Agganis Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on the campus of Boston University, built on the location of the former Commonwealth Armory. It is home to the five-time national champion Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. It is named after Harry Agganis, a football and baseball player for BU. The ice hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach. The arena is part of Boston University's John Hancock Student Village, which also includes dormitories and the university's five-story Fitness and Recreation Center.

Agganis was dedicated in 2004 and hosted its first event in 2005. It replaced Walter Brown Arena, located at the Case Athletic Center, as the home of BU Men's Ice Hockey, though Walter Brown Arena is still in use as the home of BU Women's Ice Hockey. The BU basketball team played games at the arena until 2015, before moving back to Case Gym.

Agganis serves as a regional auditorium for large events, including concerts, ceremonies of other schools such as Berklee College of Music, musicals, awareness events, and appearances by speakers such as Barack Obama and Dave Chappelle.

Since 2008, Agganis has hosted the annual CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championship.

History

Development

BU's men's ice hockey team had previously played at Walter Brown Arena for 33 years. The arena only has a capacity of 3,806, and so a larger, newer arena was desired by university leaders. Walter Brown was known for being extremely loud during high attendance games due to its low ceiling, creating a home advantage. Coach Jack Parker consulted with architects when designing the rink to ensure that the volume level would remain high. The ice rink in the arena would eventually be dedicated to him. In 2004, the Fitness and Recreation Center was completed next door as part of the village project.

alt=A full hockey arena with a clean ice surface. The arena is full of people. We are looking straight ahead from the home bench.|thumb|View from the student section between periods at a hockey game

The women's team continues to play in Walter Brown Arena, but select tournaments and games have been played at the arena. The arena hosted the 2009 Women's Frozen Four. The venue was also scheduled to host the 2020 Women's Frozen Four before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) played two Boston Fleet games at the arena: March 8, 2025 against the Montreal Victoire and March 26, 2025 against the Toronto Sceptres. During the 2025-2026 season, the Boston Fleet will play at least four games at the Agganis Arena in an effort to expand their presence in the City of Boston.

Basketball

In the arena's first decade, Boston University basketball played select home games at Agganis, with the remainder being played at Case Gym. The school made the decision before the 2015–2016 season to move all home games back to Case Gym due to poor attendance at Agganis. The last BU basketball game played at Agganis was a 77–70 loss to rival Holy Cross on Feb. 28, 2015.

Agganis Arena hosted the first rounds of the 2007 America East men's basketball tournament and the finals in 2011.

Other events

Agganis is used for various graduation ceremonies at BU and other schools.

The arena hosted TNA Wrestling's anniversary show Slammiversary on June 2, 2013. It will host the 2026 edition of the event on June 28, 2026.

In January 2018, the arena hosted the playoff stage for the ELEAGUE Major tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was the first time in the game's history that a North American team (Cloud9) won a major-level tournament.

On October 9, 2019, professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) held the second episode of its live weekly television show AEW Dynamite at the arena. AEW returned to the Agganis Arena for its October 27, 2021 episode of Dynamite. That week's episode of AEW Rampage was also taped at the arena following the Dynamite taping. AEW returned once again on April 6, 2022 for a live episode of Dynamite, as well as tapings of AEW Rampage and AEW Dark: Elevation.

The Rocket League Championship Series 2023 Spring Major was held at the arena from July 6 to 9, 2023, with a live audience present on July 8 and 9. The event was won by Team Vitality, who beat fellow European side Team BDS in the Final to completely sweep the Spring Split, having previously won the EU Spring Open, Spring Cup and Spring Invitational.

See also

  • List of NCAA Division I basketball arenas

References

  • Boston University profile