Former names | Springfield Civic Center (1972–2005) |
---|---|
Address | 1277 Main Street |
Location | Springfield, Massachusetts |
Coordinates | 42°6′8″N72°35′13″W / 42.10222°N 72.58694°W |
Public transit | Springfield Union Station : Hartford Line |
Owner | City of Springfield (1972–1997) Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (1997–present) |
Operator | MGM Springfield |
Capacity | Center Stage: 8,300 Basketball: 7,300 Ice hockey: 6,800 |
Construction | |
Broke ground | March 18, 1970 [1] |
Opened | September 5, 1972 [2] |
Renovated | 2003–2005 |
Construction cost | $10.3 million [2] ($75 million in 2023 dollars [3] ) $71 million (renovation) ($111 million in 2023 dollars [3] ) |
Architect | Catalano Architects Inc. [4] Sasaki Associates [5] (renovation) |
Tenants | |
Springfield Indians (AHL) (1972–1994) Hartford Whalers (WHA/NHL) (1978–1980) Springfield Fame (USBL) (1985–1986) Springfield Falcons (AHL) (1994–2016) Springfield Armor (NBA D-League) (2009–2014) Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) (2016–present) Springfield Spirit (NWBL) (2002–2004) American International Yellow Jackets (NCAA) (2016–present) | |
Website | |
massmutualcenter |
The MassMutual Center (formerly Springfield Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, in the city's Metro Center. The arena opened in 1972 and the convention center opened in 2005. It serves as a venue for meetings, conventions, exhibitions, sporting and entertainment events.
Previously owned and operated by the City of Springfield and various management groups until 1997, the city transferred ownership of the facility to the Massachusetts Legislature. Shortly after, ownership was given to the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) who in turn began working on plans to renovate and expand the facility. The two-year project, which began in 2003, included renovations to the 8,000-seat arena and the addition of a convention center. Its unique design allows for 3 to 4 concurrent events or one large event.
MGM Springfield began operating the venue on behalf of the MCCA in July 2017 in advance of its casino/hotel/retail development opening the next year.
In 2005, the venue was renamed when Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company entered into a 15-year naming rights agreement for the arena and convention center. The name change took place on September 29, 2005.
The venue is home to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League and American International Yellow Jackets who compete in NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey.
In the fall of 2003, the renovation project was publicly announced and demolition of the bank sitting next to the building, along with the facility's plaza and exhibit hall began. In the fall of 2005, the $71 million renovation project was completed. The renovation included a new arena floor with new pipelines for the ice rink and new chillers installed. Upgrades to the building’s electrical system as well as the heating and air conditioning system with a new dehumidification system were also installed. Audio and Video upgrades were made with a new four-sided center hung scoreboard with video display and a new sound system. The project also included a new seating arrangement with 6,455 permanent seats and 222 club seats. New amenities to the arena include a bar and lounge, clubroom, an executive suite, new larger restrooms, and 11 newly refurbished concession stands. The main entrance was relocated from Main Street to Bruce Landon Way where a new box office and lobby were added. The arena was still operational during the two-year project which was funded by city and state tax payers and other state funds. [6]
The main entrance for the arena is located on Bruce Landon Way. The arena has 3 levels:
In the summer of 2015 the MCCA approved a multimillion-dollar technology upgrade to the venue. This project consisted of a new 18-by-12-foot (5.5 m × 3.7 m) 4 sided center hung LED video board that replaced the existing scoreboard in the arena as well as the replacement of the arena lighting system to new LED lighting.
With renovations to the existing arena, a new convention center was added. With 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2), it is the largest convention center in Western Massachusetts. It includes two exhibition halls, which total over 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2), three ballrooms that total 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) with back of house kitchen, five meeting rooms that total some 9,000 sq ft (840 m2), and 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m2) of pre-function space. It connects both the convention center and arena to add an additional 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m2) of floor space. Additionally, the pre-function space overlooks the city skyline, including a viewing area known as the glass alcove which gives panoramic views of downtown. The convention center is able to host galas, weddings, consumer and trade shows, concerts, conventions, conferences, and many other functions of various sizes.
The main entrance for the convention center is located on Main Street and Bruce Landon Way. There are 2 levels:
The arena hosted the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League, while the Hartford Civic Center was undergoing renovations, because of a 1978 roof collapse.
The arena hosted World Wrestling Federation's Saturday Night's Main Event XVI (the first episode following Wrestlemania IV, taped on April 22, 1988, aired on April 30). It also hosted the 19th WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1997. The center has also hosted WWE Monday Night RAW and two WWE SmackDown! shows; the first one was on October 26, 1999, aired for that Thursday, and the second was on December 13, 2005, aired for that Friday. The center was also where The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau) defeated Bret "Hitman" Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship on January 17, 1992. He would lose the title two days later to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York at the Royal Rumble.
