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The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester, formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum) is an indoor
arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
and
convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...
complex in downtown
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
. The facility hosts a variety of events, including concerts, sporting events, family shows, conventions, trade-shows and meetings. It is owned by the City of Worcester and managed by ASM Global, a private management firm for public assembly facilities. Ten-year naming rights were purchased in 2004 by Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) and went into effect January 2005. DCU's naming rights were later extended to 2027.


History

The Centrum, or officially Centrum in Worcester as it was then known, opened in September 1982 after years of construction delays, with a capacity of roughly 12,000. The first performance on September 1, 1982, was a free concert sponsored by The City of Worcester with Mayor Sara Robertson acting as Master of Ceremonies with the New England Symphony Orchestra performing. The first paid opening event was a
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
concert on September 2, 1982. The arena was expanded to 14,800 seats in 1989 with the addition of the 300-level balconies. The convention center addition was completed along with a renovation of arena infrastructure in 1997. This upgrade resulted in the facility's name change to Worcester's Centrum Centre. The venue received further updates with the DCU naming rights purchase, including new signage both inside and outside the facility, and a new center-hung video scoreboard for the arena bowl. In the summer of 2023, all arena seats were replaced.


Sports


Ice hockey

The arena is home to the Worcester Railers which began play in 2017 as a member of the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
. The arena was formerly home to the
Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachu ...
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL) team, owned and operated by its
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
affiliate
San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
, which moved its farm team to the west coast in 2015. Prior to this, the venue was home to the Worcester IceCats, also of the AHL. The arena also hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic on January 29, 2009. The PlanetUSA All stars defeated Team Canada, 14–11, in the highest-scoring AHL All Star game in history.


Basketball

Worcester has been host to
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
preseason games in some years. They also hosted the first and second rounds of the 1992 and 2005 NCAA men's Division I basketball tournaments.


Indoor football

The arena has been home to multiple indoor football teams. The Massachusetts Marauders of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
played in the arena in the 1994 season, but folded after one year in Massachusetts. The New England Surge of the Continental Indoor Football League also called the Center home for two seasons, but ceased operations after the 2008 season. In 2018, the Massachusetts Pirates began their inaugural season in the National Arena League, going 11-5 and regular season champions in their first year. They joined the
Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...
in 2021, and went on to win that year's United Bowl. In 2023, the Massachusetts Pirates, announced they would be departing the arena.


Professional wrestling

On May 17, 1998, it was the host of WCW's WCW Slamboree. Additionally, on April 27, 2003,
WWE Backlash WWE Backlash is a professional wrestling event that is produced by the American company WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is broadcast live television, live and has been available through pay-per-view (PPV) since 1999 ...
came to the DCU Center. In additional several WWE events have taken place at the DCU Center. On December 28, 1998,
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...
, performing under the name Mankind, won his first WWE Championship during the taping of the January 4, 1999 edition of '' Monday Night Raw'' at the Worcester Centrum Centre, defeating The Rock. On May 5, 2002, it hosted a house show that would end up being the final show held under the WWF name, with the company changing its name to the WWE one day later. On July 12, 2005, it was the host of the July 14, 2005 taping of '' SmackDown!''. On November 2, 2009, it was the host of ''WWE Raw'' for the first time in nine years. On January 14, 2014, it was the host of the January 17 taping of '' SmackDown!''. It was the host of ''WWE SmackDown'' when it went live on July 19, 2016, an episode featuring WWE's second ever brand extension draft. For the first time
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
debuted at the DCU Center on January 20, 2012.


Boxing

On February 11, 1983, Marvelous Marvin Hagler retained his WBC, WBA and '' The Ring''
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...
titles against English boxer Tony Sibson at the arena. It was Hagler's 60th professional fight and his 56th win overall. The fight was the only time Hagler fought at the arena and was the last of 36 he fought in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.


Collegiate

The College of the Holy Cross uses the facility as an alternate location for anticipated larger attendance home games for men's basketball and men's ice hockey.


Music

During the 1980s, the arena became an alternate stop for touring musical acts, offering them a small venue that could draw from both the Boston and Providence concert markets simultaneously. The old Boston Garden had poor acoustics and lacked air conditioning, prompting promoters to schedule Boston area shows at the arena. This practice continues today as the arena is an alternative to the larger TD Garden. The impact was also felt immediately thirty-five miles south at the Providence Civic Center. Within six months of The Centrum's opening, Providence's WPRI Channel 12 news ran a two-part story by reporter Brian Rooney citing a situation the week prior with the KISS band as a prime example of how the newly built Centrum was cutting deeply into the Providence Civic Center's vital concert business. Shortly after the Centrum's September 1982 opening, RI promoter Frank J. Russo scheduled
KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
on their Creatures of the Night Tour/10th Anniversary Tour for a January 23, 1983 show at their usual area stop – the Providence Civic Center. He also scheduled a show the night prior at the new Centrum. The Centrum KISS date sold thousands more tickets than the Civic Center KISS date, which petered out at 2,000 sales. Russo canceled the Providence show and publicly offered to trade Centrum KISS show tickets for Civic Center KISS show tickets in lieu of refunds, throwing in a free bus ride up and back. On January 22, 1983, hundreds of fans departed from Sabin Street in front of the Providence Civic Center, headed up on chartered buses to the competing venue (after this, for the next four tours in a row, only the Centrum got area bookings from KISS; they did not attempt to play the Providence Civic Center again until 1988). On January 27, 1988, KISS paused in the middle of their Crazy Nights tour concert at the arena and filmed most of the footage for a music video supporting their impending "Turn On The Night" single. The video was directed by
Marty Callner Martin Henry Callner (August 25, 1946 – March 17, 2025) was an American director who made music videos, comedy specials, concert specials and television shows. He was the creator of HBO's '' Hard Knocks'', and was nominated for numerous Prim ...
who laid tracks inside the security barrier in front of the stage for a moving camera to film up at lead singer Paul Stanley dancing up a stage ramp while lip-synching the lyrics and featured a dolly shot running down the center aisle showing the crowd. "Turn On the Night" only charted in the UK, where it reached #41. Rooney reported the new Centrum was "thriving", and already "doing double the business expected" despite the recession. Worcester Centrum Director Antonio Tavares told Rooney, in a shot at his competition down south, "You can no longer sit and wait for the phone to ring and expect acts to be calling you, especially unique types of events, and say 'Hey, we're interested in playing the Providence Civic Center'. That doesn't happen anymore." Rooney showed footage of a tennis match, a tractor pull, and KISS playing to underline the variety of events hosted by the new Centrum after only a few months of operation. From August 13 to August 24, 1987, in an effort to thank their local fans for years of support and allow wide availability of tickets,
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
played an unprecedented nine-show run on their Third Stage tour. Starting with a three-night booking, as each show neared selling out another night was added. This successful tour stop prompted a good-natured ad parody on rock radio station WBCN, "Now appearing at the Centrum, Boston on Ice!", a reference to themed ice shows. The arena played host to what some fans consider to be the greatest two-night stand in the history of The Dave Matthews Band, in December 1998. Fresh off their May release of '' Before These Crowded Streets'', they played some of the more diverse concerts in their history. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones joined DMB for these shows opening both nights and even sitting in on much of sets for both nights. The
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
played the Centrum 12 times between 1983 and 1988. Dates they played included 10/20/83, 10/21/83, 10/8/84, 10/9/84, 11/4/85, 11/5/85, 4/2/87, 4/3/87, 4/4/87, 4/7/88, 4/8/88, and 4/9/88. 4/3/87 is the most listened-to Grateful Dead tape on Archive.org.
Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...
took the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
to see the Grateful Dead at the Centrum. The venue has hosted 16 concerts of the band
Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...
. On December 31, 1993, they played their first concert at the Centrum, complete with a stage decorated like an aquarium (featured for the 1993 New Years run). Footage from this show was featured in the band's only official music video, " Down with Disease", whose jam debuted that night. On November 29, 1997, Phish played their longest song in band history, a 58-minute version of "Runaway Jim". The concert performed nearly a year later, on November 27, 1998, was later released as a live album, entitled '' Live Phish Volume 6''. On December 27–28, 2010, they returned for a pair of concerts, the group's 11th and 12th appearances at the venue and its first public performances there in over seven years, performing one of the most well received renditions of " Harry Hood" since reuniting in 2009. They would return for two more concerts on June 7–8, 2012, notable for being that Summer tour's opening concerts. Phish would again return amidst their acclaimed Fall 2013 tour for two concerts on October 25–26, 2013. The arena played host to The Up in Smoke Tour on July 20–21, 2000. The show featured many famous rappers and hip hop artists, including
Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
,
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
,
Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...
,
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, Dr. Dre,
Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American rapper and singer. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals on several hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning him the ...
, Kurupt, D12, MC Ren, Westside Connection, Mel-Man, Tha Eastsidaz,
Doggy's Angels Doggy's Angels was an American rap trio formed by Snoop Dogg on the Doggy Style subsidiary of TVT. Members are Big Chan (Chan Gaines), Coniyac (Kim Proby-Davis) and Kola Loc (Kola Marion). The group released one album and single in 2000. Th ...
, Devin The Dude,
Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...
, TQ, Truth Hurts, Xzibit and The D.O.C. The July 20 show was filmed and later released as a live DVD. The arena played host to The Tattoo the Earth Tour on October 5–7, 2001, and October 12–14, 2002. The show featured performances by Slipknot,
Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
,
Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...
, Sepultura, Hed PE,
Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records wor ...
, downset., Hatebreed, Full Devil Jacket, Famous, Amen, U.P.O., Nothingface, PPM,
Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...
, Relative Ash, Systematic, Six Feet Under,
Candiria Candiria is an American band from Brooklyn, New York, mixing progressive metal, metalcore, jazz fusion and hip hop. They are part of the precursors of the mathcore genre with bands like Deadguy or Lethargy.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in N ...
,
Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...
, God Forbid, Darkest Hour, Unearth, All That Remains,
Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...
, Sick of It All,
Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...
, Converge, The Unseen, Reach the Sky, Stretch Arm Strong, Kill Your Idols and Nashville Pussy. It also featured 42 tattoo artists from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Malaysia, Manitoba, Spain, Switzerland and the US. On October 29, 2016, Parachute Concerts and area based Veteran Independent Promoter Ed Atamian brought the nostalgic Rap R&B throwback 'I Love The 90's Tour' to the arena. Featuring Salt N Pepa ft. DJ Spinderella, Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Young MC, Color Me Badd, All 4 One. The show sold thousands of tickets. Its success hearkens back to the venues and Worcester's strong performance with Urban concerts since the early 1990s.
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
natives
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
have performed at the DCU Center 13 times over the course of their career, including a few New Year's Eve shows. Popular rapper
Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...
took the stage at DCU on March 3, 2022.


