Springfield Celebrates New Parking Garage, Activity Space Downtown
On a Roll
The new garage replaces a half-century-old structure that was torn down in 2022.
As dignitaries gathered for a celebration of the recently opened Convention Center Carpark in downtown Springfield — and a ribbon cutting for the Landing, a neighboring plaza that will host gatherings, activities, and performances directly across Bruce Landon Way from the MassMutual Center — Nate Costa took it all in and considered what it means to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
“I think the Landing is going to be an extension of the arena. That’s the idea behind it,” the hockey team’s president told BusinessWest. “We’re hoping this is going to add that Yawkey Way type element to what we do here.
“It’s not going to be a drive-through street anymore,” Costa went on. “We’re just hoping this is a place that people come and congregate before games. I think we’ll be doing some food trucks and some other activations and live music — really trying to have it be an extension of what we do in our building, night after night. We want to find ways to program this space and drive people to our games and around our games.”
Those who spoke at the ceremony also drew parallels to Yawkey Way in Boston, which is packed with activity before Red Sox games, with fans eating, shopping, and having fun.
“I can see this place just lit up in a good way, with so many activities and parties,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said. “And what they’re going to do is much of the stuff you’ve seen done at Fenway Park. They’re going to gear it to whatever events are going on here, so people can come out, pre- and postgame, and go to other establishments in downtown Springfield.”
Dignitaries gather to cut the ribbon for the Landing, which is nestled between the MassMutual Center and the Convention Center Carpark.
The Landing opens at a time of momentum for the MassMutual Center itself, said Sean Dolan, the facility’s general manager.
“We just concluded fiscal year 2025 with the highest revenue growth in the convention center that the building’s ever had. And we’re going into fiscal year 2026 with the highest amount of revenue on the books that the building’s ever had,” he told the assembled crowd, touting events like WWE Monday Night Raw, which descended on the arena on Sept. 15, and, of course, the Thunderbirds, who averaged 6,369 fans last season, in a bowl that seats only 6,700. Fridays and Saturdays are typically sellouts.
“The MassMutual Center is a cornerstone of Springfield’s economy — a place that drives opportunity, brings people together, and supports the growth of this entire region.”
The Landing, then, “allows us to not only program and feed off of the 220 events we do in a year, but allows us to book stand-alone events out here that serve the community, that make this a space to gather and build that pride in Springfield,” Dolan said. “Everybody that had something to do with this here, thank you so much for believing in Springfield. Thank you for making it look like it looks.”
A New Era Downtown
The former Civic Center Garage at Harrison and Dwight streets, built in 1971, had fallen into disrepair by the early 2020s; sections of more than one level had closed due to safety issues before the garage was closed and demolished in 2022. The new Convention Center Carpark opened to the public this past April, and construction was completed later in the spring.
The 350,000-square-foot structure includes more than 800 parking spaces, as well as electric vehicle charging stations. Unlike the former garage, which opened only onto Harrison, it features entrances onto both streets.
That development was a big deal for the Thunderbirds franchise, which had to endure multiple seasons with no garage on site.
From left, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno credits the contributions of MCCA CEO Marcel Vernon Sr. and MassMutual Center General Manager Sean Dolan.
“It’s been a long time coming for us,” Costa told BusinessWest. “It’s been tough sledding for us getting through that, so it’s fantastic to have it open.”
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) hosted the Aug. 27 gathering both as an official celebration of the garage and a grand opening of the Landing, an event featuring live music, food, games, and several speakers.
“The MassMutual Center is a cornerstone of Springfield’s economy — a place that drives opportunity, brings people together, and supports the growth of this entire region,” said Marcel Vernon Sr., CEO of the MCCA. “We are proud to be part of this community. The carpark and the Landing represent more than just two new facilities. They symbolize three important things: more jobs, more economic opportunity, and more vibrant, thriving downtown business activity. We are proud of these investments, but we are even more proud of the partnerships that have made them possible.”
Xiomara Albán DeLobato, an MCCA board member and vice president and chief of staff at the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, expressed pride, as a lifelong Springfield resident, in signs of downtown progress like this development.
“The reason why this is so exciting for us is because of the amount of impact this type of development has for our region. We have direct spending in our restaurants, our hotels, our shops, our museums. They receive direct impact when visitors come to the area, when tourists come to the area, and it’s instrumental for the progression of our economy.
“When you bring thousands of people down here, they’re feeling good, vibrant, they’re having a good time, right? That means they spend money — money in your businesses, folks. And then they leave the city saying, ‘gee, you know what? I had a pretty good time.’ You can’t put a price tag on that.”
“The other piece that sometimes we don’t think about is that ripple effect that happens when we have billions of dollars that funnel into our area, into our region. It impacts our workforce, it impacts our supply chain, it impacts our transportation companies, and all of the other stakeholders that are critical to the entire ecosystem of our economy here in the region. And when that ripple effect continues to move, it impacts our schools, it impacts our parks, it impacts our neighborhoods. The hospitality and tourism industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the Commonwealth, and we see and feel it in Western Mass. So I’m thrilled about this.”
Sarno added that “this is important to the the business community in the city of Springfield to have this first-class parking. And here’s the other thing — when you bring people to downtown Springfield, which is a neighborhood, when you bring thousands of people down here, they’re feeling good, vibrant, they’re having a good time, right? That means they spend money — money in your businesses, folks. And then they leave the city saying, ‘gee, you know what? I had a pretty good time.’ You can’t put a price tag on that.”
Working Together
Sarno noted that the $80 million project — including the garage, the Landing, and other improvements — is a smart investment of state and local funds.
“There have been a number of naysayers, within the city of Springfield and in Massachusetts, who say, ‘what do you expect from Springfield?’ And I’ve always said, ‘why not Springfield?’ And this is another project under my administration team, working with the state, that they say would never get done. But it’s gotten done.”
State Rep. Carlos González agreed, touting the project as forward momentum for the city. “We have so much to celebrate, and yes, we have some issues that we have to resolve, and we’re doing that on a daily basis, but with the bright stars like MGM and so many others, the hospitality industry, we’re going to continue to succeed here in the city of Springfield.”
Albán DeLobato emphasized the importance of the city and state working in tandem.
“This type of development — and this is just the first of many that we’re going to see — is successful because of this local and state partnership. We cannot make this happen without the stakeholders at the table together, being thoughtful with their decision making, being able to forecast how this is going to impact our economy at the present and in the future.”
