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Northeastern says it will soon file plans to replace historic Matthews Arena
By adamg on Wed, 05/29/2024 - 6:05pm
Northeastern University today filed a "letter of intent" with the BPDA that it plans to replace Matthews Arena - built as Boston Arena in the early 1900s and once home to the Bruins and Celtics - with a new 290,000-square-foot facility that will include both an arena for university teams and a fieldhouse for recreational student use.
The fieldhouse will include "multi-purpose turf, basketball courts, recreational courts and other accessory uses to support the University's broader recreation and fitness needs," according to the filing, which formally signals that Northeastern will soon file detailed plans with the BPDA for the new building.
Also planned for the St. Botolph Street site, which Northeastern bought in 1977: The planting of new street trees outside the facility.
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Comments
Hope they reconsider
It would be a real bummer if this historic structure were bulldozed to make way for another nondescript college athletic facility. It's such a unique venue and is a direct connection to the great history of the Bruins and Celtics - one of the few physical connections that remain.
Shame on Northeastern for not at least proposing a renovation that maintains the history while also adding modern amenities (MSG, Lambeau, and Solider Field all pulled it off so it's not totally out of the question).
For what its worth
Two structural renovations have occurred in the past 15 or so years to keep the existing building standing. It is currently structurally sound, but it has to be on borrowed time at this point. I've seen significant amounts of structural steel added to the exterior of the building twice in that time, there is only so much more that can be done to save the structure. I do hope something is done to preserve the historical structure in some way, but overall a new building is the only viable solution.
(personal statements, not reflective of my employer, etc.)
wow, they'll plant some trees
wow, they'll plant some trees
::slow clap::
Good news for the athletes who use the building
It’s a poor facility and serves(not well) a very small group of students currently.
I hope they schedule Women's Professional team
Given the history of the venue with founding of each of the Boston "winter" sports, it would be fitting to have the Boston Women's Professional team play ONE game there next season. Congrats on their run to the finals this season !
World's oldest multi-sport indoor arena with ice making.
I love Matthews Arena, been
I love Matthews Arena, been to many hockey games there(and played a few, for my adult league team), but if age is catching up with the place, I can understand. I attended the BU-NU game back in January, and the west balcony was closed off while the other end was packed. Whatever its future, it has served Boston well, especially in its hockey history.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p8TUuPujfNM/maxresdefault.jpg
Hard to see how they fit that...
Really curious to see how they fit an arena and a fieldhouse on that site...
They'll pick up the current (small) parking lot, and push the frontage closer to the street obviously, but they can't really expand the size of the current site much more than that given that NEC owns the Gainsborough garage and building over the tracks is probably a non-starter given how closely the new Carter School abuts the tracks on the other side.
Speaking of New England Conservatory ....
Northeastern had better have a really good plan for minimizing noise and vibration during demolition and construction, given the proximity to NEC.
Boston Globe gave Universal Hub credit for breaking this story
Northeastern University seeking to replace historic Matthews Arena