Biggest Arenas in College Hockey: Top 5 Highest Capacity in NCAA

College hockey’s importance to the professional game and its relevance on a national level have never been higher. 

But, for some schools, where college hockey ranks higher than any other sport, this newfound attention isn’t new to them. 

Many of the best programs in the NCAA have programs and stadiums of gargantuan size and importance to their school community. Here’s a ranking of the five largest arenas, by capacity, in Division 1 college hockey. 

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (Value City Arena) – 17,500

The Buckeyes play in a stadium that seats more fans than nine NHL teams’ home stadiums. Ohio’s NHL team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, only seats roughly 600 more fans at Nationwide Arena.

Value City Arena is located in the heart of Ohio State’s campus, and it’s a roughly 15-minute walk away from where the Buckeyes play their football games at Ohio Stadium. 

Like some college hockey arenas, Value City also hosts Ohio State’s men’s and women’s basketball games. It’s also hosted some major musical acts for concerts. 

The Buckeyes began playing college hockey in 1963 but have never won a national championship. They have two Frozen Four appearances and two conference tournament championships in the CCHA, but none since joining the Big Ten’s hockey conference. 

2. Wisconsin Badgers (Kohl Center) – 15,325

Opened in 1998, Madison’s Kohl Center is home to the six-time NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers. 

Like Value City, the Kohl Center is also home to Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. It also regularly hosts the state’s high school basketball and wrestling tournaments.

The stadium was named after Wisconsin politician and businessman Herb Kohl, whose family owns the Kohl’s department stores. Kohl donated $25 million in 1995 for the construction of the stadium. 

Despite being around 2,000 seats smaller than Ohio State’s stadium, it had the nation’s second highest attendance last season, compared to the 18th highest for the Buckeyes. 

But don’t get all riled up just yet, sensitive Ohio State fans, you still have an all-time record of 36-28-5 record against the Badgers. 

3. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (Ralph Engelstad Arena) – 11,640

Even though it comes in as third on this list, North Dakota’s home arena, often referred to as just ‘The Ralph,’ is generally regarded as one of the nation’s college hockey stadiums. 

It’s been called the “Taj Mahal of Hockey” and in 2004 the New York Times called it “the Little Rink on the Prairie.” 

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, labeled it as “one of the most beautiful buildings we have in North America.” I assume he’s just talking about hockey stadiums or else Memphis’ Bass Pro Shop Pyramid would like to have a word. 

It opened in October of 2001 with a $104 million price tag. It has many features that you can’t usually find in college or even professional hockey stadiums, like granite floors in the concourse and cherry wood seats with leather cushions.  

In a state without professional sports or much else to do besides visit Mount Rushmore, which isn’t even in their state, it makes sense that their college hockey team gets all the focus. 

4. Minnesota Gophers (3M Arena) – 10,000

The Minnesota Gophers’ college hockey team is one of the best and most storied in the country, according to Minnesota Gophers fans. 

For anyone who’s ever attended a game where the Gophers are playing and has had to endure thousands of people spelling out their state’s name every time they score, you’ll know they have a strong fan base. 

When you enter the stadium, there’s a sign that says, “Through these gates walk the greatest fans in college hockey.”

They’ve won five national championships, but none since 2003, back when having a Nokia smartphone was a significant status symbol. 

The 3M Arena, whose legal government name is the 3M Arena at Maricucci, was opened in 1993. 

Minnesota-based conglomerate 3M purchased the naming rights for $11.2 million in 2017, but they only paid enough for the stadium to still technically not be called 3M Arena by its fans.

5. UMass Minutemen (Mullins Memorial Center) – 8,387

UMass Amherst’s college hockey team is another of the oldest and most storied programs in the country. 

The team is so old that for much of the program’s early history, they played their games outside on a campus pond. Multiple seasons in their early years were altered by poor weather conditions that made it challenging to play.

The Minutemen won their first NCAA championship in 2021. 

The Mullins Center is also the home of UMass’ men’s and women’s basketball teams. 

It was named after state legislator William Mullins, who proposed in 1985 that the university should have a multipurpose arena on its campus. Someday, I want something named after me just because I asked for it to exist.