About
Home to men's basketball and men's and women's ice hockey, Matthews Arena turned one hundred years old April 16, 2010. When she opened in 1910, the arena brochure boasted, “It is the most complete home of sport in America – the largest, most complete and most elaborate temple erected for the devotees of sport in the world.”
It is only fitting that the century-old emporium receive a special birthday present this year with a multi-million dollar renovation. A new roof, new locker rooms, new seats, new press box and a spectacular video scoreboard lead the list of improvements.
The arena is the world’s oldest multi-purpose athletic building and houses the world’s oldest artificial ice sheet. The arena is named after George J. Matthews, Class of ’56, and his wife, the late Hope M. Matthews. Matthews is chairman emeritus of the Northeastern Board of Trustees.
Perhaps more widely known as the Boston Arena, Matthews Arena is home to Northeastern’s men’s and women’s hockey teams and men’s basketball team. The building is one of the bastions of the country’s sporting history and a spectator’s dream for live athletic contests.
This renovation is the third since Northeastern took over ownership of the building in 1979. The last in 1995 expanded the ice surface to 200-by-90 square feet of skating surface and vaulting the arena from the smallest rink in Boston to the largest.