Other events

The arena features annual appearances of the top family shows including Sesame Street Live, Disney on Ice,
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
and
The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...
, among others. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has hosted a Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event at the arena every year from the event's inception in 1998. The Built Ford Tough Series was known as the Bud Light Cup until the 2002 season. On January 29–30, 2011, the Massachusetts International 28th Auto Show was held at the arena. On June 11, 2014, Worcester Technical High School held their graduation at the DCU Center, notable for the commencement address by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. On November 18, 2015, future President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
held a rally at the DCU Center for a campaign stop. Secret Service agents screened attendees before the event. A crowd of over 10,000 was in attendance. On August 23–25, 2019, a Super Smash Bros. tournament titled Shine 2019 was held at the DCU Center. Over 1,600 competitors attended the tournament and the livestream had over 30,000 concurrent viewers on the final day.


Expansion, convention center

The facility expanded in 1997 with the opening of an attached convention center that features panoramic views of downtown Worcester. The complex added of exhibit space, 11 meeting rooms, a ballroom (the largest in Central Massachusetts) and a kitchen. The facility's 100,000-plus square feet of exhibit space is filled by consumer shows, trade shows, conventions, conferences, and other public and private functions year-round. An additional headquarters hotel for the facility, the Hilton Garden, opened in October 2006, doubling the number of rooms previously available in the facility's other headquarters hotel, the former Crowne Plaza that closed in 2009.


Renovations

It was announced on June 3, 2009, that the DCU Center would undergo a series of major renovations. There were to be three or four phases to the renovations, scheduled to avoid the Worcester Sharks AHL season. Work on the arena was expected to last three to four summers. Some of the major improvements were a new electrical system, new ice chillers, and a completely new ice floor all of which are original to the arena which opened in 1982. Other improvements to the arena during phase 1 will include a new dasher board system and a new seamless glass system, which are often found in new arenas. During the summer of 2012, phase 2 of the renovations began. These included a new glass wall on the Foster Street side of the building; major improvements to heating, ventilation and cooling systems; upgrades to restrooms and concessions; and a new dehumidification system. In 2018/2019, a plan of $37 million renovations were announced for the next four years. In the summer of 2023, the facility replaced all arena seats.


References


External links

*
City's Visitor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dcu Center 1982 establishments in Massachusetts American football venues in Massachusetts Basketball in Worcester, Massachusetts College ice hockey venues in Massachusetts Convention centers in Massachusetts Sports venues completed in 1982 Sports venues in Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester IceCats Worcester Railers Worcester Sharks Wrestling venues in the United States