Achilles Rink

Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center
	Interactive map of Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center
Former names	Achilles Rink (1975-2003)
Location	807 Union Street; Schenectady, New York
Coordinates	42°49′05″N73°55′29″W / 42.817991°N 73.924813°W
Owner	Union College
Operator	Union College
Capacity	2,225 (hockey)
Surface	201x86 ft (hockey)
Construction
Broke ground	November 2, 1974
Opened	November 15, 1975
Renovated	2003
Construction cost	$1.5 million
Architect	Link and Cullen Architects (Schenectady, NY)
General contractor	Hanson Construction Co.
Tenants
	Union College Garnet Chargers; (men's and women's hockey)

Last updated December 16, 2025

The Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center was a 2,225-seat multi-purpose arena in Schenectady, New York. It was home to the Union College men's ice hockey and women's ice hockey teams, members of the ECAC Hockey League. The facility opened in 1975 as Achilles Rink and was named in honor of its original benefactor, the Rev. H. Laurence Achilles, Sr. In 2003, it was renovated and renamed Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center in honor of Frank L. Messa, class of 1973, whose made the renovation possible. One of the unique and distinguishing features of the building is its light colored wooden dome roof which is supported by a complex geometric pattern of dark colored wooden beams. The arena also houses the Travis J. Clark '00 Strength Training Facility.

Renovations

During the summer of 2003, the rink underwent phase 1 of a $1.5 million renovation after a gift from alumnus Frank L. Messa '73. Renamed Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center, the renovated facility was officially unveiled for competition on October 18, 2003. Improvements included a new ice sheet with state of the art chilling system, improved climate control, spring loaded boards, seamless glass, new overhead center scoreboard, reconfigured penalty boxes, more spacious aisles, and seating with improved sight lines. Seating capacity was reduced from 2,504 to 2,225 to accommodate the changes. Phase 2 of the project was completed during the 2003–2004 academic year and included construction of new locker rooms, a reconfigured lobby, a sports medicine area, and training facility.^[1]

In January 2016, a $10 million renovation plan for Achilles Center was announced by Union College Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin. The list of improvements for the project includes: New ice sheet floor, sideboards & glass, new main entrance at south side of rink, new video scoreboard, new seating, new concession stands, new restroom facilities, new coaches offices and new hospitality room with views of the rink and football field. Fundraising for the project had been approved but a time line for start of construction was not announced.^[2]

In February 2024 it was announced that both the Men's and Women's ice hockey programs teams would move off-campus to the Mohawk Harbor Events Center (currently known as the M&T Bank Center) starting in the fall of 2025. Moving the hockey programs will free up space in the Achilles Center for other athletic uses.^[3] The final hockey game was played at the arena on March 15th, 2025, a 2-7 ECAC quarterfinals loss to Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey.

In 2025 Union College received a $1 million gift from Andy and Sana Brooks to support the reconfiguration of Messa Rink into a new 27,000-square-foot indoor turf facility. With this announcement the facility was renamed the Brooks Field at Achilles Center.^[4]

References

↑ "2008-2009 Union College Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). October 15, 2008. p. 85.
↑ Schott, Ken (February 7, 2016). "Union planning major renovations for Messa Rink". The Daily Gazette. Schenectady, NY.
↑ "Men's and women's hockey teams to play at new $50 million arena at Mohawk Harbor" (Press release). Union College. February 26, 2024.
↑ Sheridan, Steve (September 4, 2025). "Million-Dollar Gift to Support New Indoor Turf Facility at Achilles Center" (Press release). Schenectady, NY: Union College.

Sporting positions

Preceded by

Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena

Host of the Division III men's Frozen Four
1985

Succeeded by

John S. Glas Field House

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[1] "2008-2009 Union College Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). October 15, 2008. p. 85.

[2] Schott, Ken (February 7, 2016). "Union planning major renovations for Messa Rink". The Daily Gazette. Schenectady, NY.

[3] "Men's and women's hockey teams to play at new $50 million arena at Mohawk Harbor" (Press release). Union College. February 26, 2024.

[4] Sheridan, Steve (September 4, 2025). "Million-Dollar Gift to Support New Indoor Turf Facility at Achilles Center" (Press release). Schenectady, NY: Union College.

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v t e Union College
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Campus	Nott Memorial (National Historic Landmark) Schaffer Library Campus design Landmarks Theme Houses Achilles Rink
Athletics	Athletics Men's Ice Hockey Women's Ice Hockey

v t e ECAC Hockey
Teams	Brown Bears men women Clarkson Golden Knights men women Colgate Raiders men women Cornell Big Red men women Dartmouth Big Green men women Harvard Crimson men women Princeton Tigers men women Quinnipiac Bobcats men women Rensselaer Engineers men women St. Lawrence Saints men women Union Garnet Chargers men women Yale Bulldogs men women
Venues	Meehan Auditorium (Brown) Cheel Arena (Clarkson) Class of 1965 Arena (Colgate) Lynah Rink (Cornell) Thompson Arena (Dartmouth) Bright Hockey Center (Harvard) Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton) M&T Bank Arena (Quinnipiac) Houston Field House (Rensselaer) Appleton Arena (St. Lawrence) Achilles Rink (Union) Ingalls Rink (Yale) Herb Brooks Arena (Men's tournament)
Men's awards	All-ECAC Hockey Team Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Tim Taylor Award (Coach of the Year) Best Defensive Defenseman Best Defensive Forward Ken Dryden Award (Best Goaltender) Student-Athlete of the Year Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award Most Outstanding Player in Tournament All-Tournament Team
Women's awards	Women's champions
Men's seasons	1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26

v t e Union Garnet Chargers men's ice hockey
Formerly the Union Skating Dutchmen and Union Dutchmen
Playing venues	Achilles Rink (1975–2025) Mohawk Harbor Event Center (2025–future)
Head coaches	Ambrose Clark (1919–1920, 1921–1922, 1923–1924) Elmer Oliphant (1922–1923) Henry Gardner (1924–1925) Harold A. Larrabee (1925–1930) William Harkness (1930–1933) Henry L. Achilles (1933–1935) Arthur C. Lawrence (1935–1936, 1939–1942, 1947–1949) Duke Nelson (1936–1939) Ned Harkness (1975–1977) Bob Driscoll (1978) Charles Morrison (1978–1988) Bruce Delventhal (1988–1996) Stan Moore (1996–1998) Kevin Sneddon (1998–2003) Nate Leaman (2003–2011) Rick Bennett (2011–2022) John Ronan (2022) Josh Hauge (2022–present)
Seasons	1903–04 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1919–20 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1947–48 1948–49 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Conference affiliations	ECAC 2 (1975–1984) ECAC West (1984–1991) ECAC Hockey (1991–present)
Rivalries	RPI Engineers
All-time leaders	Mike Vecchione (176 Points) Gil Egan (83 Goals) Colin Stevens (53 Wins)
National championships	2014
Frozen Four appearances	1984 1985 2012 2014
NCAA Tournament appearances	1984 1985 1986 1989 2011 2012 2013 2014 2017
Conference Tournament titles	ECAC West: 1985 ECAC: 2012 2013 2014
Union College Schenectady, NY

v t e Union Garnet Chargers women's ice hockey
Formerly the Union Dutchwomen
Playing venues	Achilles Rink
Head coaches	Fred Quistgard (1999–2004) Tim Gerrish (2004–2007) Claudia Asano (2007–2016) Josh Sciba (2016–)
Seasons	2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 ~~2020–21~~
Conference affiliations	ECAC Hockey (ECAC)
Rivalries	RPI Engineers
All-time leaders	Elise Nichols (43 goals, 68 points) Cheyenne Harris (37 assists) Christine Valente (10 power play goals) Shenae Lundberg (20 wins, 3023 saves) Kate Gallagher (2.61 goals against average) Melissa Black (1,111 saves)
Union College Schenectady, NY