The building has hosted an American Hockey League franchise, since it opened in 1972. Between the 1972–73 AHL season and 1993–94 AHL season, the building hosted the Springfield Indians franchise. Since 1994, the center was the home of the Springfield Falcons. The Falcons won the Northeast Division Championship in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons while serving as the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team was sold in May 2016 to the Arizona Coyotes and relocated to Tucson, Arizona. The Falcons were immediately replaced with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the 2016–17 season.
The building, located in the "Birthplace of Basketball", has also hosted numerous NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championships, first in 1977, then from 1980 to 1994, and finally 2006 through 2011. The tournament moved to the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati in 2012 and 2013. It also hosted the first six NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championships from 1982 to 1987.
The UMass Minutemen basketball team, formerly under head coach and Springfield native Derek Kellogg, has used the building for a home game since 2010. In 2011, the Basketball Hall of Fame created the Holiday Showcase which feature the UMass Minutemen basketball team. Brigham Young University visited the UMass Minutemen during the 2013 showcase with a sold-out crowd of 7,331. [7]
The Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League joined the building's roster of home tenants in the fall of 2009. The franchise was purchased by the HWS Group in early 2009, and was quickly moved to Springfield for the start of the 2009–2010 season. It was affiliated with the NBA's New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets for two years. The New Jersey Nets, now known as the Brooklyn Nets as of 2012, became the sole affiliate of the Armor in the start of the 2011–2012 season. The Armor received their first Eastern Division Championship during the 2011–2012 season under its new head coach Bob MacKinnon. They won their final home game on March 21, 2014, in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,111. [8]
Date | Away | Score | Home | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 19, 1979 | Los Angeles Kings | 3–6 | Hartford Whalers | 7,626 |
October 26, 1979 | New York Islanders | 2–1 | Hartford Whalers | 7,267 |
November 2, 1979 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–5 | Hartford Whalers | 7,643 |
November 9, 1979 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–2 | Hartford Whalers | 7,618 |
November 17, 1979 | Edmonton Oilers | 0–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
November 21, 1979 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–5 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
November 24, 1979 | Quebec Nordiques | 4–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
November 25, 1979 | Atlanta Flames | 2–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
November 30, 1979 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5–7 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
December 7, 1979 | New York Rangers | 7–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
December 19, 1979 | Washington Capitals | 5–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,100 |
December 22, 1979 | Buffalo Sabres | 4–2 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
December 26, 1979 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–4 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 4, 1980 | Washington Capitals | 6–3 | Hartford Whalers | 7,623 |
January 6, 1980 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–1 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 17, 1980 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–7 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 19, 1980 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–5 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 21, 1980 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–7 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 24, 1980 | Montreal Canadiens | 7–2 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 28, 1980 | Atlanta Flames | 1–6 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
January 30, 1980 | Boston Bruins | 2–8 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
February 3, 1980 | New York Islanders | 3–7 | Hartford Whalers | 7,627 |
Date | Away | Score | Home | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
December 29, 1995 | Switzerland | 3–4 | United States | – |
Russia | 5–2 | Sweden | – | |
Date | Away | Score | Home | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
November 20, 2010 | New Mexico State | 57–71 | UMass Minutemen | 2,274 |
November 22, 2010 | TCU | 48–67 | UMass Minutemen | 1,512 |
December 9, 2011 | Siena | 78–82 | UMass Minutemen | 4,236 |
December 15, 2012 | Elon | 73–78 OT | UMass Minutemen | 3,085 |
December 7, 2013 | BYU | 96–105 | UMass Minutemen | 7,331* |
December 7, 2014 | Florida Gulf Coast | 84–75 | UMass Minutemen | 5,235 |
December 5, 2015 | Ole Miss Rebels | 74–64 | UMass Minutemen | 3,765 |
December 17, 2022 | North Texas | 62–44 | UMass Minutemen | 3,426 |
December 16, 2023 | West Virginia | 79–87 | UMass Minutemen | 4,264 |
December 21, 2024 | Arizona State | UMass Minutemen |
The MassMutual Center has hosted numerous events over the years ranging from professional and college sporting events, concert and comedy tours, ice skating and family shows, commencement ceremonies, and other functions both private and public. On April 6, 1986, the KISS "Asylum" tour concert overloaded the power system and the concert was halted after the first song. The band exited the stage, but returned 30–40 minutes later and resumed the show without incident.
The Wells Fargo Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia. It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). In the 2019-2020 edition of the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers drew an average attendance of 20,628 in 35 home games, the highest in the NBA. The Wells Fargo Center lies at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!.
Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena in downtown Cincinnati, adjacent to Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the facility became known as The Crown, and in 1999, it changed its name again to Firstar Center after Firstar Bank assumed naming rights. In 2002, following Firstar's merger with U.S. Bank, the arena took on the name U.S. Bank Arena and kept that name until 2019.
Blue Cross Arena, also known as the War Memorial, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 10,662. The arena opened on October 18, 1955, as the Rochester Community War Memorial. It was renovated in the mid-1990s and reopened as The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, on September 18, 1998. It is home to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
MVP Arena is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacity of 15,500 for sporting events.
The Amica Mutual Pavilion is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the Providence College Friars men's basketball program, due to the high demand for tickets to their games in Alumni Hall, as well as for a home arena for the then–Providence Reds, who played in the nearly 50-year-old Rhode Island Auditorium. Current tenants include the Providence Bruins ice hockey team, of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Providence College Friars men's basketball team, of the Big East Conference. The center is operated by the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which also operates the Rhode Island Convention Center and Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Wells Fargo Arena is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Part of the Iowa Events Center, the arena opened on July 12, 2005, at a cost of $117 million. Named for title sponsor Wells Fargo, the arena replaced the aging Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center as the Des Moines area's primary venue for sporting events and concerts. Beginning July 1, 2025, Wells Fargo Arena will be renamed Casey's Center for the new title sponsor Casey's General Stores.
The DCU Center is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, including concerts, sporting events, family shows, conventions, trade-shows and meetings. It is owned by the City of Worcester and managed by ASM Global, a private management firm for public assembly facilities.
The XL Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) under a lease with the city and operated by Spectra. In December 2007, the center was renamed when the arena's naming rights were sold to XL Group insurance company in a six-year agreement. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. It opened in 1975 as the Hartford Civic Center and was originally located adjacent to Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004. It consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.
Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell is a multi-purpose facility owned by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and located in Lowell, Massachusetts. The arena was opened on January 27, 1998, and dedicated to the memory of the late Paul Tsongas, prominent Lowell native and U.S. senator. The arena was built with $4 million in funding from both the city and the university, plus another $20 million contributed from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Total Mortgage Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It is the home venue of the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL). Managed by the Oak View Group, the arena was built alongside the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater and opened on October 10, 2001. Webster Bank entered into a 10-year $3.5 million agreement on January 6, 2011 with the City of Bridgeport for the arena naming rights. When this agreement ended, the City entered into a new one on March 8, 2022, that granted the naming rights to Total Mortgage of Milford, Connecticut.
The CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) facility has an 18,975-seat arena, a 194,000 sq ft (18,000 m2) exhibition hall, and 62,000 sq ft (5,800 m2) of meeting space.
Erie Insurance Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the downtown area of Erie, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League and was the former home of the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. It was built in 1983 as part of the Erie Civic Center Complex Plaza, which also includes the Warner Theatre and UPMC Park – all of which are administered by the Erie County Convention Center Authority. The arena is named for the Erie Insurance Group, which purchased the naming rights in May 2012.
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, near present-day Johnny Appleseed Park. It opened in 1952 with a construction cost of nearly $3 million. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was originally designed to seat 8,103 for hockey or 10,240 for basketball. Opened in 1989, the Coliseum's $26 million Exposition Center contains 108,000 square feet (10,000 m2) devoted to hosting substantial trade shows and other events with seating for 7,500.
Simmons Bank Arena is an 18,000-seat multi-purpose arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, directly across the Arkansas River from downtown Little Rock. Opened in October 1999, it is the main entertainment venue serving Central Arkansas.
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in Duluth, Minnesota. It was home to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's hockey team from 1966-2010. The DECC is located on the waterfront near Duluth's famous Aerial Lift Bridge.
The Tucson Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Built in 1971, the location includes an 8,962-seat indoor arena, two performing arts venues, and 205,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of meeting space. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championship game on April 1 at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A total of 63 games were played.
The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the Minutemen nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen. The Minutemen and Minutewomen compete in NCAA Division I sports competition primarily as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. UMass is one of only 16 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The nickname is also applied to club teams that do not participate within the NCAA structure.
The UMass Minutemen basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts, in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. They play their home games in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The Minutemen currently compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Beginning in the 2025–26 season, the team will play as a member of the Mid-American Conference.
The UMass Minutemen Ice Hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college ice hockey program that represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Minutemen are a member of Hockey East. They play at the 8,387-seat William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Events and tenants | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Home of the Springfield Thunderbirds 2016–present | Succeeded by current home |
Preceded by none | Home of the Springfield Falcons 1994–2016 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Home of the Springfield Armor 2009–2014 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Home of the New England Whalers 1978–1980 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Home of the Springfield Indians 1972–1994 | Succeeded by |