL Center...I can see WM pushing this size model for the new barn. This will allow them to play almost if not all of their games on campus. Why pay to ten out a place like the XL center...when you can put that money elsewhere. Same with travel expenses (taking the trip from campus to Hartford isn't free). The days of UCONN Athletics giving in to the city of Hartford are over. This new facility is just the next step.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Only one HE team drew 6,000 per game this year - BC - and they just barely did it in a nearly 8,000 seat arena. I'd rather see the building be a little too small than too big. I went to grad school at Cornell and Lynah Rink, while holding slightly under 4,000 fans (it's a little over that now post-renovation) absolutely rocked because it was packed to the rafters and the fans were right on top of the ice. I've been to games at BC and even with 5K+ you don't get that same feeling in a much larger building. Even BU, which now has a 6,000 seat arena of its own draws slightly over 4K per game. I haven't been to Agganis, but I'll bet it doesn't have the same feeling as when they packed the much smaller Walter Brown Arena.

Agganis doesn't come close to the atmosphere of Walter Brown, but then again, nothing did. That said, WBA had terrible sightlines, you couldn't understand the PA because of the echo, one corner of the ice couldn't freeze properly..... A new arena was necessary and it's been a huge step forward for the program in terms of recruiting. BU's attendance numbers this season aren't the best to look at since it was one of the worst seasons in the history of the program, coupled with the ticket office's insistence on maintaining the highest ticket prices in HE - they've been dropped for 14-15 already. BU consistently has been drawing ~5K on average since the arena opened, and when the program was doing better, was sold out for many games.

UConn really ought to aim for a 5K arena, a la what Notre Dame did with Compton. You have to remember with respect to the Boston schools, there are so many teams condensed into a small area, that there's only so many fans each team is necessarily going to have. Within a 50-mile radius of the city, there's BU, BC, Northeastern, Harvard, Lowell, Merrimack, PC, Holy Cross, and Bentley. If you uptick that number a little more, you can include UNH. UConn doesn't have that problem, as QU and Yale are the only real "competitors" and both are situated far enough away. They might not draw 5K initially, but it's a realistic number to shoot for as the program continues to grow, and it sets the school apart from the lower level programs in the AHA and ECAC. Plus, if the school is going to use hockey as any form of a selling point to gain B1G admission, a tiny 3K arena won't cut it.

Matthews is a nice place, though I find it overrated. 99.99% of the history that occurred there has absolutely nothing to do with Northeastern hockey or success, and did not occur when NU even owned the building. Not to mention in their recent renovation, they moved the press box to the other side and created a host of obstructed view seats. If you're not sitting in the front row of the upper balcony, your view of the ice is utterly atrocious. And they've still got a bunch of seats with Fenway-esque pillars blocking your view. Don't buy into their rhetoric of how "awesome" they think the place is.

Lynah, I would love to visit sometime, I've heard it's an awesome place to see a game, but unfortunately BU and Cornell will be playing all games at MSG for the foreseeable future.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Following the inclusion of Vermont, Hockey East requires a minimum 5000 seat arena on campus.

Merrimack and Providence are both well below 5K. UVM is about 4K. I have been to a lot of college hockey games in and around Boston plus UMass Lowell, UNH, UVM, and Maine. My favorite area is BU's new palace, Agganis Arena, with UNH in second.

 

[uconnell]

I've been to a hockey game at UConn. It was fun and a very inexpensive evening
The concessions are very reasonable too.

 

[upstater]

Only one HE team drew 6,000 per game this year - BC - and they just barely did it in a nearly 8,000 seat arena. I'd rather see the building be a little too small than too big. I went to grad school at Cornell and Lynah Rink, while holding slightly under 4,000 fans (it's a little over that now post-renovation) absolutely rocked because it was packed to the rafters and the fans were right on top of the ice. I've been to games at BC and even with 5K+ you don't get that same feeling in a much larger building. Even BU, which now has a 6,000 seat arena of its own draws slightly over 4K per game. I haven't been to Agganis, but I'll bet it doesn't have the same feeling as when they packed the much smaller Walter Brown Arena.

WBA was rarely packed in Boston U.s heyday (1978 to mid 1990s). They have more fans now. 4k average ina down year? That is really really good for them.

I last went to Matthews Arena over 25 years ago, so i don't know about their renovations, but I do remember loving the arena. That's because the old Boston Garden and Matthews share the exact same footprint. I've never been to a better arena than the old Boston Garden (which had many obstructed views as well) for any sport. Sitting in the balcony with a bird's eye view of everything was always a treat. I can't think of any other venue that put you closer to the action.

 

[IMind]

I haven't been to too many college arenas, but I've been to two 2.5k arenas.. UPenn's and U Delaware's... 2.5k is really small.. 3k would be far to small... I don't think there's anything wrong with a 5k-6k arena. I mean the Wolfpack/Whale seems average about 4k fans. I'd like to think a successful UConn hockey program could draw as well... if not a little better.

 

[FASTEDDY]

Build this thing right from the get go instead of all this EXPANSION BS like we did with Rentschler and Gampel.

Things always end up costing far more if you do it later in an expansion then simply building it correctly and with anticipated demand right from the start.

 

[FDNY99]

I say build this thing between 5500 and 6500 capacity. Build it on the X Lot property so that students can easily get to the games...and give them a big size section along with this ticket selling process: As long as there are seats available to a game...a student can buy a student ticket. You will pack games with students quickly if they build this thing in the right place!

