The Silvio O. Conte Forum, commonly known as Conte Forum, Kelley Rink (for ice hockey games), or simply Conte, is an 8,606-seat multi-purpose arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 which opened in 1988 on the campus of Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...

 that lies within the Brighton neighborhood of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. Conte Forum is home to the Boston College Eagles

Boston College Eagles

The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. The women's crew team competes in the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing...

 men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams as well as the Boston College Marching Band

Boston College Marching Band

The Boston College Marching Band, also known as the "Screaming Eagles" Marching Band or BCMB, is the marching band for the Boston College Eagles. Founded in 1919, The Band is the largest and most visible student organization at Boston College...

.

History

Conte Forum is named for former United States congressman Silvio O. Conte

Silvio O. Conte

Silvio Ottavio Conte was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for 16 terms, from January 3, 1959, until his death.-Birth:...

, an alumnus

Alumnus

An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...

 of Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

 and Boston College Law School

Boston College Law School

Boston College Law School is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.With approximately 800 students and...

. The ice rink is named in honor of long-time BC hockey coach

Coach (ice hockey)

Coach in ice hockey is the person responsible for directing the team during games and practices, prepares strategy and decides which players will participate in games....

 John "Snooks" Kelley

John Kelley (ice hockey)

John "Snooks" Kelley is a former American ice hockey coach. Kelley was coach of the Boston College Eagles ice hockey team for 36 years. Kelley won the 1949 NCAA ice hockey title and was the first coach to win 500 games in the NCAA...

. The entire arena is traditionally called "Kelley Rink" for ice hockey games.

Before the arena opened in 1988, the BC basketball teams played their home games in Roberts Center

Roberts Center

Roberts Center was a 4,400 seat multi-purpose arena in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It opened in 1958. It was home to the Boston College Eagles basketball teams until the Conte Forum opened in 1988....

 to the immediate southwest of Alumni Stadium, on the site of the present-day Merkert Chemistry Center. The Eagles hockey teams played at McHugh Forum

McHugh Forum

McHugh Forum was a 4,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Built in 1958, it was the first on-campus home to the Boston College Eagles hockey team. It also hosted the NCAA Frozen Four in 1963. It closed in 1987 before the Conte Forum opened....

 which was positioned parallel to Alumni Stadium. Conte Forum was built on the site of McHugh Forum, and is situated perpendicular to the football stadium. The arena is directly adjacent to Alumni, with some luxury boxes overlooking both the football field and arena floors.

Conte Forum seats 8,606 spectators in its basketball configuration and 7,884 when set up for hockey. The facility also houses 950-seat Power Gym which is used for BC volleyball games and as an auxiliary basketball court.

As the largest indoor venue on the BC campus, Conte Forum hosts larger university-related events including conferences and debates. It is the site of the annual "Pops-on-the-Heights" during the annual Parents' Weekend in the fall, a gala concert featuring the Boston Pops Orchestra

Boston Pops Orchestra

The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....

 which raises over $1.5 million for BC's academic scholarship fund. In the event of inclement weather, Conte Forum also hosts the university's commencement

Graduation

Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...

 exercises.

Since 2008, Conte Forum has also hosted the Boston College AHANA

AHANA

AHANA is a term that refers to persons of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent. The term was coined at Boston College in 1979 by two students, Alfred Feliciano and Valerie Lewis, who objected to the name "Office of Minority Programs" used by Boston College at the time...

 Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown in the spring, an increasingly-popular dance competition between BC's various dance and cultural organizations. Conte has also hosted numerous concerts, including in recent years Akon

Akon

Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

, Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...

, hellogoodbye

Hellogoodbye

Hellogoodbye is a power pop band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! in 2006, in addition to their previously released EP Hellogoodbye...

, The Roots

The Roots

The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

, Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

, and The Academy Is, as well as Will Ferrell's

Will Ferrell

John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...

 Funny or Die Comedy Tour.

External links

Conte Forum Homepage


Boston College Athletics Home