Location | Fairfield, CT, 06825 |
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Coordinates | 41°13′03″N73°15′13″W / 41.2173615°N 73.2536108°W |
Owner | Sacred Heart University |
Operator | Sacred Heart University |
Capacity | 3,600 |
Surface | 200' x 85' (hockey) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | March 15, 2021 |
Opened | January, 2023 (projection) |
Construction cost | $70 million (estimate) |
Architect | JLG Architects Project homepage |
Tenants | |
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey (2023–) Sacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockey (2023–) Sacred Heart Pioneers figure skating (2023–) |
The Martire Family Arena is a 3,600-seat ice hockey arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is home to the Sacred Heart Pioneers men's and women's ice hockey teams. The arena opened in January 2023. [1]
Seeking to raise the profile of the ice hockey program, the administration at Sacred Heart University decided to build its first on-campus facility for ice hockey and figure skating. [2] The school eventually agreed to spend $70 million to build the Martire Family Arena at their West Campus location in Fairfield, Connecticut. The project was announced in early 2021 and broke ground in March 15. By November of the same year, all of the steel beams had been set in place and construction appeared to be progressing towards the expected opening date of January 2023. [3]
Frank and Marisa Martire donated $5 million for the arena. Frank is a graduate of Sacred Heart University in the class of 1969 and is chairman of the board of trustees. He also has an equity interest in the Vegas Golden Knights. [1]
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States, from which the conference derives its name.
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of 2020, the town had a population of 61,512. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey had no women's division, though it shared some organizational and administrative roles with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students, including full-time and part-time students. It offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its five schools and colleges.
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic university in the United States to be staffed by the laity.
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M&T Bank Arena, previously known as TD Bank Sports Center and People's United Center, is a multi-purpose arena in Hamden, Connecticut. Its design is unusual in that it consists of two separate playing and seating areas, one intended for basketball and one intended for ice hockey, joined together within a common facility. It seats 3,570 for basketball and 3,386 for hockey. Officially, the hockey side is known as the Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena at the People's United Center.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Atlantic Hockey, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
The Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference (ECHC) is a collegiate hockey conference that plays in Divisions I, II, and III of AAU College Hockey (Formerly the CHF). Established in May 2009, The University of Albany, Farmingdale State College, Hofstra University, Union College, Skidmore College, Southern Connecticut State, Siena College and Fairfield University set out to establish an organization.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers, members of Atlantic Hockey America, play at the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. From 1993-2016, the Pioneers home arena was the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford, Connecticut.
The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum, having moved from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut during the 2022–23 season.
Connecticut Ice is an annual ice hockey event celebrating the tradition and progress of youth and amateur hockey in the state of Connecticut. The three-day event is headlined by a four-team tournament with participation from all of the state's four Division I programs: Connecticut, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale.
The 2022–23 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 30th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 20th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Pioneers represented Sacred Heart University and were coached by C. J. Marottolo, in his 14th season.
The Toscano Family Ice Forum is an ice hockey arena on the main campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. The arena opened in January 2023 and has a capacity of 2,600 spectators.