The facility is home to the
NCAA Division I University of Massachusetts Lowell
River Hawks ice hockey team, which competes in the
Hockey East Association and men's basketball team which play for the America East Conference. It is also home to the
Massachusetts Pirates of the
Indoor football League and the
Boston Fleet of the
Professional Women's Hockey League. The facility was also home to the
Lowell Lock Monsters and the
Lowell Devils ice hockey team, which competed in the
American Hockey League from 1998 to 2010. The Devils ended their stay in Lowell due to being unable to negotiate a new lease after ownership was sold to UMass Lowell and moved to
Albany, New York, to compete as the
Albany Devils. The Tsongas Center, which seats approximately 6,500 for hockey and 7,800 for concerts and other events, is the site of major concerts and other public events, including job fairs, skating competitions and graduation ceremonies for area high schools, colleges and universities. It also hosts major university events, such as the annual Commencement ceremonies, Open House for prospective students and the Chancellor's Speaker Series. The series debuted in 2012 with bestselling author Stephen King. Also in 2012, the Tsongas Center was the site of a debate between then-incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and challenger
Elizabeth Warren, which drew more than 5,000 people and was covered by more than 100 media outlets, including NBC News and MSNBC. In 2004,
alternative rock pioneers
Pixies recorded their live concert
DVD and
high-definition television special "The Pixies: Come Home Live 2004 World Tour" at the Tsongas Arena. The same year,
progressive rock band
Yes released a DVD of their 35th anniversary tour performance at the venue titled
Songs from Tsongas. In 2009, the boxing scenes of the 2010 film
The Fighter were filmed at the Tsongas Center, with
Mark Wahlberg portraying Lowell-born champion boxer
Micky Ward and
Christian Bale portraying his brother
Dicky Eklund. In 2010, Canadian rapper
Drake notably performed a show at the Tsongas Center. UMass Lowell and the city of Lowell entered into negotiations in 2009 with the intent to transfer ownership of the arena and the land adjacent to it to the university. In late October 2009, it was reported that the deal had been reached with UMass Lowell committing to major renovations to the facility. In a ceremony during a game against
Boston University on October 30, 2009, the deal transferring ownership to the university was signed. UMass Lowell formally took control of the arena on February 5, 2010, after completing a $1 transaction. UMass Lowell has spent more than $5 million to renovate the arena since its acquisition. LED "ribbon" boards were installed in the winter of 2010. A new high-definition video scoreboard and sound system were installed during the summer 2010. A new club seating area was built in conjunction with a new upscale bar. In the summer of 2011, new ice-making equipment was installed, followed by new luxury boxes and press box in 2012. In March 2017, the arena played host to the second
NWHL Isobel Cup finals between the
Buffalo Beauts and
Boston Pride. The arena played host to
NXT Battleground, a
WWE premium live event for its
NXT brand, on May 28, 2023. The arena also played host to
Ring of Honor's (ROH) pay-per-view
Death Before Dishonor on July 23, 2022. The arena also hosted
TNA Wrestling's
Lockdown pay-per-view on April 26, 2008 and hosted its
Bound for Glory PPV on October 12, 2025. ==References==