RPI 2025–26: Off the Critical List and In Recovery

[DavidNardolillo]

I don't believe that is the intent. They will likely add something to the front end, similar to what others have done....Messa/Achilles, and I believe U. of Minnesota has a campaign going for their Williams Arena basketball barn,.....which is 20 years older than HFH. Heck, Matthews Arena (the original Boston Garden) is being demolished, and there is no more iconic barn in all of college hockey. Times change, buildings get old. You don't have to like it, but its SOP these days for naming rights sponsors to kick off major fund drives. If Marty wasn't at the helm I would be more skeptical, but I can't say it enough, the guy is legit.

The Gophers men's team already did something similar with their hockey rink: "3M Arena at Mariucci" (they also have a separate women's rink, Ridder Arena, that many men's programs would love to have). The Matthews Arena demolition was kind of a forced decision due to structural issues, right?

 

[jericho]

Corporate sponsor for naming rights at the HFH??? The place is hardly ever open anymore!!! About a dozen and a half men's hockey games a year, about the same amount of women's games and then a few more venue openings here and there for stage performers no one has ever heard off until they walk by a poster hanging somewhere on a Fieldhouse wall!!! Only would have been worth any company's money from the 1950's through the mid 1980's (maybe) when hockey games drew sufficient numbers and the names of the then very frequent stage performers were household names.

Today, who the hell would put up a stash of cash to have their name on the place unless, maybe, they got the naming rights for absolute peanuts!!! Remember that this is the very same place that by circa 2010 could not even find a company sponsor for what by then was reduced to a stinking two day holiday hockey tournament and would have only cost any company a few peanuts!!! Since no peanuts could be found anywhere, a Capital District holiday staple dating back six decades went down the drain.

Hard for anyone who has virtually lived their entire life within five miles of the building and used to go there quite often for all kinds of events to see any realistic and/or relevant current day income stream coming from naming rights. That bus left the terminal a long time ago (before anybody even heard of naming rights) and it's just way too late for that.

It could be tied into a return of the Holiday Tournament, which could be a major selling point. Since the Heavy Hitters just invested in Glens Falls Civic Center, how about the “Law Firm of Alex Dell rink at Houston Field House”?

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

The Gophers men's team already did something similar with their hockey rink: "3M Arena at Mariucci" (they also have a separate women's rink, Ridder Arena, that many men's programs would love to have). The Matthews Arena demolition was kind of a forced decision due to structural issues, right?

Correct. They shored it up some years ago to prolong its lifespan...but i think they are at the end of its useful life as a structure.

 

[DrDemento]

Correct. They shored it up some years ago to prolong its lifespan...but i think they are at the end of its useful life as a structure.

After all my orthopedic surgeries from old sports injuries, I am beginning to feel the same thing about myself!

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Just a final thought on the HFH project and major donor fundraising. St. Thomas Univ. will open its new hockey and basketball arena this weekend. Made possible in large part due to a whopping $75 million donation from Lee & Penny Anderson. With the right leadership and fundraising effort, this is what can be done.

STU raised over $130 million in less than two years and will open their barn this weekend.

"Earlier this year, St. Thomas announced additional gifts from the Ryan and Iversen families towards the arena, which is set to open in October 2025. Collectively, St Thomas has raised over $56 million since the announcement of the Anderson gift in January of 2023. This included 13 gifts of $1 million or more, six of those being greater than $5 million. In all, 35 gifts were closed to reach the $131 million goal. "

St. Thomas Athletics raises over $131M for Lee & Penny Anderson Arena - The University of St. Thomas

St. Thomas surpasses fundraising goal for new arena, set to open in fall 2025

tommiesports.com

 

[MikeMidd]

We've all heard the anecdotes of donors not engaging, let alone giving, under the previous regime. With Shirley Dr Jackson now gone, wonder how soon we'll see this type of "premium" project get sizeable alumni dollars behind them. You'd think they'd be appealing to some high-end donors who remember the glory days of RPI hockey and could see attaching their name to a resurgence.

 

[DrDemento]

We've all heard the anecdotes of donors not engaging, let alone giving, under the previous regime. With Shirley Dr Jackson now gone, wonder how soon we'll see this type of "premium" project get sizeable alumni dollars behind them. You'd think they'd be appealing to some high-end donors who remember the glory days of RPI hockey and could see attaching their name to a resurgence.

We hope that many of those are still around. The regime lasted 2 decades and many of the fellows from my era are no longer around. And some of those that are, have found other pursuits to occupy them. (Perhaps like Bill Belichick has)

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

We've all heard the anecdotes of donors not engaging, let alone giving, under the previous regime. With Shirley Dr Jackson now gone, wonder how soon we'll see this type of "premium" project get sizeable alumni dollars behind them. You'd think they'd be appealing to some high-end donors who remember the glory days of RPI hockey and could see attaching their name to a resurgence.

We're going to find out, Bowers indicated in her WRPI interview that the major donor/naming rights campaign is already underway.