By By Nate Owen, News Staff
The world’s oldest hockey arena is getting a facelift.
With the loss of six key seniors, and junior Brad Thiessen forgoing his senior year to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s safe to say the men’s hockey team will look a bit different next season when they step on their home ice. These changes to the team will also be accompanied by major renovations to Matthews Arena, which are scheduled to commence May 1, Athletics Director Peter Roby said.
‘It’s a multi-tiered approach,’ Roby said. ‘We’re trying to address the fan experience so we are making some changes that benefit the students and the folks that go to games and events.’
‘ The work will be handled by Suffolk Construction Company and the budgeted cost is $12 to 14 million dollars, all of which will be funded by the university, Roby said.
‘We’re certainly grateful that the university has continued to see the value in doing it for the Northeastern community, given all the things that are happening in terms of the economy,’ Roby said.
Major changes include new seating, a central digital scoreboard, an improved sound system, a new press box and improved locker and weight room facilities. The main lobby will also be renovated, with the main concession stand being moved to the middle of the arena next to the stairs leading to the downstairs restrooms. The current concession stand will be downsized for more ‘grab and go’ type items, Roby said.’ The back of the concession stand will open to allow wheelchair access to the other side of the arena.
‘We have a [lot of] these things now, ‘ Roby said. ‘But they’re either really small and don’t provide as much room as we’d like or just aren’t at a level that we think we need to service the teams and the students as much as we’d like.’
Roby said plans were in the works to have video monitors and televisions in the lobby, as well as display cases to honor past teams and athletes. The current seats will be replaced by more modern ones, which will be more comfortable and appealing to the eye, Roby said.’ Hanging above the ice will be a new digital scoreboard similar to the one at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, Roby said.
‘It has all the capability to keep score,’ Roby said. ‘Because it’s run digitally you can change what’s on there to set up for a basketball game, set up for a hockey game or set up for a commencement or concert. It’s versatile, which is why we wanted to go with that kind of board.’
Roby added that the two current scoreboards will remain, as the new scoreboard will not be activated for some events, like club and intramural sports and Wentworth hockey, which shares the facility with Northeastern.
The area below the lobby that currently houses the locker rooms will be opened to accommodate a strength and conditioning room and to add to the sports medicine area, Roby said. The laundry and equipment room will move, and the visiting locker rooms and men’s and women’s locker rooms will be expanded to include meeting areas and a film room.
Along with changes made to benefit the fans and athletes, Roby said several of the upgrades will ensure Matthews is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
An elevator will be added out by the entrance to the lobby for handicapped access. Also, the facilities’ new press box will be built behind the visitors bench, allowing wheelchair access. Roby said the courtside press boxes for basketball games will remain, but members of the media who need to use the handicapped accessible press box will be able to.
Roby said he estimated the renovations process would cost the arena about 100 seats.
‘We may lose a few seats, especially because we are adding the press box in the seating area,’ he said. ‘But it will make the viewing and the experience better in the long run I think.’ He said a process was underway to try and adjust the arena for basketball games.
‘We’re still in the process of trying to figure out what we’re trying to do to make it more of a home court advantage [for basketball],’ Roby said, adding that restricting where people can sit and adding curtains are two possibilities to help the arena look more full for basketball games.
‘ ‘ The renovation project is two fold, Vice President of Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier said.
‘One is [looking] at the student athletes, what do they need?’ he said. ‘The other side is the fan experience. What are we doing for alumni? What’s the ‘wow’ factor when you walk in? The thought is if you go for the first time into a newly renovated Matthews, it will be an excellent fan experience and you’ll come back. The real goal is to increase participation at Matthews events.’
Klotzbier said the project has been ongoing for several years. Meetings were held with people from facilities, club sports students, student-athletes, members of the Student Government Association and alumni.
He said that much of the coordinating between the different groups was done by Frank Mahoney, director of the construction department of the Facilities Division. Mahoney declined comment to The News.
The renovations will give the arena a new look for its 100th anniversary in 2010.’ Roby said that despite walls being knocked down during construction, the historic aspects of Matthews, like the front and the facade by the lobby will remain untouched and preserve the building’s sense of charm.
‘ In addition, the upgrades will give the coaches of teams that use the arena a new recruiting tool.
‘ ‘One of the things that you try to do in regards to recruiting is to try and take away the negatives in terms of why somebody might say no [to coming to Northeastern],’ Roby said.’ ‘ ‘They can’t say our team’s not good enough because we’ve proven that we can play with anybody in the country. They can’t say that our facility isn’t good enough because it’s already a great old facility with a lot of character and a lot of history. With the amenities we are adding we think we can eliminate any of that negativity as well.’
