The Class of 1923 Arena is the skating rink of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1968, alumni from the Class of 1923 formed the group "Friends of Pennsylvania Hockey," led by Howard Butcher, III. Butcher himself donated over $3 million for the creation of the facility, and along with John Cleveland and Bill R. Wise, organized the largest class donation in the history of the university. The arena was named after the class to commemorate its generosity. The arena is located in the eastern part of Penn's campus in the University City section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. It can seat nearly 3,000 people. The building, designed by Robert C. McMillian Associates, was constructed primarily of poured concrete and is supported by four 22-foot concrete columns. The lower concourse includes locker rooms for the university's teams, food services, and the "Quaker Room", which overlooks the rink. The ice surface itself measures 85' × 200' and totals . The upper concourse includes restrooms and old concession stands that are no longer in use, with entrances on Walnut Street. The Class of 1923 Arena is the second-largest collegiate hockey venue in Pennsylvania, after Penn State's

Pegula Ice Arena The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania on the campus of Penn State University. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the Bryce Jordan Center. The arena i ...

. While best known for the skating rink that is in the arena during the regular hockey season (September to March), throughout the rest of the year the ice is removed and the arena is used for other events, such as Wharton's Fight Night or Roller Derby. The arena has hosted a variety of teams. In ice hockey, it most notably hosted the Penn varsity men's team from the arena's opening until the school dropped varsity hockey after the 1977–78 season, and has hosted the school's club-level men's and women's teams ever since. It has also hosted club hockey teams from other Philadelphia-area schools, and has hosted practices and exhibition games for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

. In roller hockey, it has hosted the Philadelphia Bulldogs professional team. The arena also regularly hosts teams from the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, when the teams don't have time to travel home for their regular morning skate. The arena is the home of the Philadelphia Fiesta Ice Hockey Club (a.k.a. The Saturday Morning Game), a men's travel tournament team who were the CanAm Cup (Montreal) gold medal champions in 2001, 2003 and 2005. Prince and The Revolution performed a concert on November 24, 1982, during the "1999" tour. The opening acts included; Vanity 6 and The Time. In 2016, the arena was home to the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets 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 ...

. However, on May 11, 2016, the university voided their contract with the Yellow Jackets due to a lack of payment. This led to the cancellation of the Yellow Jackets' last three home games.

References

External links

Class of 1923 Arena
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Class Of 1923 Arena College ice hockey venues in the United States Indoor ice hockey venues in Pennsylvania Penn Quakers Sports venues in Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania campus 1972 establishments in Pennsylvania Sports venues completed in 1972 Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania