 |
| Location: |
Boston, Massachusetts |
| Opened: |
September 30, 1995 |
Size: |
755,000 square feet (70,000 m²) on 3.2 acres (13,000 m²) |
Cost: |
$160 million |
Structured Steel: |
8,100 tons |
Concessions: |
36 permanent stands |
Restrooms: |
17 men's, 17 women's |
Escalators: |
13 |
Elevators: |
7 |
General Contractor: |
Morse Diesel International |
Designers: |
Ellerbe Becket, Inc. |
Owner: |
- New Boston Garden Corporation
- Subsidiary of Delaware North Companies
|
| Home Teams: |
|
| Capacity: |
- 18,624 (basketball)
- 17,565 (hockey)
|
Height: |
- Ten stories
- 162 feet (49 m) high
| Length and width: |
- 468 feet (143 m) long (east-west)
- 300 feet (91 m) wide (north-south)
| Parking garage |
| Website: |
http://www.fleetcenter.com |
The FleetCenter is a sports arena in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the home arena for the Boston Bruins, an NHL team, and the Boston Celtics, an NBA team. Like most sports arenas, it also hosts other events, such as concerts, shows, conventions, graduations, wrestling matches, seminars, ice shows, and circuses.
History
FleetCenter was constructed to replace the aging Boston Garden as the home of the Boston Bruins hockey team and the Boston Celtics basketball team. The arena opened on September 30, 1995. As suggested by the name, the arena was largely privately sponsored, mainly by Fleet Bank of Boston. When construction started, it was intended to be called the Shawmut Center, after the original private sponsor, Shawmut Bank. During the course of its construction, Shawmut Bank was bought by Fleet Bank, and the partially completed building was renamed.
The name of the arena is expected to change as a result of the April 1, 2004 merger of FleetBoston Financial Group with Bank of America. On January 5, 2005, Bank of America and FleetCenter's owner, Delaware North Companies, announced an agreement under which the bank made a payment to be released from the remaining six years on the naming rights agreement. The agreement left Delaware North free to try to sell the naming rights to another sponsor.
FleetCenter hosted the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Facilities
FleetCenter is built on top of Boston's North Station, a major transportation hub. There is direct access from the station.
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