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| William D. Mullins Memorial Center |
|
|
| Location |
Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Opened |
February 4, 1993 |
| Owner |
University of Massachusetts |
| Operator |
Global Spectrum |
| Surface |
200x95 ft (hockey) |
| Tenants |
UMass-Amherst basketball and hockey programs (men's and women's) |
| Capacity |
9,493 (basketball)
8,383 (hockey) |
The William D. Mullins Memorial Center is a 9,349-seat multi-purpose arena in Amherst, Massachusetts. The arena opened in 1993. It is home to the UMass Minutemen basketball and ice hockey teams. The arena has also hosted parts of the 1993-94 Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments, the 1995 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships, the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and many area concerts and college events.
In 1985, William D. Mullins, a state representative from Ludlow, suggested that the University needed a multipurpose arena and convocation center to help expand the athletic program and assist in the university's growth. He died in 1986, but the state went ahead with the building of the complex, naming it for him. It replaced the Curry Hicks Cage, the 1930s-era basketball gymnasium, as home of the Minutemen basketball teams. In addition, it allowed the hockey team, which had been downgraded to club status since the late 1970s, to be elevated to Division I status.
Global Spectrum is the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than 70 facilities throughout the United States and Canada, including the Mullins Center. The Philadelphia-based company is part of one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment companies, Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, a regional sports programming network, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities, and Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company and 3601 Creative Group, a full-service in-house advertising agency. In a partnership with Disson Skating, Comcast-Spectacor annually produces 10 nationally televised figure skating spectaculars on NBC.
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