Springfield Civic Center / MassMutual Center

It’s located about a mile from the Basketball Hall of Fame in the city known as “the Birthplace of Basketball,” so it’s no surprise that it’s hosted major events from that sport, including the NCAA Men’s Division II Championships. And since it’s also been one of New England’s top venues for hockey, soccer and wresting, countless sports lovers associate it with blistering shots, unbelievable saves, questionable calls, last-minute victories and epic smackdowns.

But countless music lovers know the arena now called MassMutual Center best for music since it’s presented a multigenred tour de force of iconic artists, from Lawrence Welk, Liberace and Elvis Presley to James Brown, Johnny Cash and David Bowie. And the eclectic roster makes perfect sense since the venue is in Western Massachusetts, a region that’s home to classical bastion Tanglewood but has produced internationally acclaimed musicians and bands from myriad other genres, among them Joe Morello, Phil Woods, Taj Mahal, Arlo Guthrie, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Staind and Killswitch Engage. The area’s abundance of musical offerings meets an expansive variety of tastes, as the building at 1277 Main Street in Springfield has reflected since the Nixon administration.

OPENING, NON-MUSICAL EVENTS, NOTABLE 1970S APPEARANCES

Owned by the City of Springfield until 1997, Springfield Civic Center opened in September 1972 with a capacity of 8,000. Located in the city center across from Court Square, it was the largest multipurpose facility in the area (surpassing the 5,900-seat Big E Coliseum) and the third largest in New England (behind Boston Garden and New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum) until the opening of the 14,000-seat Providence Civic Center in November ‘72. In addition to sports and concerts, it’s hosted a number of famed comedians over the decades – Bob Hope, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams and many more – along with circuses, ice shows, conventions, graduation ceremonies and other events. In August 1975, the Civic Center was the location of the Miss World USA pageant and some 250 self-declared feminists protested outside the arena.

One of the first musical act to take the stage in September ’72 was actor-singer-heartthrob David Cassidy, then the star of the ABC series The Partridge Family; the rest of the year included shows by The Grateful Dead, Jethro Tull, Johnny Cash, Alice Cooper and Blood Sweat & Tears, among others. The first half of ‘73 featured some of the hottest rock acts of the day, including Santana, The Doobie Brothers and The Guess Who, plus a ‘50s-era bill featuring Little Richard, Bo Diddley, The Coasters and Bill Haley & His Comets. Accordionist, bandleader and variety show host Lawrence Welk appeared in June, ‘73 as did Bruce Springsteen and James Brown, and the second half of the year included concerts by Glen Campbell, The Carpenters and Lou Reed. The J. Geils Band and Aerosmith made their Civic Center debuts in ’74; among the others that year were The Eagles, The Jacksons, The Beach Boys and Return to Forever. 

In March ’75, the Boston Pops Orchestra became the first symphony to play at the Civic Center, but arguably the most notable concerts of the year were in July, when 40-year-old Elvis Presley did a two-night stand; tickets sold for $10 or less but the show grossed a whopping $190,405 (about $1.1 million in 2025) and Presley returned to the Civic Center in July 1976 for what became his final show in Massachusetts. Bob Dylan appeared with Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell and others in November ‘75 as part of his Rolling Thunder Revue and December included shows by Black Sabbath, The Allman Brothers and The Who.

The ‘76 roster included a March 21 appearance by David Bowie, who’d been arrested earlier that same day in Rochester, New York on drug charges; among others who took the stage that year were Barry Manilow and Frank Zappa. Notable shows in ’77 included Muddy Waters, Queen, Foreigner and Boston, and the last two years of the ‘70s included mostly well-established rock acts, though non-rockers including Barry White, Harry Chapin and Tom Jones also appeared, as did Springfield-based Fat and two up-and-coming bands that were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the 2000s: The Cars and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

INCREASED COMPETITION, NOTABLE 1980S, 1990S APPEARANCES

Southern New England’s music-venue landscape changed dramatically in 1982 with the opening of the 12,000-seat Centrum in Worcester (now DCU Center), which is about 50 miles east of Springfield and presented a major challenge to the Civic Center in terms of drawing the biggest names. Despite the increased competition, however, it hosted a parade of major rock and pop acts through the ‘80s including 21-year-old Prince, who appeared as the opening act for Rick James in April 1980 (four years before his Purple Rain LP made him a megastar). Among others that took the stage the year were Cheap Trick, AC/DC and Dire Straits, followed in ’81 by Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead, Jon Butcher Axis and Billy Squier, to name a few. One of the most talked-about shows of the decade came in October ‘82, when Liberace performed a medley of Oscar-nominated songs with a full orchestra.

Other shows in the first half of the ’80s included ones by Diana Ross (which, to the shock of many, failed to sell out), Talking Heads, Hall & Oates, Iron Maiden and ‘Til Tuesday. In April ’86, KISS blew the power out seconds after finishing their first song (“Detroit Rock City”), but the show continued after a 65-minute delay. Others who appeared in the second half of the decade were Willie Nelson and James Taylor, and notable ‘90s shows included Jane’s Addiction (in May ’91, shortly before breaking up for the first of several times), Nirvana (in November ’93, five months before frontman Kurt Cobain’s death), Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staind and The Breeders.

RENOVATION, NAME CHANGE, NOTABLE 2000S APPEARANCES

In 1997, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority took ownership of Civic Center, and in 2003 the organization began renovating and expanding the facility. The $71 million project was completed late 2005, with the renovations decreasing the seating capacity by 15% (from 8,000 to 6,677). The venue was rebranded MassMutual Center in September 2005 after Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company acquired the naming rights and MGM Springfield (part of MGM Resorts International) has operated the arena since July 2017.

MassMutual Center has hosted far fewer household names in the 21st century than Springfield Civic Center did in the 20th (though superstars including Cher and Stevie Wonder have appeared), presenting mostly up-and-coming singers, singer-songwriters, bands and ensembles instead. Among those who’ve taken the stage over the past two decades are country duos Sugarland and Big & Rich; country singers Kix Brooks and Rodney Atkins; all-female Irish ensemble Celtic Woman; Mexican singer-songwriter Gloria Trevi; Canadian rockers Three Days Grace; American rockers Clutch and Flyleaf; and rappers Pitbull, Lecrae and Biz Markie.

A number of acts that were hugely popular in the ‘70s, ‘80s and/or ‘90s have appeared on a single bill in the 2000s including Styx, REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent (2013); Blue Öyster Cult and Kansas (2015); Bret Michaels (Poison), Lita Ford (The Runaways), Ratt, Trixter and Warrant, (2016); and Ministry, Primus and Slayer (2019). Dropkick Murphys and Aerosmith took the stage in 2019, the latter doing four shows in August, and among the best-known names in more recent years have been Counting Crows, Bruno Mars and Béla Fleck.

In 2025, in an effort to improve its accessibility and broaden its entertainment program and community-based initiatives, MassMutual Center added an 817-space parking lot and a 12,900-square-foot outdoor plaza called The Landing to its premises; the latter is designed to host concerts, festivals and other events from mid-April through October. “With The Landing and carpark, we’re doing more than expanding,” General Manager Sean Dolan told Ashley Shook of WWLP-22News. “We’re creating new ways to connect with the community. Springfield is quickly becoming one of New England’s most dynamic cities for events, and we’re proud to play a role in that transformation.”

(by D.S. Monahan)