Fairfield University names new arena after former trustee

Fairfield University has announced it will name its new 85,000-square foot arena the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The new venue, which will officially open in November, replaces the institution’s long-standing landmark Alumni Hall.

The arena”™s namesake was co-founder of Eastern Minerals Inc., a road salt supplier based in Lowell, Massachusetts, who serves as a member of the university”™s trustees advisory council during the early 1990s. His daughter Shelagh Mahoney-McNamee, who graduated from the school in 1987, is a member of the board of trustees and offered a financial gift that was described by the school as “the single largest by an alumna in the university”™s history.”

“It is an honor to be a part of this new chapter in Fairfield”™s history,” said Mahoney-McNamee. “I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my alma mater, that has given me so much both personally and professionally, and to honor my father, with this dedication.”

The new 3,500-seat arena will be used for basketball and volleyball games, university events and concerts. The Fairfield Women”™s Basketball program will open the 2022-23 season against Stonehill College in Mahoney Arena on Nov. 18, while the Fairfield Men”™s Basketball program will play their first game in Mahoney Arena on Dec. 3 against Saint Peter”™s University.