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SPORTING EVENTS

Matthews Arena/Northeastern University
238 Saint Botolph St , Boston
617-373-2691

PAYMENT TYPES: Discover, MasterCard, Visa
FEATURES: Wheelchair accessible
PARKING: Street

Home of Husky Men's and Women's Ice Hockey The world's oldest ice hockey arena and one of the nation's exemplary athletic facilities is Matthews Arena, a recently re-polished gem. The original home of the Boston Bruins, the Celtics and the Beanpot, the Arena has served as the center of Northeastern hockey since the program's inception for the 1929-30 season. Perhaps more widely known as the Boston Arena, Matthews Arena has hosted sporting legends that include pugilists Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney and Joe Louis, track star Paavo Nurmi, and Olympians Sonja Henie and Nancy Kerrigan. The Arena also has played host to such professional hockey teams as the Boston Olympics, Whalers, Tigers and Cubs.

Today, the stately Victorian lobbies that welcomed the modest and the mighty for nearly a century cater to the academic and athletic needs of the University and its community. Convocations and a large portion of the intramural docket are conducted at the Arena, whose walls once echoed with the podium entreaties of presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Past Arena dignitaries include Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhardt, James Michael Curley, Reverend Billy Graham, Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the summer of 1993, the city of Boston and Northeastern paid tribute to one of its heroes when it held funeral services at the Arena for Reggie Lewis, Class of 1988.

When scheduling allows, special hours set aside for free public skating.

Fenway Park
4 Yawkey Way
at: Brookline Ave and Lansdowne St
Boston 02215
tel: 617-536-6683

Boston Red Sox Ticket Office
4 Yawkey Way , Boston
617-267-1700

DIRECTIONS: Green Line, Kenmore Square T stop
FEATURES: Wheelchair accessible
PARKING: Pay lot, street

Talk about convenience. Stop by the Red Sox Ticket Office on your way to the ballgame. It's just a few feet from the entrance to the park. You can buy upper bleacher seats for $14 or spend $45 for upper field box seats. Field box seats are usually scooped up by season-ticket holders and are hard to come by. Call ahead to see if any are available. Grandstand seats are $28, outfield grandstand seats will set you back $20, and the lower bleachers go for $16. If you're planning on attending the game as a group of 40 or more, there is a discount for certain games. Call 262-1915 for further information. Box office hours vary. Best bet is to call ahead before heading to the park.

Precious few ballparks still stand that can lay claim to housing the exploits of Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby and Tinkers to Evers to Chance. Fenway Park is one.

Nominated for Best Tourist Fun because the park has a unique, old-fashioned charm that's worth experiencing even if you're not a baseball or sports fan.

Nominated for Best Place to Watch a Game for its intimacy, field-of-dreams atmosphere and the bittersweet lure of the Red Sox.

More information
Boston Red Sox Ticket Office or Boston Red Sox official website www.redsox.com Wrigley Field has its ivy, Yankee Stadium has its monuments, Fenway has the Green Monster. Is there a field or stadium with a more identifiable characteristic? The 37-foot-high structure serves as the left-field wall, looms over the playing surface, awarding home runs to lazy fly balls and turning vicious line drives into harmless singles.

Retro Appeal
Fenway's charm lies not merely in its history but in the quaint, crazy patchwork-quilt dimensions. The park has no rhyme or reason. Because it was built in 1912, and had to be designed around city streets, the park seems like architect's idea of a bad joke.

Comfort Factor
The wooden seats are too narrow, there's not enough leg room, views are often obstructed by pillars and the concession areas are grungy--precisely why the team wants to build a new stadium.