Agganis Arena

Agganis Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on the campus of Boston University, built on the location of the former Commonwealth Armory. It is home to the five-time national champion Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. It is named after Harry Agganis, a football and baseball player for BU. The ice hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach. The arena is part of Boston University's John Hancock Student Village, which also includes dormitories and the university's five-story Fitness and Recreation Center.

Agganis was dedicated in 2004 and hosted its first event in 2005. It replaced Walter Brown Arena, located at the Case Athletic Center, as the home of BU Men's Ice Hockey, though Walter Brown Arena is still in use as the home of BU Women's Ice Hockey. The BU basketball team played games at the arena until 2015, before moving back to Case Gym.
Agganis serves as a regional auditorium for large events, including concerts, ceremonies of other schools such as Berklee College of Music, musicals, awareness events, and appearances by speakers such as Barack Obama and Dave Chappelle.

Since 2008, Agganis has hosted the annual CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championship.

History

Development

BU's men's ice hockey team had previously played at Walter Brown Arena for 33 years. The arena only has a capacity of 3,806, and so a larger, newer arena was desired by university leaders. Walter Brown was known for being extremely loud during high attendance games due to its low ceiling, creating a home advantage. Coach Jack Parker consulted with architects when designing the rink to ensure that the volume level would remain high. The ice rink in the arena would eventually be dedicated to him.

The arena was constructed as part of BU's $325 million John Hancock Student Village, a 10-acre site hosting sports, fitness, and residential facilities for students. The location borders Commonwealth Avenue, on the site of the old Commonwealth Armory, which was purchased by BU in the 1980s and demolished in 2002. In 2004, the Fitness and Recreation Center was completed next door as part of the village project. The arena was completed in 2004 at a cost of $97 million and held its first ice hockey game in 2005.

Naming

The arena is named after Harry Agganis, a two-sport football and baseball athlete for BU and a player for the Boston Red Sox. Agganis died at 26 from a massive pulmonary embolism. A life-size bronze statue of Agganis sculpted by Armand LaMontagne stands outside the arena at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Harry Agganis Way. The hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach.

Ice Hockey

The arena's main tenant since it was opened is the BU men's ice hockey team. The student section for the team sits in Section 118 and is called the "Dog Pound". The upper level of section 118 is reserved for the BU Pep Band. The Dog Pound is known for chants directed at opposing goaltenders.

The women's team continues to play in Walter Brown Arena, but select tournaments and games have been played at the arena. The arena hosted the 2009 Women's Frozen Four. The venue was also scheduled to host the 2020 Women's Frozen Four before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) played two Boston Fleet games at the arena: March 8 against the Montreal Victoire and March 26 against the Toronto Sceptres.

Basketball

In the arena's first decade, Boston University basketball played select home games at Agganis, with the remainder being played at Case Gym. The school made the decision before the 2015–2016 season to move all home games back to Case Gym due to poor attendance at Agganis. The last BU basketball game played at Agganis was a 77-70 loss to rival Holy Cross on Feb. 28, 2015.

Agganis Arena hosted the first rounds of the 2007 America East men's basketball tournament and the finals in 2011.

Other Events

Agganis is used for various graduation ceremonies at BU and other schools.

The arena hosted TNA Wrestling's anniversary show Slammiversary on June 2, 2013.

In January 2018, the arena hosted the playoff stage for the ELEAGUE Major tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was the first time in the game's history that a North American team (Cloud9) won a major-level tournament.

On October 9, 2019, professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) held the second episode of its live weekly television show ''AEW Dynamite'' at the arena. AEW returned to the Agganis Arena for its October 27, 2021 episode of ''Dynamite.'' That week's episode of ''AEW Rampage'' was also taped at the arena following the ''Dynamite'' taping. AEW returned once again on April 6, 2022 for a live episode of ''Dynamite'', as well as tapings of ''AEW Rampage'' and ''AEW Dark: Elevation''.

The Rocket League Championship Series 2023 Spring Major was held at the arena from July 6 to 9, 2023, with a live audience present on July 8 and 9. The event was won by Team Vitality, who beat fellow European side Team BDS in the Final to completely sweep the Spring Split, having previously won the EU Spring Open, Spring Cup and Spring Invitational.

See also

* List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

References

External links

Official websiteAgganis Arena

{{Music venues of Massachusetts

College ice hockey venues in Massachusetts
College basketball venues in Massachusetts
Basketball venues in Boston
Boston University Terriers sports venues
Boston University Terriers men's basketball
Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey
Wrestling venues in the United States
Ice hockey venues in Boston
2005 establishments in Massachusetts
2005 in Boston
Sports venues completed in 2005
University and college buildings completed in 2005