 

[kibblesnbits]

The problem is $$$. If you want an arena with 5,500 - 6,500 seats you are basically building QU's facility (combined the two arenas are just over 6,500 seats). That cost $52M to build 7 or 8 years ago. Another comp would be ND's new hockey arena, that seats 5K and cost $50M three years ago. You might be looking at $60+M to build a good quality 6,500 seat building. With all of the other projects going on or planned, can UConn spend that much money for a hockey rink?

 

[freescooter]

Merrimack and Providence are both well below 5K. UVM is about 4K. I have been to a lot of college hockey games in and around Boston plus UMass Lowell, UNH, UVM, and Maine. My favorite area is BU's new palace, Agganis Arena, with UNH in second.

I haven't been to Agganis but my favorite is Maine. It is everything a hockey arena ought to be, loud, awful, ugly student section, uncomfortable...Almost the anti-BC, which is quiet and feels more like a cocktail party than a hockey game.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Penn State's 6,000 seat hockey palace that opened this past season cost $88M to build. That place is probably not a good comp because it was funded by a $100M donation by the owner of the Buffalo Sabres, so money was no object. Nonetheless, it shows how much a dream building can cost. Given UConn's resources and competing projects I can't really see them going to the upper ranges that have been discussed here. If they can build a nice 4K-5K building that is regularly filled to a high percentage of capacity with boisterous fans, I'd be thrilled. As I said, it's better to be too small than too big. The latter leads to a dull atmosphere (see Mullins Center).

I've been to most of the HE and ECAC rinks (except Maine, UNH, Colgate and BU's new building) and my favorites for atmosphere were Cornell and UVM. Of course, I'm most fond of my alma mater's old barn (RPI's Houston Field House) which absolutely rocked to capacity 5K crowds back in the hey days of the mid-80s (arguably one of the greatest college hockey teams ever) but is larger than they have needed for the last couple of decades. Keep the building small enough to be filled at or near capacity on a regular basis and put the fans close to the ice for the best environment.

One recommendation made earlier was to build a lower bowl with expansion capacity for a second level. I wouldn't do that as it would require an extremely high ceiling that would just absorb sound. One reason Lynah rink is such a fearsome place to play is that the low ceiling just pushes sound back down toward ice level.

 

[FDNY99]

I can't see HE giving us a break on the arena capacity requirement. Especially with ND having met it with their new barn. The schools in HE with smaller facilities are either charter members or members who have replaced original facilities and are grandfathered in. I say we get a place that will hold a minimum of 5000 -5500 to start...and will have the ability to possibly be expanded by 500-1000. Sort of like what was done to Gampel. I also think that the size of the barn will be dictated by the crowds at the XL Center next season. If the avg attendance is 4000-4500 we will see a 5000 seat barn built...anything over 4500 avg will see a 5500+ seat barn built. Don't forget, this will be on campus, so it will be easy for students to go to games.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I think HE will go along with a reasonable proposal. If that turns out to be 4,200 seats then so be it. They really don't have an alternative. UConn gives them another New England flagship university that expands their footprint and television audience. Who else can they get that provides those benefits and anything near a 5K rink?

 

[FDNY99]

I think HE will go along with a reasonable proposal. If that turns out to be 4,200 seats then so be it. They really don't have an alternative. UConn gives them another New England flagship university that expands their footprint and television audience. Who else can they get that provides those benefits and anything near a 5K rink?

When you are building from scratch 500-800 seats can't be that big of a difference. The main fact though is this...if HE requires new members to have a on-campus facility of 5000 and the 11th member joined with a facility of that size...then as a UCONN fan I would expect us to follow suit with a similiar facility. The current administration is fully aware of what the deal was to be accepted into HE. That includes the right sized barn. I hate to burst your bubble but according to what I have heard from people in Athletic Dept as well as from the sports editor of the Daily Campus the new arena will be between 5500-6000 capacity. The plan is to play most of if not all HE games on campus once barn is completed.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Hey, it's not my bubble. If UConn has the money for a 6K facility and thinks they can fill it, good for them. However, it won't be cheap to do it right and it shouldn't be because of an artificial threshold requirement that Notre Dame cleared by a whole 22 seats. HE is 30 years old and has taken teams with all sorts of facilities, including when they needed a 10th team that had a classic 4000 seat building. UConn should come up with the plan that best fits its needs and HE will go along.

Edit: ND started construction before Penn State upgraded its program, thereby creating the BiG Hockey Conference and the destruction of the CCHA that sent the Irish in search of a new conference. If it was under 5K you can bet HE would have taken them anyway.

 

[UConn07]

Is it realistic to think that UConn ice hockey is going to fill a 6000 seat arena when they're third on the menu after MBB and WBB in the winter? Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but seems like that's kind of large, especially based on current demand.

You can fill a large portion of that with on-campus students. Don't think it's that big a deal. UCONN hockey will be bigger than women's basketball and men's soccer in the students eyes, I guarantee it.

 

[huskypantz]

You can fill a large portion of that with on-campus students. Don't think it's that big a deal. UCONN hockey will be bigger than women's basketball and men's soccer in the students eyes, I guarantee it.

Men's soccer is no slouch. 3610 average 2013 and 4228 2012. If we pull those numbers, we'd be in the top 20 nationally (I know, there's less than 60 programs).

 

[FDNY99]

Once the on-campus barn is finished you may see 1 maybe 2 games tops at the XL Center. The Holiday Tournament will be in Bridgeport. This place will hopefully be built to hold a good size college hockey crowd...why would Warde Manuel want to pay rent to play at the XL Center when he can play in a on-campus environment that is hopefully hostile to opposing teams and rent free.