Have you ever wondered where Matthews Arena’s historic items, such as the banners, or even items as simple as its chairs and bricks, will go after the century-old rink is demolished and replaced with a new multi-purpose complex?
Northeastern addressed these questions by launching a website featuring myriad items at a range of price points Jan. 12. At the time of publication, the pieces available included locker stalls listed at $1,910, stadium seats mounted on commemorative bases at $1,000, press box seats at $825, regular stadium seats at $600 and staircase signs at $365. The website also featured stadium bricks, which sold out within a month.
A document shared by Northeastern’s Alumni Center shows that 1,010 items have been sold.
Pieces are available to anyone, though most purchases have come from students and alumni, according to the document.
Ryan Henderson, a fifth-year civil engineering major, never misses a Northeastern hockey home game. Having played ice hockey in high school, he arrived at Northeastern with a strong background in the sport, and attending the Huskies’ games became a winter tradition.
Over the years, he has noticed that Matthews Arena is more than just a college barn, considering it has been the home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics as well as a venue for speeches by political leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
“It’s such an iconic building,” Henderson said. “You can’t really walk in there without hearing about its history, and I think it’s pretty unique.”
After reading that Matthews memorabilia was up for sale, he did not hesitate to purchase a stadium seat. He said it would remind him of the hectic game nights and the electric roar that once filled the arena.
“I think it’s just kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say you have a physical piece of the building,” Henderson said. “It’s existed longer than any of us have been alive, and you’re obviously not going to have a second opportunity at getting a piece of it.”
Tens of thousands of students have built memories of Matthews, either by playing hockey, shooting hoops or attending games. Henderson said owning a physical piece of the building is “an opportunity to be able to tell a cool story to whoever asks about it and to reminisce about Matthews with other people who’ve been there.”
Olivia May, a third-year music industry and communications major, plays the clarinet for Northeastern’s Pep Band. During hockey games, she sits on Matthews’ upper ring next to the Dog House, Northeastern’s student fan section, and enjoys the spirited atmosphere buzzing through games.
After countless hours at Matthews watching the women’s hockey team — her favorite team on campus — she values how those memories have shaped her time at Northeastern.
“Matthews has been a place where I’ve been able to make a lot of long-lasting friendships,” she said. “It was a place of community for a lot of people, and something that I think was very central to a lot of people’s experiences at Northeastern.”
May’s mother, knowing how much hockey and Pep Band mean to her, thought a brick from Matthews would make a special Christmas gift.
“I think she was just wanting to kind of help me preserve those memories and just give me an actual, tangible piece of Matthews Arena,” May said.
Even though she hasn’t fully figured out her mother’s reasoning, she believes the brick makes a meaningful gift because it’s both versatile and personal.
“I don’t know her specific thought process of choosing the brick, but I think a brick is just something you can kind of put it anywhere — it can be a little piece of decoration in any room,” May said.
While finding the ideal spot to place a brown brick or a stadium chair is an uncommon task, May said she plans to put her piece of Matthews on a mantel or shelf once she owns a house. Henderson, however, has yet to decide whether he wants his chair to be functional or purely decorative.
Like students, many alumni have also purchased items from the historic arena.
Meredith Miller graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2008 and with a masters degree in 2011 and played for the women’s hockey team for two seasons. Even though she was forced to prematurely retire from the sport due to a severe injury during her junior year, she has a special connection to Matthews.
Her family is full of Husky alumni — both her brother and mother graduated from Northeastern, and her father, Benny Miller, was the director of Northeastern’s sports medicine department for over 30 years.
Thanks to her father’s connection to the teams, Miller often joined players on the ice at Matthews, where she learned how to skate. Those early memories at the arena made it special to her ever since.
When Miller and her wife, Beth, received the notice about the sale, she found herself torn about whether to buy a commemorative-mounted seat.
“I got the notification that said, ‘Hey, as an alumna, would you like a piece of Northeastern history?’” Miller said. “And we were talking about it, and I was like, ‘I should get one. No, I shouldn’t. Why would I? That’s silly.’”
After Miller ultimately decided against purchasing one, her wife had other plans.
“And then when I convinced myself not to buy one, then [Beth] was like, ‘Nope,’ and bought [the commemorative-mounted seat],” she said.
Even though the items have strong sentimental value, buyers have expressed concern about their steep prices. May said that bathroom signs priced at $154 “are kind of crazy,” while Henderson hoped the prices would be “a little more moderate in order to be more accessible.”
May admitted she had “no idea” whether the sale would take off, though she acknowledged why people might be drawn to the items if they hold a strong personal meaning.
For Miller, it’s the arena’s long history that makes the pieces meaningful.
“It’s been around for over 115 years, I think that’s what’s the appeal,” she said. “[Items] are small, commemorative, and they fit into that bucket of easy to auction off for people’s interest.”
Whether it is value over price or simply the chance to own a piece of history, the Northeastern community is eager to own a slice of the arena.
“It only comes down once,” Henderson said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if others had the same thought that you need to jump on the opportunity if it’s available to you.”
