Thunderbirds, Convention Center Authority open ‘The Landing’ outside new garage
SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic J. Sarno joined Wednesday the celebration for the grand opening of "The Landing," the outdoor plaza and event space outside the MassMutual Center.
But Sarno imagined an even bigger celebration there this coming June, a rally celebrating an envisioned Calder Cup championship for the American Hockey League Springfield Thunderbirds .
"How' bout those T-Birds," he said.
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority opened The Landing with a lunchtime event. Folks listened to a band, perused a food truck and could choose between shooting a puck into a net or a basketball into a hoop. There were oversized chess and checker sets and conversations.
"Hopefully, it will be an extension of what we do in our arena night after night," said Nathan Costa, president of Springfield Thunderbirds, the MassMutual Center's chief tenant. "We will have that place that people go to before the games and then head on to the building."
The goal is to emulate the street atmosphere outside Fenway Park when the Red Sox are home.
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority celebrated Wednesday the grand opening of the Convention Center Carpark and the adjacent plaza and event space, The Landing in Springfield.The Republican
The Thunderbirds — which open their new season Oct. 11, were 11th in the American Hockey League in attendance last year. And they were second in the AHL in attendance by percentage of arena capacity.
"We are running out of seats, which is a great thing," Costa said.
The arena seats about 6,800 for hockey.
And it's not just the T-Birds. The MassMutual Center will host for the first time ever the nationally televised WWE "Monday Night Raw wrestling" Sept. 15, which promises to draw 8,000 — with seats on the floor – and might be the highest attendance in the building's history.
The UMass men's basketball team plays Boston College at the arena on Dec. 10.
Marcel Vernon Sr., CEO of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, speaks Wednesday at of the Convention Center Carpark and the adjacent plaza and event space, The Landing in Springfield. (Jim Kinney/ The Republican)The Republican
The convention center alone hosted over 100 events — many spanning multiple days — and welcomed well over 100,000 attendees in its most recent fiscal year. The regional economic impact was an estimated $56.7 million across the entire venue, including both the convention center and arena, according to the authority.
All those events draw people, Sarno said. And The Landing will help. So do events at the Symphony Hall across Main Street.
"They'll spend money," he said. "Try to get a spot in the Red Rose (Pizzeria) with something going on."
The Landing was completed as part of the $60 million new Civic Center Carpark, which is itself part of about $80 million in upgrades to the MassMutual Center complex downtown.
With 817 parking spaces, including electric vehicle charging, the new carpark replaces the old Civic Center Garage, which was first built in 1971 and demolished in 2022 after falling into disrepair and having most of its upper level closed for safety's sake.
Workmen from Daniel O'Connell's Sons, Inc., seen here in 1971 completing installation of a plexiglass canopy on the airwalk connecting the Springfield Civic Center and Civic Center Parking Garage. The skybridge no longer exists and the garage will be demolished in August 2022. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority decided against rebuilding a skybridge as part of the new design.
"We haven't had a parking garage in three years," Costa said. "So we've been navigating that."
Many arena visitors have parked at MGM Springfield. MGM manages the arena in a deal with the Convention Center Authority.
The authority, which owns the garage as well as the 53-year-old arena and convention center, wanted to use the parking replacement project to energize the area outside of MassMutual Center and avoid having an uninviting blank wall at the parking deck.
"We'd like to see it evolve. There'll be programming that'll make it unique in many ways, and I think we'll be able to build upon that," said Marcel Vernon Sr., CEO of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.
It's another Saturday Night in the Thunderdome! The Springfield Thunderbirds hosted the Iowa Wild on Saturday, 3/29/25, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.Gillian Gray / Springfield Thunderbirds
Vernon said the authority is talking with potential tenants for the retail and restaurant space in the garage's first level.
Also, the authority recently reopened the bidding process for naming rights, Vernon said. MassMutual has kept its name on the former Springfield Civic Center a decade after its deal expired.
The Civic Center has a long history in Springfield, pointed out by Sarno when he noticed Vernon wore blue suede shoes.
Elvis Presley played the Civic Center in 1975 and 1976.
Stories by Jim Kinney
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