MassMutual Center

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MassMutual Center
The Nest
MassMutualCenter Logo.svg
Mass Mutual Center, Springfield MA.jpg
Outside of the MassMutual Center
Earlier names

Springfield Civic Center (1972-2005)

Data
place 1277 Main Street
Springfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42 ° 6 '8 "  N , 72 ° 35' 13"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 6 '8 "  N , 72 ° 35' 13"  W.
owner City of Springfield (1972–1997)
Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (since 1998)
operator Global spectrum
start of building March 18, 1970
opening 5th September 1972
Renovations 2003-2005
costs $ 10.3 million $
71 million (renovation)
architect Catalano Architects Inc.
Sasaki Associates (renovation)
capacity Grandstand: 8,000
Basketball : 7,331
Ice hockey : 6,866
Societies)

The MassMutual Center (formerly Springfield Civic Center ) is a multi-function arena and convention center in downtown Springfield , Massachusetts , USA, in the urban Metro Center across from Court Square. The facility opened in 1972 and was the largest arena in the region at the time.

The City of Springfield owned and operated it and various administrative companies until 1997, when the city transferred ownership of the facility to the Massachusetts Legislature. Shortly thereafter, support was transferred to the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), which in turn was working on plans to renovate and expand the facility. The two-year project, which began in 2003, included a renovation to the 8,000-seat arena and the expansion of the state-of-art convention center. Global Spectrum was selected by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to lead the facility for five years from 2005. In 2010 the contract was renewed.

The site was renamed in 2005 when the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company secured the naming rights and approval for the arena and convention center for 15 years. The facility reopened as a MassMutual Center on September 29, 2005.

The sports facility is the home arena of the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League , Springfield Armor and the NBA Development League . His nickname "The Nest" was the place because it Heimertort the Falcons ( falcon was).

renovation

arena

In autumn 2003 the renovation project was announced publicly and the demolition of the bank next to the building, together with the square and the exhibition hall, began. In the fall of 2005, the 71 million US dallar renovation project was completed. The renovation included a new floor with new pipelines for the ice rink. In addition, new chillers were installed. Improvements for the building were achieved with electrical systems, as well as the installation of an air conditioning system with new dehumidification systems. Audio and video improvements were achieved with a new four-sided display board with video display and a new sound system in the center of the ceiling. The remodeling project also included a new seating arrangement with 6,455 permanent seats and 222 pilot seats. New comfort options at the entrance to the arena include a bar, lounge, club room, executive suite, new, larger toilets and eleven newly renovated concession stands. The main entrance has been moved from Main Street to Falcons Way, where a new till and office has been added. The arena was able to operate during the two-year renovation work, which was financed by the city and the state.

The main entrance to the arena is on Falcons Way. The arena has three levels:

  • Event Level - (Comcast box office, administration offices, Falcon offices and club shop)
  • Concourse Level (Lower and Upper Lower Bucket Seats, Center Grille Restaurant, Breakaway Bar & Lounge)
  • Upper Level (press boxes, The Executive Perch)

Convention center

A new state-of-the-art convention center was added through the renovation of the old arena. At 9,300 square feet, the MassMutual Center is the largest convention center in western Massachusetts. It includes two exhibition halls with a total of over 3,700 square meters, three dance halls with 1,400 square meters with a kitchen behind the building, five congress rooms with a total of 840 square meters and a further 2,000 square meters for pre-function space. Its construction connects the congress room with the arena, creating a further 1,800 square meters. In addition, you can view the city skyline in the pre-function room, which can also be seen by the public when visiting the arena. The room has a glass niche that provides a panoramic view of the city center. In the congress center it is possible to host galas, weddings, trade fairs, concerts, meetings, conferences and other events of various sizes.

The main entrance to the Convention Center is on Main Street and Falcons Way. There are two levels:

  • Event Level (meeting rooms 1 to 5, exhibition halls A and B)
  • Upper level (dance halls A, B and C, glass niches)

history

The arena of the MassMutual Center

The arena was home to the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , while the Hartford Civic Center was under renovation after the roof collapsed there in 1978.

The arena also hosted the 16th edition of the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Saturday Night's Main Event (the first edition before Wrestlemania IV , which was recorded on April 22, 1988 and aired on April 30). It also hosted the 19th WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1997. The center also hosted the WWE Monday Night RAW and two WWE SmackDown shows; the first was made on October 26, 1999 and aired the following Thursday, and the second aired on December 13, 2005 and the following Friday. The arena was also where Jacques Rougeau , known as The Mountie , lost to Bret "Hitman" Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship on January 17, 1992. He lost the title two days later to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany , New York at the 1992 Royal Rumble .

Since 2016 the center has been the home arena of the Springfield Thunderbirds , the AHL sister company of the Florida Panthers .

The building, located at the "birthplace of basketball," also housed several NCAA Men's Division II basketball championships , first in 1977, then from 1980 to 1994, and finally from 2006 to 2011. The tournament was held at the Bank of Kentucky Center in 2012 and Postponed in 2013. It also hosted the first six NCAA Women's Division II basketball championships from 1982 to 1987.

The UMass Minutemen basketball team , led by Springfield coach Derek Kellogg , has been using the building for home games since 2010. In 2011, the Basketball Hall of Fame created the Holiday Showcase, which is intended to honor the UMass Minutemen basketball team.

The Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League were The franchise was bought by the HWS Group in the spring of 2009, according to building roster tenants in autumn 2009. and quickly moved to Springfield at start of season 2009/10. It was affiliated with the NBA ’s New York Knicks , the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets for two years. The New Jersey Nets, known as the Brooklyn Nets since 2012 , became the Armor's only subsidiary at the start of the 2011/12 season. Armor played their first Eastern Division Championship game in the 2011/12 season under new head coach Bob MacKinnon. They won the final home game on March 21, 2014 in front of a sold out crowd with 7,111 guests.

Selected events

The MassMutual Center has hosted numerous events over the years, from professional and amateur sporting events, concerts and comedy tours, ice skating and family shows, graduation ceremonies and other events, whether private or public.

Sports

Concerts

Other events

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ground Broken for Civic Center . In: The Morning Union . Springfield, MA March 18, 1970.
  2. ↑ a b Expansion Upsets RI. In: The Boston Globe . September 10, 1972, accessed September 20, 2011 .
  3. ^ Images by Catalano, Eduardo of Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
  4. ↑ Don Vitters, AIA ( Memento of July 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Varsity Pride: 1975 ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
  6. ^ Varsity Pride: 1976 ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments