Fairfield 2.0
Traveling – A College Basketball Journey – Game 30.5
Home Team: Fairfield Stags
Away Team: Wagner Seahawks
Final Score: Fairfield def. Wagner, 63-51
Venue: Leo D. Mahoney Arena, Fairfield, CT
Date: December 17, 2023
Time: 2:00 P.M.
I will be frank. This goal I have - you know the one where I plan to visit every D1 basketball arena? It is borderline unachievable. I probably will not even visit every arena once in my lifetime. So why am I going to Fairfield again you ask? Well let’s be clear. I do not plan on revisiting schools I have been to already if they open a new arena. Since I started this journey in 2019, there have already been 11 new arenas that have opened. However, if the new arena does happen to be one of the closest ones to my current locale of Stamford, CT, and there are no other games I could go to on a given weekend, a situation like this one may arise. In this case, I am glad it did.
The difference between Leo D. Mahoney Arena and the prior home of Fairfield, Total Mortgage Arena (formerly Webster Bank Arena) is night and day. Total Mortgage Arena is where I would have graduated had it not been for Covid, home to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL and PWHL New York. It is the former home of Sacred Heart Hockey, the Westchester Knicks, Fairfield basketball, and hosts a slew of different sporting and music events. It works for what it is. While the versatility may be favorable to the many temporary tenants, it means that the arena itself is not catered to whatever event is going on. To be honest, when I saw Fairfield there, the environment was one of the poorer ones I’d been to. Needless to say, the arena upgrade was long overdue.
Walking up to the arena, it did not seem like it was just two years old. I mean that in a good way. Light brown brick flanks the sides of the entrance, blending it seamlessly into the rest of the architecture on the campus. Many campus arenas tend to not match the buildings around them, or on the opposite end, they are so bland that they don’t even appear to be an arena. This one hit that sweet-spot right in the middle. The building is highlighted by grand windows that allow a view inside in a rounded shape on top, indicating the use as an arena. An outcropping of windows extends up from the team store to the second floor, reaching over some of the main doors, providing some definition.
Upon entering, there is not much mystery to what the arena looks like. The court itself is visible right away. To the right of the entrance is the team store as well as a staircase leading up to a VIP area above. Across the arena are some offices flanked by bathrooms on either side. On the right hand side are a small hall of fame and a Fairfield Stags history section. In the back right corner there is a concession stand, and in the back left corner is a broadcast booth. Located in each corner are stairs for non VIP members to get to the upper sections. Overall, the concourse is a bit unfinished, with plain concrete floors and bare support beams. They did construct the building quite quickly so its possible that some corners had to be cut to focus on the interior. That being said, I actually liked the simplicity of it.
If you aren’t a fan of the color red, chances are you may not like seeing a game here. Red seats surround all sides of the arena on both levels. A red jumbotron sits above center court. Along the bottom of the upper deck, a video board does not go long before flashing the red Fairfield logo. Even the beams on the ceiling are red to match. The color adds so much character to the space and is a great example of how an identity of a team is integral to the setting of a college basketball arena. From every seat it is evident that this is Fairfield’s arena, and no one else’s. This isn’s a gym that they use for basketball. This is an arena meant for basketball.
While I did enjoy the game from up above, the second row seats forced a quite odd viewing angle not typical of most games I’ve been to. Along the sides of top of the arena, banners for the basketball teams and and volleyball team go the length of each side. I personally think less is more when it comes to banners. They do a good job in making the space feel full, but when all 12 volleyball tournament appearances have their own banner, it starts to feel a bit excessive.
For being a Christmas break game, the crowd size was decent. The acoustics in the arena are spot on, and despite the arena not being full, it felt as there were a lot more fans than there actually were. The game was never particularly close, but Fairfield did not disappoint at home.
Team Conference and State Statistics
This is the third time I have seen both Fairfield and Wagner home or away
Fairfield becomes the first team I have been to a newly constructed arena for since visiting an older one
Next: Game 31 - Rutgers
This place seems like good vibes for sure