Historic college to destroy 115-year-old arena that hosted US presidential speeches and Marvin Gaye concerts

Dec 13, 2025 - 10:45

America says goodbye to a historic sporting arena this weekend.

But those who live outside the city limits of Boston, or those who didn’t study at Northeastern, might not be too familiar with Matthews Arena.

Boston College and Northeastern play in the final women's hockey game at Matthews Arena on December 6, 2025. — The 115-year-old Matthews Arena will host one final game this weekend

The 115-year old building will host the university’s hockey team for one final game on Saturday, bringing the curtain down on a record-breaking era.

What is the history behind Matthews Arena?

Opened in 1910, the arena is the oldest hockey and basketball facility in the NCAA, and also the oldest multipurpose athletic building in the world.

So old is the building, that the Titanic was still under construction in Belfast Harbour when its doors first opened.

For 80 years, Matthews Arena has been home to Northeastern’s ‘Howlin’ Huskies, but boasts a history far beyond college sports.

Originally named the Boston Arena, it was the home of the city’s NHL and NBA teams, the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics.

The Bruins, in fact, are the only team of hockey’s ‘Original Six’ whose original home arena still exists for the sport today.

Another of that group, the Chicago Blackhawks, are this weekend celebrating their own former home as part of centennial celebrations.

But the fact it is the oldest athletic building in the world is not the only thing that makes Matthews Arena iconic.

Inside the building, the Huskies found plenty of success.

Much of that came back in the 1980s, when the team won the prestigious Beanpot tournament four times.

General view outside the Matthews Arena after a college basketball game between the Princeton Tigers and the Northeastern Huskies on November 10, 2024 — Matthews Arena has hosted college and professional sports for more than a century

A general view of banners hanging from the rafters on October 29, 2025, at Matthews Arena on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston — The Celtics and Bruins played in the building, alongside Northeastern’s teams

The program’s best season came in ’82, when the Huskies finished 25-9-2 and made it to the NCAA Frozen Four.

They also won the Hockey East championship in 1988 and 2016, and have featured in the NCAA tournament on five other occasions.

According to a handful of hockey legends, Matthews Arena was also just a special place to be.

Ben Smith, who coached the US women’s team to Olympic gold in 1998, believes it was the greatest to exist.

“It’s the best rink to play in, the best rink to coach in, and the best rink to watch a game,” he told the Boston Globe last week.

Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna, who has served as a college hockey administrator for more than three decades, added: “I just thought of how much joy the building has given to people, whether they played or were fans.

The Northeastern University Huskies fans cheer from — Fans filled Matthews Arena for more than a century

“It was pretty special.”

The final game will see the No. 11 Huskies men’s hockey team take on No. 20 Boston University on Saturday. It will be a fitting finale for the legendary arena.

What other events did Matthews Arena host?

Plenty of other events, of course, were hosted inside the building too.

Multiple United States presidents delivered speeches from the venue, including Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A general view of a tunnel to the ice on October 29, 2025, at Matthews Arena on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston — As well as hockey, Matthews Arena hosted plenty of other events

World-famous music artists like Marvin Gaye and The Supremes, Bob Dylan, The Doors and Johnny Cash also graced the stage inside Matthews Arena.

The Celtics played their first ever game in front of 4,329 fans inside the building, and stayed for a decade before moving to the Boston Garden.

Why is Matthews Arena being demolished?

After more than 115 years of operation, hosting countless hockey games, basketball clashes and other ceremonies, concerts and collegiate celebrations, Matthews Arena will be deconstructed to make way for a new facility.

Northeastern will soon begin building a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose athletics and recreation complex on the site. Deconstruction will begin on Saturday, after the final game concludes.

A rendering of Northeastern's new athletics complex, that will replace Matthews Arena — A new facility will be built to replace Matthews Arena

A rendering of a ceremony at Northeastern's new athletics complex, that will replace Matthews Arena — It will be a multipurpose building, for sports, ceremonies and other events

A rendering of a practice court at Northeastern's new athletics complex, that will replace Matthews Arena — The complex will also feature practice facilities for athletics programs

The new arena will seat 4,050 people for hockey and 5,300 for basketball, providing excellent sightlines for fans, and is also expected to incorporate the famous Matthews Arena archway, which has stood for more than a century.

A new complex will include a modern Division 1 athletics arena, and training facilities that will elevate Northeastern’s athletic programs.

“We love Matthews Arena, but it is a single-use space. It’s an arena where you can do one thing at a time,” Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern, said of the project.

“This is a place where memories will be made. This will be a place where we hold convocation, where we hold graduations, where we hold events for recreation, club sports and varsity sports.

“It will also be a place where students are coming together in small groups and large crowds.

“It will be transformational.”

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