Rink Review: RPI's Houston Field House

RPI's Houston Field House (RPI Athletics)

The next arena up for Rink Review is the Houston Field House, the home of the RPI Engineers. This is a building I've been to a few times before. The building had some renovations done for this season. I did my best to see most of the building and the renovations.

For an inside look to see what the facilities are like at the HFH, check out RPI Athletics.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the Field House:

Houston Field House is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It is the second oldest arena in the ECAC Hockey League behind Princeton University's Hobey Baker Memorial Rink.It is also the nations third oldest hockey rink behind Northeasterns Matthews Arena and Princeton University's Hobey Baker Arena. Until the opening of the Times Union Center inAlbany in 1990, it was the largest arena in the Capital Region.

Popular legend holds that Houston Field House was previously an airplane or dirigible hangar for the United States armed forces during World War II. In reality, it originated as a warehouse for the United States Navy in Davisville, Rhode Island.^[1]
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Here's what the HFH looked like originally (RPI.edu)

Originally, the RPI Board of Trustees, led by then-RPI President Dr. Livingston W. Houston, sought a hangar from the VEFP in order to establish a "sports-civic arena" for the RPI campus and the city of Troy. Unfortunately, hangars were not considered "war surplus." An investigation sponsored by the Board of Trustees discovered the warehouse facility in Rhode Island and applied under the VEFP to bring it to campus, despite the fact that its original design was not satisfactory for the creation of an arena.

The VEFP underwrote both the cost of transporting the warehouse from Davisville to Troy and the cost to reassemble it upon its arrival. RPI, however, spent nearly $500,000 on its own to redesign the warehouse to its own specifications, including the re-fabrication of initial materials and the purchase of new materials.

Construction was originally planned to be completed by June 1948, however, inclement weather throughout the project pushed completion back 16 months to October 1949. On October 13, Houston officially opened the building as the RPI Field House as part of a ceremony honoring the Institute's 125th anniversary.

You can learn more about the Field House and check out some classic photos on the RPI Website.

Here's my evaluation:

Atmosphere: RPI fans are extremely passionate and it shows at the games. Most of the fans wear RPI jerseys, shirts, or other team apparel. The fans are also very organized with their cheers. You can tell that most RPI hockey followers live and die with their team. When things are going great on the ice, it's the best feeling in the world for the fans, but when things aren't going well, the fans take it very hard. This creates a very intense atmosphere at the rink, since everyone is so into the games. The fans don't have a problem letting the officials, opposing players, or opposing fans how they really feel about them. Sometimes they took it a bit too far, but that's going to happen when you have some of the most passionate fans in the league.

Also, the pep band is very good. They were heckling the opposing goaltender during warm-ups, and played some good tunes. I like the shirts they wear as well.

Puckman

Tradition: There is plenty of tradition at the rink, which makes sense since RPI is such a historic program. I really liked the RPI Hockey murals throughout the rink, the big pictures outside, and the huge banners hanging from the rafters honoring RPI greats like Adam Oates and Joe Juneau. I also thought it was cool how many fans wore new and old RPI jerseys. To me, the most passionate college hockey fans wear the team jersey.

I also love Puckman. He's such a simple mascot, but such a great one. For those that don't know, Puckman is a puck that says RPI on it with an engineer hat on his head. Puckman also skates pretty well... for a puck.

But, the tradition I liked the most was when the fans put their arms around each other, swayed back and forth, and sang the Alma Mater together. I love that kind of stuff, it gets me every time!



Functionality and Amenities: I thought the rink was functionally sound. The concourses are a good size and the bathrooms are big. I liked that the seats had seat backs instead of being benches, but you could tell the seats were pretty old (not that it matters, the seats seemed fine to me). The sight lines were pretty good, but I could see if you had a seat in the corners near the Zamboni that it could be tough to see from there since the seats aren't angled towards the ice. I can also see it being a pain for a media member at the  Houston Field House. The press box looked very cramped, as well as the video platform. Also, the radio announcers had to sit on the catwalk, way above the ice. I bet it was hard for them to see the play at certain angles with the new huge scoreboard.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try the food out. Maybe someone can fill me in on that.

Other Thoughts: I just felt the building was too big. Sometimes I felt like I was in an airplane hangar or warehouse (which now makes sense to me), especially when I was at the end with the Zambonis. I also wasn't a big fan of the acoustics in the rink. I remember when the music was playing, I was surprisingly happy that it didn't sound like it was blaring. There also seemed be a lack of that "buzzing" sound. Maybe this is due to the fact that the building is so big. There are also big curtains covering up a big section of seats next to the visiting locker room, and behind the visiting net, which don't look good.

I did like most of the renovations done to the building (at least the one's I noticed). I really liked the big, new scoreboard with the big video screen, and the main lobby was nice as well. The suite above the lobby area (and behind the RPI net for two periods) was also a good touch. They also did some repainting in the building, which seemed fine.

One thing I was disappointed with was the lack of stage behind the opposing net. In the past the pep band had set up there and really got into the goaltender's heads. Without the stage, the pep band set up in the stands to the right of the opposing goaltender. The space where the stage used to stand is now used as a shooting range for the RPI players. There are also stationary bikes set-up there.

For some good pictures and a summary of the renovations, check out Without A Peer.

Overall, the Houston Field House is a good building, but not great. I really think the fans and the tradition is what really makes the place.

Here are some pictures I took:

The suite above the RPI net

The seats at the HFH are Red and Blue

Banners above the Zamboni area honoring RPI greats

The new large scoreboard. You can also see where the radio announcers have to sit.

The RPI school shield is the center ice logo, which I think is a nice touch