Matthews Arena: "The Oldest Hockey Arena in the United States"

At 238 St. Botolph Street in Boston Massachusetts sits "The Oldest Ice Hockey Arena in the United States". Originally built in 1910 as a multipurpose arena, Matthews Arena has had a significant list of tenants from multiple sports and civic activities over it's 105-year history, including serving as the original home of the NHL's Boston Bruins, and NBA's Boston Celtics. Now, it is the home to the Northwestern Huskies Men's & Women's Hockey teams and the Men's Basketball team.

The Huskies now own the historic arena, after purchasing it in 1979, but they are not the only college hockey team to call Matthews Arena, home. The Harvard Crimson played here in various years from 1911 to 1956, Boston College had stints from 1917 to 1958, and Boston University played all but two seasons here from 1918 to 1971. Northeastern moved in in 1930 and have played their home games here ever since.

In the seasons that the Huskies have played at Matthews Arena, they have won 1 ECAC Championship, 3 Hockey East Championships, and have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 8 times, with their last appearance coming in the 2021-22 season.

Discussions have recently been had to determine the future of Matthews Arena. With structural issues and lack of modern amenities, one option being a total demolition in favor of building an entire new facility, but recent news makes it seem that Northeastern University is moving forward on a massive redevelopment and modernization project of the arena, which is sure to revitalize the 105-year-old arena for many years to come. The proposed project includes four floors of high bay space, for arena programming, student recreation, varsity athletics, and community events.

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