Tsongas Center

Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell
Full name	Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell
Former names	Tsongas Arena (1998-Oct. 2009)
Address	300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Location	Lowell, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42.650228°N 71.313248°W
Owner	University of Massachusetts Lowell
Operator	Spectra
Capacity	6,003 (hockey and basketball); 7,000 (concerts)
Construction
Broke ground	1996
Opened	January 27, 1998
Construction cost	$24 million (original); $5 million (2010-11 renovations)
Tenants
	UMass Lowell River Hawks (NCAA) (1998–present); Lowell Lock Monsters/Devils (AHL) (1998–2010)

The Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell (formerly the Tsongas Arena[1]) is a multi-purpose facility owned by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and located in Lowell, Massachusetts. The arena was opened on January 27, 1998, and dedicated to the memory of the late Paul Tsongas, prominent Lowell native and U.S. senator. The arena was built with $4 million in funding from both the city and the university, plus another $20 million contributed from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[2]

About the arena

Interior of the arena

The facility is home to the NCAA Division I University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks ice hockey team, which competes in the Hockey East Association and men's basketball team which play for the America East Conference. [3] The facility was also home to the Lowell Lock Monsters and the Lowell Devils ice hockey team, which competed in the American Hockey League from 1998 to 2010. The Devils ended their stay in Lowell due to financial difficulties and the arena's new ownership and moved to Albany, NY to compete as the Albany Devils.

The Tsongas Center - which seats approximately 6,000 for hockey and 7,000 for concerts and other events - is the site of major concerts and other public events, including job fairs, skating competitions and graduation ceremonies for area high schools, colleges and universities. It also hosts major university events, such as the annual Commencement ceremonies, Open House for prospective students and the Chancellor's Speaker Series. The series debuted in 2012 with bestselling author Stephen King. Also in 2012, the Tsongas Center was the site of a debate between then-incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and challenger Elizabeth Warren, which drew more than 5,000 people and was covered by more than 100 media outlets, including NBC News and MSNBC.

In 2004, alternative rock pioneers Pixies recorded their live concert DVD and high-definition television special "The Pixies: Come Home Live 2004 World Tour" at the Tsongas Arena. The same year, progressive rock band Yes released a DVD of their 35th anniversary tour performance at the venue titled Songs from Tsongas.

In 2009, the boxing scenes of the 2010 film The Fighter were filmed at the Tsongas Center, with Mark Wahlberg portraying Lowell-born champion boxer Micky Ward and Christian Bale portraying his brother Dicky Eklund.

UMass Lowell and the city of Lowell entered into negotiations in 2009 with the intent to transfer ownership of the arena and the land adjacent to it to the university. In late October 2009, it was reported that the deal had been reached with UMass Lowell committing to major renovations to the facility.[4] In a ceremony during a game against Boston University on October 30, 2009, the deal transferring ownership to the university was signed. UMass Lowell formally took control of the arena on February 5, 2010 after completing a $1 transaction.[5]

UMass Lowell has spent more than $5 million to renovate the arena since its acquisition. LED "ribbon" boards were installed in the winter of 2010. A new high-definition video scoreboard and sound system were installed during the summer 2010. A new club seating area was built in conjunction with a new upscale bar. In the summer of 2011, new ice-making equipment was installed, followed by new luxury boxes and press box in 2012.

In March 2017, the arena played host to the second NWHL Isobel Cup finals between the Buffalo Beauts and Boston Pride.

References

Moran, Lyle (July 18, 2011). "UML's Tsongas Center in world's top 20 venues". The Sun. MediaNews Group. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
Lafleur, Michael (2008-05-20). "UMass Lowell disputes price it pays for events at Tsongas Arena". Lowell Sun. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
https://goriverhawks.com/news/2019/7/31/mens-basketball-record-number-of-home-games-highlights-river-hawks-2019-20-slate.aspx
Myers, Jennifer (October 23, 2009). "Lowell closes in on deal to turn Tsongas Arena over to UMass Lowell". Lowell Sun. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
Abel, David (February 5, 2010). "UMass Lowell takes control of Tsongas Arena". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2010.

External links

Tsongas Center website

Preceded by Tully Forum	Home of the UMass Lowell River Hawks 1998 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Family Arena	Host of Lockdown 2008	Succeeded by Liacouras Center

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Moran, Lyle (July 18, 2011). "UML's Tsongas Center in world's top 20 venues". The Sun. MediaNews Group. Retrieved June 10, 2015.

[sun052008-2] Lafleur, Michael (2008-05-20). "UMass Lowell disputes price it pays for events at Tsongas Arena". Lowell Sun. Retrieved 2008-05-30.

[3] ttps://goriverhawks.com/news/2019/7/31/mens-basketball-record-number-of-home-games-highlights-river-hawks-2019-20-slate.aspx

[4] Myers, Jennifer (October 23, 2009). "Lowell closes in on deal to turn Tsongas Arena over to UMass Lowell". Lowell Sun. Retrieved February 6, 2010.

[5] Abel, David (February 5, 2010). "UMass Lowell takes control of Tsongas Arena". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2010.

University of Massachusetts Lowell
Located in: Lowell, Massachusetts
Academics	Kennedy College of Sciences Manning School of Business
Research	Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute Radiation Laboratory
Campus	Allen House Kenneth R. Fox Student Union Middlesex County Training School (West Campus) Wannalancit Mills
Athletics	UMass Lowell River Hawks Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's ice hockey Men's soccer Costello Athletic Center LeLacheur Park Tsongas Center America East Conference Hockey East
Student life	Housing Marching band WUML
Founded: 1894

UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey
Formerly the Lowell Chiefs and Lowell Tech Terriers
Playing venues	Skate 3 (−1980) Tully Forum (1980–1998) Tsongas Center (1998–present)
Head coaches	Richard Morrison 1967–1969 Bill Riley Jr. (1969–1991) Bruce Crowder (1991–1996) Tim Whitehead (1996–2001) Blaise MacDonald (2001–2011) Norm Bazin (2011–present)
Seasons	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
Conference affiliations	ECAC 2 (1968–1983) Hockey East (1984–present)
All-time leaders	Mike Carr (279 Points) Mike Carr (134 Goals) Brian Doyle (74 Wins)
National championships	1979 (DII) 1981 (DII) 1982 (DII)
Frozen Four appearances	2013
NCAA Tournament appearances	1988 1994 1996 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017
Conference Tournament titles	Hockey East: 2013 2014 2017
Mike Richter winners	Connor Hellebuyck (2014)
University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA

UMass Lowell River Hawks men's basketball
Venues	Tsongas Center (1998–present) Costello Athletic Center (alternate; 1975–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21
NCAA national championship in bold

UMass Lowell River Hawks women's basketball
Venues	Costello Athletic Center (1975–present) Tsongas Center (alternate; 1998–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20

Hockey East
Men	Boston College Eagles (Conte Forum) Boston University Terriers (Agganis Arena) Maine Black Bears (Alfond Arena) Merrimack Warriors (J. Thom Lawler Rink) New Hampshire Wildcats (Whittemore Center) Northeastern Huskies (Matthews Arena) Providence Friars (Schneider Arena) UConn Huskies (XL Center) UMass Minutemen (Mullins Center) UMass Lowell River Hawks (Tsongas Center) Vermont Catamounts (Gutterson Fieldhouse)
Women	Boston College Eagles (Conte Forum) Boston University Terriers (Walter Brown Arena) Holy Cross Crusaders (Hart Center) Maine Black Bears (Alfond Arena) Merrimack Warriors (J. Thom Lawler Rink) New Hampshire Wildcats (Whittemore Center) Northeastern Huskies (Matthews Arena) Providence Friars (Schneider Arena) UConn Huskies (Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum) Vermont Catamounts (Gutterson Fieldhouse)
Related articles	Lamoriello Trophy List of champions: Men / Women Tournament sites: TD Garden / Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum