Opened in 1929, Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Atlantic City Auditorium and Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-sport and entertainment arena located at 2301 Boardwalk. Over the course of its long history, the venue has become a monument to past progress in Atlantic City, as well as a reminder of the good times that residents and visitors to the seaside resort and gambling town can always use more of.
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The venue’s international notoriety in the sports world was achieved in large part due to the sport of boxing. A multitude of notable boxers fought under the lights of Boardwalk Hall including Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Julio César Chávez, Micky Ward, and Arturo Gatti. Along with hosting marquee prizefights featuring a number of boxing stars, the world-famous venue has also been the setting for a number of other events including college football, basketball, professional wrestling, mixed martial arts (MMA), beauty pageants, political conventions, concerts, and ice hockey.
Ottawa Senators
The first professional hockey games on record in Atlantic City involved the original Ottawa Senators. A founding member of the NHL, their first run in the league lasted from 1917 to 1934. During the 1929-30 season, experiencing severe financial issues, they moved two games to Boardwalk Hall, one against the New York Rangers and another against the New York Americans.
Atlantic City Sea Gulls
The earliest hockey team to call Boardwalk Hall home was the minor professional Atlantic City Sea Gulls (sometimes referred to as Seagulls). Between 1931 and 1952, the team was part of multiple leagues including the Interstate Ice Hockey League, Tri-State Hockey League, and Eastern Hockey League (EHL) (also known as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League), with most of the time spent in the EHL (from 1932-1942, the 1947-48 season, and from 1949-1952).
A notable moment in Sea Gulls’ history was when the Rangers came to Atlantic City to play the team in an exhibition match on March 1, 1933. The home team, described as an “amateur” club, was defeated by the Original Six team 6-2 in front of a record-setting crowd of 22,157 fans. All proceeds went to benefit the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
A notable player who wore the Sea Gulls’ maroon, powder blue, and white jersey was Black Canadian player Art Dorrington. A career minor leaguer, the forward moved to Atlantic City in 1950 to play hockey for the Sea Gulls. That year, he also became the first black hockey player to sign an NHL contract, when he inked a deal with the Rangers. Unfortunately, his dream of playing in the NHL was crushed due to military service and a broken leg. The center played an important role in the Sea Gulls capturing the EHL championship under head coach Herb Foster that season. During the 1950-51 campaign, Dorrington had 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) for Atlantic City in 49 regular season games.
Today, Dorrington is remembered as one of the players who broke the color line in hockey. A regular at hockey events in the city until he died in 2017, his lasting impact on Atlantic City was solidified when the rink at Boardwalk Hall was named the Art Dorrington Ice Rink during a ceremony on Jan. 24, 2012.
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
Between 2001 and 2005, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL played their home games at Boardwalk Hall. The team, under head coach Mike Haviland, captured the ECHL’s Kelly Cup during the 2002-03 season with a 4-1 series victory over the Columbia Inferno. Kevin Colley was named the Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player. The Boardwalk Bullies star center was forced to retire from professional hockey after suffering a severe neck injury during the 2005-06 season with the Islanders.
During their tenure in the gambling capital of the Northeastern United States, the franchise compiled an impressive record of 172 wins and 82 losses. Unfortunately, the Boardwalk Bullies’ time in the city was plagued with poor attendance. The team’s success on Boardwalk Hall’s ice did not keep them from relocating to Stockton following the 2004-05 season.
New Jersey Devils’ Affiliates
In operation from 2010 to 2017, the Albany Devils were the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. Players who saw time in the NHL from the club included Stephen Gionta, Jay Leach, and Rod Pelley. The Devils called the Times Union Center in Albany home for their tenure in the city. The franchise moved to Binghamton adopting the same nickname after the 2016-17 season. At the time of their relocation, Albany was drawing the lowest average attendance in the AHL.
During their inaugural 2010-11 season, the Devils played 36 of their 40 home games in Albany, with the other four being played in front of Atlantic City fans at Boardwalk Hall. The Devils’ ECHL affiliate from 2007 to 2011, the Trenton Devils, also appeared in one game at Boardwalk Hall that season. On Jan. 23, 2011, they were defeated by the Wheeling Nailers 4-3.
2012 AHL All-Star Classic
The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic was held from Jan. 29-30, 2012 at Boardwalk Hall. The weekend’s festivities were unique in that it was one of a limited number of AHL All-Star Classics that were not held in an AHL franchise city. It consisted of two 24-player squads representing the top players from the league’s Eastern and Western Conferences, determined by committees of AHL coaches.
Both squads’ rosters included some of the top prospects that season including Cam Atkinson, Gustav Nyquist, Ryan Ellis, Thomas Hickey, Kyle Palmieri, Calvin de Haan, Joe Colborne, and Nazem Kadri. The Western Conference side was victorious in both the All-Star Skills Competition and the All-Star Game.
NCAA ECAC Championship
From 2011 to 2013, the NCAA ECAC Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament championships were held at Boardwalk Hall. The 2011 final pitted Yale against Cornell. In the All-Ivy League Final, the Yale Bulldogs, led by senior goaltender Ryan Rondeau, defeated the Big Red 6-0 in the finals. Rondeau was named the ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament.
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In the next two finals at Boardwalk Hall, the Union College Garnet Chargers won back-to-back ECAC championships. Head coach Rick Bennett’s squads defeated Harvard in 2012 and Brown in 2013, both by a score of 3-1. Union players honored with the ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament included center Jeremy Welsh in 2012 and goaltender Troy Grosenick the following season.
Operation Hat Trick
When Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeastern United States in the fall of 2012, the Category 3 Atlantic hurricane caused $36 billion worth of damage in New Jersey and another $32 billion in New York. While the NHL was in the midst of a lockout, members of the NHLPA flocked to the Jersey Shore to play in a Nov. 24, 2012 exhibition game at Boardwalk Hall to raise funds for the Empire Relief Fund, NJ Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund, and the American Red Cross. The game, dubbed Operation Hat Trick, was the brainchild of Joe Watson, Senior Vice President of National Marketing for Caesars Entertainment’s Eastern Division, and then-Philadelphia Flyers’ left-winger Scott Hartnell.
The game pitted Team Hartnell (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) against Team [Brad] Richards (New York) and featured a number of professional players with ties to the two states including Devils goaltender great Martin Brodeur, then-Devils blueliner Andy Greene, and then-Rangers goalie Henrik Lundquist. The rosters also included New Jersey natives Bobby Ryan, James van Riemsdyk, and John Carlson. Over 10,000 fans were in attendance, and the game raised over $500,000 for Hurricane Sandy victims.
The Future of Hockey at Boardwalk Hall
Over the last few years, there has been discussion amongst local sports journalists about the possibility of professional hockey returning to the area. Most recently, a 2023 story from South Jersey’s ESPN affiliate, 97.3 FM, discussed the possibility of bringing an independent minor league team affiliated with the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) to the greater Atlantic City area.
Unfortunately for Boardwalk Hall, much of the discussion and planning around bringing professional hockey back to the region revolves around proposals put forth by the South Jersey Ice & Athletic Center (SJIAC) organization. This group has been primarily focused on designing, building, operating, and maintaining a facility located outside of the city limits. For now, the future of hockey at the collegiate and professional levels remains uncertain for the storied old building that overlooks the boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean.
