Gutterson Fieldhouse (nicknamed "The Gut") is a 4,035-seat hockey

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

in Burlington, Vermont. It is home to the

Vermont Catamounts The Vermont Catamounts are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Vermont, based in Burlington, Vermont, United States. The school sponsors 18 athletic programs (8 men's, 10 women's), most of which compete in the NCAA ...

men's and women's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

teams. It is the largest indoor arena in the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. It is adjacent to Patrick Gymnasium at the school's athletic complex. It is named for

Albert Gutterson Albert Lovejoy Gutterson (August 23, 1887 – April 7, 1965) was an American athlete who won a gold medal in the long jump at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Gutterson also set a new Olympic record of 7.60 meters at this event. Gutterson was a native ...

, class of 1912, the school's first Olympian. He set an Olympic record with a 7.60 meter long jump, beating, among others, the great

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

History

The barrel-vaulted arena opened in 1963, originally seating 3,335. It was expanded to its current capacity in 1990. The hockey team has played host to exhibitions with the

Soviet Union national ice hockey team The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. From 1954, the team won at least one medal each year at either the Ice Hockey World Championships ...

, Russia women's national ice hockey team, and

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its USA Hockey National Team Development Program, U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan, Plymouth, Michiga ...

and

United States women's national ice hockey team The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament. In 1998, the women's Olympic ...

. It was the venue for the first women's hockey game ever nationally televised in the US (on December 17, 1997, a pre-Olympic game between Canada and the United States). Between 1995 and 2000, and again in 2002, it was the preseason training camp site of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. (The

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

had previously held their 1992 and 1993 training camps there.) On March 30, 2012, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

made his first public appearance in the State of Vermont at the Gutterson Fieldhouse. However, he did speak previously to students on campus at UVM campaigning for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2006, outside of Ira Allen Chapel. The Vermont Principal's Association (VPA) has held the boys' and girls' high school state ice hockey championships at the venue since 1976 (boys) and 2011 (girls).''Vermont Principal's Association''

Gutterson Fieldhouse, along with Cairns Arena in nearby South Burlington, served as venues for the

2012 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships was the 14th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation and took place in Vermont, United States, at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, and the Cairns Arena in South Burlington. ...

. In July 2016, the

Vermont Bucks The Vermont Bucks were an Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Vermont. They started as a charter member of the professional Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), playing home games at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Verm ...

, an indoor football team, was announced as a 2017 expansion team as part of

American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

(AIF) and would use the arena for home games. The AIF would fold before the Bucks could play in the league, but team owner

Tim Viens Timothy Neil Viens (born October 10, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for his own team, G2G Racing. He has als ...

started the

Can-Am Indoor Football League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL o ...

for the 2017 season. The Can-Am then merged into the

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL on ...

after one season of play, but Viens sold the Bucks and the Bucks would eventually fold before playing in the new league.

References

External links

Gutterson Fieldhouse at UVM Athletics
{{Burlington, Vermont College ice hockey venues in the United States Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Vermont Buildings and structures in Burlington, Vermont Tourist attractions in Burlington, Vermont Sports in Burlington, Vermont Indoor arenas in Vermont Music Venues in Vermont Sports venues completed in 1963 1960s establishments in Vermont 1963 establishments in the United States