When Danielle Mazo, a fourth-year business administration and criminal justice double major, joined Northeastern’s figure skating team in 2022, she said the end of Matthews Arena already felt near. Now, as Mazo steps into the role of president for the 70-plus-person team, the looming prospect of being an ice-based team without home ice is daunting.
“We are losing something that’s very valuable to us, but that doesn’t mean that our team isn’t still going to be valuable,” Mazo said. “We just have to find how to navigate these next few years without Matthews being our core center.”
According to an email sent by Northeastern’s club sports program to leaders of club sports teams, Matthews will be “unusable” after varsity hockey’s final home game scheduled for Dec. 13. The three ice-based club teams that regularly practice at Matthews — figure skating, men’s ice hockey and women’s ice hockey — will need to find rinks to play on until the summer of 2028, when Northeastern has said the new athletic facility will be finished.
Both men’s and women’s varsity hockey programs are also increasing the number of fall home games this year, making it more difficult for club teams to continue with their usual fall schedule.
Although the three teams were unsure of how they will afford the loss of Matthews Arena for almost three years, the Northeastern Athletics department has now given each a budget that will cover “up to probably five hours of ice a week,” Mazo said.
“We wouldn’t have to spend extra than what we normally spend, which is awesome. And the same goes for the [other] two teams, which was way more than we were expecting,” said Kyle Wilson, a fourth-year business administration major and president of the men’s club ice hockey team. “We were hoping to maybe get like 50% subsidization.”
After the funding question was answered, all three teams’ leadership expressed lingering concerns that the change to off-campus ice will decrease player attendance.
“It’s going to suck having to play in a different rink off campus,” said Brendan Friday, a third-year computer science and biology combined major and vice president of the men’s club ice hockey team. “[Matthews Arena is] in a really good location. It’s by where everyone lives, so you don’t have to go far to practice or play. Once it’s gone, it’s going to suck because we’re going to have to drive everywhere to practice.”
Students on co-op may have a more difficult time accounting for additional travel time in their busy schedules, said Dani White, a fifth-year behavioral neuroscience major and co-president of the women’s club hockey team.
Matthews’ location often takes players living on campus only five minutes to reach. Now, the five hours a week demanded from the sport will likely turn into around 10 hours just to account for transportation, White said.
“Obviously, school comes first, and that [includes] co-ops, which is going to be really tough,” White said. “It just makes [club hockey] a way bigger commitment.”
Team leaders are also now responsible for coordination with external rinks.
“I still have to contract with the external vendors. The new finance system is tricky to deal with, with invoicing and all that, so there’s lots of steps still to go, but we’re making progress,” Wilson said.
Both men’s and women’s ice hockey club teams attended nationals in recent years. The men’s team was ranked third in the Northeast region at the end of the 2024-25 season, and the women’s team was ranked first in the same category.
The figure skating team placed sixth out of the 37 teams in the 2024-25 Northeast Intercollegiate teams. Now, it will be up to the team’s leaders to maintain enthusiasm for their sports amid the disruption.
“I think it’s going to be inconvenient for everybody, but as long as we’re all in it together, it’s a little bit better,” Wilson said. “Things can always change, but for right now, I think we’re in a good spot.”
