Northeastern reveals plans to replace Matthews Arena with eye on 2028 opening

Boston Globe

06-03-2025

The 310,000-square-foot complex will occupy the entire two-acre footprint of Matthews Arena, including areas currently used as surface parking lots. Members of the university toured other schools, some nearby, and others a bit further away, including Notre Dame and Northwestern, to get an idea of what they wanted on St. Botolph Steet.
A rendering of the new facade at Matthews Arena.
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The project is awaiting final approval from the city and state, which will determine the timelines for deconstruction and construction. It likely will not begin until 2026, leaving room for both the men's and women's hockey teams to open the 2025-26 season at Matthews. The process is expected to take 30 months, with the expectation that the new venue would be ready for the 2028-29 season.
During construction, the basketball programs will move their games and practices to the Cabot Recreation Complex, as they did for the 2020-21 season during the pandemic. It will be a little more complicated for the hockey programs.
The school is looking to partner with a rink in the greater Boston area where both the men's and women's teams can practice, with the university investing in facilities to house the equipment for the teams and offices for the coaches, as well as maintaining an area on campus where the can gather and prepare for road games.
Northeastern officials intend to incorporate more practice space into the new Matthews Arena.
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As for games, the school will look to some of the local universities for assistance, but will also spend a good chunk of time on the road, with the goal being to have an imbalanced schedule with more home games when the new building is finished.
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The schedule would also likely include more in-season tournaments over the next few years. You can expect to see the Huskies heading to Belfast, for one of the next iterations of the Friendship Four.
Playing away from campus for two-plus seasons will be a hit for the hockey programs in the short term, but the school believes the long-term gains of having the new arena should only help in recruiting as they look to keep up with the surrounding programs.
'We'll have amenities that all student athletes will want to be able to use, because it speaks to development, which is so big part of where they want to go,' said Northeastern athletic director Jim Madigan. 'They'll see the facilities, they'll see the amenities, and they'll see that that's going to help them reach their athletic goals.'
There's also the fan experience. Matthews Arena has all of the charm that you'd expect from a venue that opened in 1910, and while it can be a great old barn to watch a game, the quarters are tight in the lobby, leading to long lines for the concessions and the restrooms.
That will not be the case in the new building, Madigan assures, with a large lobby as you walk in, with plenty of concessions and restrooms.
'Plenty of the modern-day amenities,' said Madigan. 'Everything you could think of as a new facility for the fan experience, absolutely.'
Originally known as Boston Arena, it was rebuilt in 1918 after a fire, and went on to serve as the original home of the Boston Bruins, who
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And it wasn't just home for sports, hosting a Theodore Roosevelt presidential rally in 1912, receptions with celebrity pilots Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart in 1927 and 1928, respectively. It also hosted a rally for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, a John F. Kennedy appearance during a veterans rally in 1946, a Jerry Lee Lewis concert in 1958, and other events.
The university bought the building in 1979 and renamed it Matthews Arena Nov. 14, 1982 after George J. Matthews, Class of '56, and his wife Hope.
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