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102 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2019 | wbjournal.com F O C U S T O U R I S M & H O S P I T A L I T Y Top entertainment & sporting venues Ranked by annual attendance in 2018 Name 2018 attendance/ no. of employees Description Chief executive Year founded 1 New England Sports Center 121 Donald Lynch Blvd., Marlborough 01752 508-229-2700 • www.nes.com 1,500,000 N/A Skating facility for hockey, figure skating, training and public skating with 8 rinks, tournaments and leagues, camps and clinics, pro shop, arcade and restaurant; home of the Minuteman Flames Minor Hockey Association, Boston Junior Bruins and Marlborough Curling Club Wes Tuttle general manager 1994 2 Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center 112 Harding St., Canal District, Worcester 01604 774-530-6217 • www.worcesterice.com 750,000 20 Recreational facility with public skating and hockey, skating and hockey lessons, clinics and camps, restaurants, fitness, health and retail amenities; hosts youth, high school and college hockey Brian DeVellis president 2017 2 ForeKicks (a) 219 Forest St., Marlborough 01752 508-624-4433 • www.forekicks.com 750,000 90 Indoor sports megaplex with 7 indoor sport fields and courts for soccer, lacrosse, basketball, futsal and volleyball; pro shop, fitness center, conference and function center, lounge, indoor driving range, 2 outdoor lighted turf game fields, 28 acres of land Tom Teager president 2008 4 DCU Center 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-755-6800 • dcucenter.com 553,320 152 Arena and convention center Sandra Dunn general manager 1982 5 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Road, Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • www.wachusett.com 505,000 1,200 Ski resort open year-round for festivals, private events, weddings, summer outings and business meetings Jeff Crowley president 1934 6 Great Wolf Lodge New England 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg 01420 978-343-9653 • www.greatwolf.com 500,000 750 Two waterparks, slides and hot tub, fitness center, arcade, mini-golf, ropes course, climbing, 3 bars, resort and conference center Henry Tessman general manager 2014 7 Apex Entertainment Marlborough 21 Apex Drive, Marlborough 01752 508-251-8666 • apexentertainmentcenter.com 381,187 200 Family entertainment center with bumper cars, ropes course, arcade, bowling, laser tag, go-kart racing, sports simulators, in-house restaurant, bar, private rooms, parties and events Marcus Kemblowski COO 2017 8 The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts 2 Southbridge St., Worcester 01608 877-571-7469 • thehanovertheatre.org 214,000 54 Award-winning Broadway shows, music and more; historic theatre is a catalyst for the development of downtown Worcester (b) Troy Siebels president & CEO 2008 9 Mechanics Hall 321 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-752-5608 • www.mechanicshall.org 200,000 12 Performance and special events venue serving Central Massachusetts for over 160 years Kathleen Gagne (c) executive director 1857 10 Worcester Railers HC DCU Center, Door 22, Worcester 01608 508-365-1750 • railershc.com 152,370 16 ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders hockey team Michael G. Myers president 2016 11 New England Baseball Complex 333 Southwest Cutoff, Northborough 01532 508-409-4101 • newenglandbaseball.com 150,000 550 Three full-sized, all-turf outdoor field with lights, baseball, softball, soccer, flag football, field hockey, rugby, cricket; 4,000-square-foot indoor turf area with 3 batting cages, 6,000 square-foot strength & conditioning facility operated by Edge Performance Systems Jason Kosow CEO 2014 11 Urban Air Adventure Park 189 Mechanic St., Bellingham 02019 508-232-4604 • www.urbanairbellingham.com 150,000 130 Year-round indoor adventure park for all ages with SkyRider coaster, 26-foot climbing walls, indoor ropes course, wall-to-wall trampolines, ninja warrior course, slam dunk track, dodgeball arenas, free-style open jump areas, two-story indoor playground, battle beam and arcade Andrew Powell Chad Darling owners 2018 13 Worcester Palladium 261 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-797-9696 • www.thepalladium.net 100,000 60 Historic performance venue, home to the New England Metal & Hardcore and Rock & Shock Festivals, general admission seating Christopher Besaw general manager 1928; 1996 14 Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2753 • hanoverinsurancepark.com; worcesterbravehearts.com 69,495 N/A Home of Worcester Bravehearts and the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (baseball) Brendan Sullivan interim director 2005 15 Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2323 • www.holycross.edu 58,056 N/A Home of College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (basketball and hockey) Brendan Sullivan interim director 1975 16 Indian Ranch 200 Gore Road, Webster 01570 508-943-3871 • indianranch.com 45,000 125 Summer concert series along Lake Chargoggagoggmanchaugga- goggchaubunagungamaugg in one of the country's oldest outdoor amphitheaters; Indian Princess paddle wheel riverboat tours; RV resort campground with 200 sites, ample event space Suzette Raun president 1946 17 Massachusetts Pirates DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-452-6277 • masspiratesfootball.com 30,000 15 National Arena Football team playing April through August Hassan Yatim CEO Jawad Yatim president 2017 18 Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2753 • www.holycross.edu 27,614 N/A Home of the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (football) Brendan Sullivan interim director 1876 19 Escape Games Worcester 108 Grove St., Worcester 01605 20,500 5 The first real-life escape-the-room game in Central Massachusetts Justin Mussler owner 2016 Top entertainment & sporting venues Source: HockeyTech (Sharks), Hockeydb.com (IceCats and Railers) Worcester hockey attendance In Worcester, the DCU Center's primary tenant has often been hockey: first the Worcester IceCats from 1994 to 2005, the Worcester Sharks from 2006 to 2015, and the Worcester Railers since 2017. A look at their average attendance each year: Average Season attendance 1994-'95 5,473 1995-'96 6,444 1996-'97 6,800 1997-'98 6,555 1998-'99 6,154 1999-'00 6,182 2000-'01 6,246 2001-'02 5,119 2002-'03 4,678 2003-'04 4,832 2004-'05 4,391 2006-'07 4,602 2007-'08 4,344 2008-'09 3,902 2009-'10 3,672 2010-'11 4,068 2011-'12 4,402 2012-'13 4,374 2013-'14 3,958 2014-'15 3,847 2017-'18 4,393 2018-'19 4,233