construction zone | athletic facilities
Northeastern University plans to build multipurpose arena
Northeastern University is moving forward with plans to build a 310,000-square-foot multipurpose athletics and recreation complex on the site of the 115-year-old Matthews Arena in Boston.
The university says the facility will have an arena that will seat 4,050 people for ice hockey and 5,300 for basketball. As Northeastern’s largest indoor gathering space, it will enable thousands of people to attend academic ceremonies and other non-athletic events. The modern arena and training facilities will elevate Northeastern’s varsity athletic programs, especially basketball and ice hockey.
The complex will occupy the entire two-acre footprint of Matthews Arena, including areas now used as surface parking lots.
Matthews Arena, formerly known as Boston Arena, opened in 1910. It was acquired by Northeastern in 1979.
The multipurpose nature of the new complex will create opportunities that cannot be matched by Matthews Arena, says Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern.
“We love Matthews Arena, but it is a single-use space,” Henderson says. "It’s an arena where you can do one thing at a time “The new complex will have multiple events and activities going on at the same time."
Iowa district will build activities center at high school
The Linn-Mar (Iowa) Community School District is planning to build a $53.4 million indoor activities center at its high school in Marion.
The district says the new facility will provide a larger weight room, expand wrestling space to meet the needs of both boys and girls wrestling teams, and serve as a storm shelter, improving safety for students, staff, and visitors.
Additional hardwood courts will alleviate scheduling conflicts for athletics and physical education classes. The auxiliary gym would be converted into a multipurpose space with batting cages and a turf surface to support activities such as speed and agility training, football, soccer, shot put and golf.
The center also will have an indoor track that would enable Linn-Mar to host a competitive indoor track meet and eliminate the need for runners to train in school hallways.
High school stadium under construction in Mission Viejo, Calif.
The Capistrano (California) Unified District has begun construction of a $21.5 million stadium at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo.
The Orange County Register reports that the facility will replace the school’s old stadium, which has already been demolished, with a modern athletic facility featuring new bleachers, a press box with elevator access, updated concession and ticket booths, team rooms and a weight room.
The stadium also will have a resurfaced and striped track, improved fencing and a modern sound system.
The project covers about 6 acres on the northwestern side of the 42-acre high school campus.
Bleacher capacity will increase from 1,886 people to 2,750 to accommodate larger crowds for football games, future graduation ceremonies and band competitions. The home-side bleachers, on the south side of the stadium, will grow from 1,312 seats to 2,000 and include a new press box. The visitor bleachers, on the north side, will increase from 574 to 750 seats.
Construction of the stadium is scheduled to be completed by May 2026.