August 2014
52
www.sportseventsmagazine.com
Hotel rooms: 850
Major facilities: The Massachusetts
Youth Soccer Fields offers six turf and 10
grass fields. Fitchburg State University
houses an indoor gym, pool, baseball field
and football field.
Contact: Johnny Appleseed
Country, www.appleseed.org.
Merrimack
Valley
Just a half hour
drive northwest
of Boston is the
Merrimack
Valley, a scenic
region composed
of a variety of
small towns and
communities.
Throughout the
region you'll
find facilities to
host sports
including base-
ball, softball, rowing, soccer and rugby.
Hotel rooms: 4,000+
Major facilities: The Tsongas Center at
Umass Lowell is an 8,000-seat, 17,000-
square-foot arena that can host a variety of
sports, including hockey and skating. The
Lowell Memorial Auditorium houses a
3,000-seat auditorium with 25,000 square
feet of exhibit space.
Contact: Greater Merrimack Valley
CVB, www.merrimackvalley.org.
Springfield
Springfield is the largest city in western
Massachusetts and is situated at the
"crossroads of New England" where
Route 90 and I-91 intersect. The region
has an abundance of collegiate facilities
with 17 major college and universities
located in western Massachusetts.
Hotel rooms: 1,000+ in downtown
Springfield; 7,000 in western
Massachusetts
Major facilities: MassMutual Center in
downtown Springfield has a 6,600-seat,
multi-purpose arena. Eastern States
Exposition is a multi-purpose facility. The
coliseum houses an arena with seating for
5,000 and is suitable for archery, indoor
soccer and equestrian events.
Contact: Greater Springfield CVB,
www.valleyvisitor.com.
■
S I T E S E L E C T I O N G U I D E
▼
The Merrimack Valley is located
about a half hour drive from Boston.
Numerous venues host sports.
Jim
Higgins
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