Photos by Paul Baker, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.00
Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center
112 Harding St.
Worcester, MA 01604
Year Opened: 2018
Capacity: 250
Worcester State Hockey
Worcester State University is the fourth largest of Massachusetts’ nine state universities, with an enrollment of over 5,400 students in 80 undergraduate majors and 39 graduate programs. WSU was founded as a normal school in the 19th century before evolving into a state college in the 1960s, becoming a university in 2012.
The Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center is a state of the art dual-rink facility built by the ECHL Worcester Railers’ owner Cliff Rucker. It features two rinks, the Railers offices and pro shop, restaurants, a gym and rehabilitation center. The $18 million dollar complex is home to several college, high school and youth organizations, including the Worcester State Lancers and Assumption Greyhounds. The facility boasts that over 600,000 people pass through its front doors annually.
Worcester State’s first hockey team took the ice in 1966, coached by John Coughlin, the school’s legendary football coach and namesake of Coughlin Field, home of the Lancers football team. The Lancers won three Division Three ECAC championships back in the 1970s. Today, the team competes in the Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference alongside several other schools in and around the state of Massachusetts. Worcester State has yet to qualify for the NCAA D-3 Tournament.
Food & Beverage 3
Ordinarily, a hockey rink with only a couple of vending machines available would score very poorly on this metric. If you’re only planning to hit the machines, your standard snack foods will have to do. Now, since this is Worcester, the cola wars are not fought here. The vending machines in the Ice Center lobby feature local Polar beverages. Stadium Journey’s recommendation: try an Orange Dry.
What brings this score up a couple of notches is the presence of Bay State Brewing on the first floor. Featuring a menu of small-batch craft beers in a wide range of styles (the blood orange lager is their most popular brew) and a menu of pizzas, sharables and sandwiches, it’s a great place to hang out before or after the game. Plus, you can grab one of their craft beers and bring it upstairs to enjoy while you watch the game. That’s worth a couple of extra points in my book.
Atmosphere 2
There’s nothing fancy going on at a Lancers hockey game. This is as basic as a game day presentation gets. That should be apparent to everyone as soon as they see the tiny dot matrix scoreboard hanging at center ice. The PA announcer delivers his announcements with the most monotone delivery you’ll ever hear at a hockey game. Any energy the announcer lacks is made up for with the music selection, which is a mix of hockey rink classics and modern tunes.
Most of the energy generated in the blue rink is generated by the fans in the stands. With the small crowds in attendance, you can hear the sounds of skates cutting through the ice, coaches barking instructions at their teams, and players chirping each other (and the referees). It’s an old-school, laid-back experience here at the Worcester Ice Center.
Neighborhood 4
Worcester State University is located in the Tatnuck neighborhood of Worcester adjacent to downtown. The name Tatnuck means “up the great hill.” The WSU campus is about two and a half miles from the Worcester Ice Center, which is located in the Canal District. This neighborhood has received a lot of attention in recent years. The construction of nearby Polar Park and the arrival of the Worcester Red Sox, the top affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, has been a boon for the neighborhood. New developments have popped up all over the area, bringing business and money to what was once one of Worcester’s rougher areas.
In addition to Bay State Brewery located at the facility, El Patron Mexican Restaurant and the Worcester Public Market are located just a short walk down Harding Street. Visiting fans looking to explore some of the best the city has to offer should head to Shrewsbury Street, the home of Worcester’s famous “Restaurant Row.” Along this drag’s 1.5 miles are located some of the city’s finest dining establishments, salons and shops.
There are not many lodging options available in the immediate vicinity of the Worcester Ice Center, but there are options throughout the city, including a Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton in the nearby downtown neighborhood, less than a mile away near the DCU Center, home of the ECHL’s Worcester Railers.
Fans 2
The crowd at a Worcester State hockey game is certainly a “friends and family” type of crowd. Pretty much everyone in attendance has a personal connection with the players on the ice, and as a result, are knowledgeable and enthusiastic in their support of the Lancers. Since Worcester State’s schedule is made up mainly of local teams, you can expect to find a good number of visiting fans here as well. Even though Worcester State’s campus is only about two and a half miles away, there’s not much of a turnout from the student body. Surprisingly, you may find a bunch of four-legged friends in attendance watching the game in this chilly rink along with about 50-100 human fans.
Access 4
The Worcester Ice Center is located right off of Interstate 290, and easy to get to via the Grafton Street exit. The facility is located just a quarter mile from the highway and ten minutes from downtown. Hopefully your GPS will take you here via Grafton Street rather than Kelly Square, a quasi-rotary where several of Worcester’s busiest streets all come together in the most random fashion possible. It is notorious for its delays, backups and accidents. As part of the construction of Polar Park, it received a much-needed overhaul, which has greatly increased the intersection’s safety and wait times, but those unfamiliar with the area would be well-advised to avoid this intersection.
There is free parking available in the lot adjacent to the facility in addition to on-street parking in the area. The neighborhood is generally safe should you stay on the busier streets.
The Worcester Ice Center features two rinks, named the blue and the gray rinks, after the Railers’ colors. Fans enter into the facility’s lobby, with Bay State Brewing to your right. With the facility in constant use, this lobby is full of activity. Fans will climb a set of stairs to access the seating area of the two rinks, with standing room on the first level straight ahead. The Lancers play at the Blue rink, located on the right.
Seating is located about ten feet above the ice surface, and consists of metal bleachers without backs that run from one end of the ice to the other. There are raised platforms at both ends of the rink for people wanting to stand for a bit. Netting runs the length of the ice, obstructing the view from all seats. There is also standing room along the boards at ice level. Access to the gray rink next door is easy, and many fans will wander back and forth between the rinks.
Return on Investment 4
Worcester State charges a fee of five dollars to attend their hockey games. Parking is available at no charge in the small lot in front of the Ice Center. Additional parking is available on-street around the facility and in a parking lot across the street. There is a charge to park on-street (except on Saturday nights, where the city waives parking fees) and in the lot. Be prepared to pay $15 if you’re parking in the public lot.
If you’re planning to eat at Bay State Brewing downstairs, or even grab a beer to bring upstairs, expect to pay usual restaurant prices. A pint of one of their brews will run $8, a much more affordable price than you’ll pay at most arenas.
Extras 2
Flags hang at the end of the rink representing all the teams that use the Worcester Ice Center. Along the far side of the rink are flags commemorating the championships won by these teams.
In the lobby is a display honoring the “Worcester Six,” a group of firefighters who died fighting a warehouse fire in 1999.
Final Thoughts
The Worcester Ice Center is a community rink that offers your typical small college experience. The facility offers some impressive extras and an up-and-coming neighborhood that boosts its score significantly. Plus, if schedules line up, you’ll get to watch two games for the price of one!
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