Chiulli excited for new era at Stoneham Arena
Published on July 12th, 2006
STONEHAM,MA - It's obvious that Stoneham Arena Manager and Saugus native Lou Chiulli doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.
While a handful of youthful skaters circle around the new Stoneham High School Spartans' Spartan-head logo at center-ice and enjoy some summer hockey workouts, Chiulli and longtime Stoneham Arena employee and Iraqi War Veteran James O'Brien are cleaning glass, spit-shining the bleachers and flooding the oft-times dilapidated-looking hockey arena with a fresh coat of paint at every turn.
"I grew up watching Bobby Orr play hockey in Winthrop and have been a hockey nut for as long as I can remember," said Chiulli, who was named to the Manager's Post in August 2005 and has a palpable enthusiasm for the storied Stoneham ice building. "This is an amazing location for a rink, and I've really been able to draw on that in booking virtually all of our ice time."
As Chiulli walks around the arena and shows off the many of the new compressors and plans for advertising on the arena's far wall, it's obvious that he isn't afraid to hustle for business and revenue for the town - and consequently the arena.
"We've got a lot of big things coming up for this place: we're going to be taking bids for the snack bar which is definitely getting some local interest, I'm hoping to install an energy efficient ceiling that will cut down our utility costs and I'm even thinking of bringing in pinball machines, video games or air hockey in some of the unused areas above the stands," said Chiulli. "I looked at the state that the arena was in and I looked at the amount of revenue that wasn't coming in, and I really took it as a challenge and a source of pride that I could turn things around and change it back into the great building it once was. We had 2,200 people in this arena for one of the tournament games last winter...How many arenas this close to Boston do you know of that can accommodate over 2000 people?"
The first order of business for the arena workers was a needed and thorough cleaning of the entire building, and then an all-encompassing painting job by O'Brien -- who painted the entire building, repainted the lines underneath the ice surface and painted a solid, bright yellow line just above the ice surface that rings around the entire arena.
"The best compliment I get is from the mothers and women who use the arena, and told me they would never use the bathrooms here before I got here...but now they will and told me there's a world of difference in the cleanliness here," said Chiulli. "I had heard some stuff from people just about the way things were done here and the state of the arena before I got the job, and I really want to make a change.
"I'm in the office for two or three hours max a day and then the rest of the time I'm out here cleaning and maintaining the work we've already put in," said Chiulli. "There was definitely a lot of work to be done when I got here, but now it's just a matter of keeping up with it."
In a good faith move by Chiulli and the town toward their hometown Stoneham High School hockey programs, the town spent the $1000 for the Spartans' head logo and name at center-ice - a gesture that symbolizes how important SHS is to Chiulli and the Stoneham Arena.
"I look at it like we have two sons (the SHS boys and girls hockey teams) and two daughters (the Matignon boys and girls hockey teams), and we have to treat them all equally to keep them happy," said Chiulli, who added that the Austin Prep girls hockey program also plays their home games at Stoneham Arena. "We had 10 tournament games last season, and we're booked for 16 games this season...so things are on the upswing."
Chuilli also talks of replacing all of the plexi-glass on the boards, as well as the wooden boards and the glass have plenty of give and are too loose for comfort - a job he estimated at $40,000.
The arena director also has plans to utilize some of the extra space surrounding the actual ice surface - an area in the back corner where a press box will be constructed as well as storage units for some of the home hockey programs to store the piles of required hockey equipment.
"I've gotten positive feedback from the the Town Accountant (Ron Castignetti) about an increase in the arena's revenues over the past year, and I'm really excited because I think we're on the right track," said Chiulli, who also added that the pro shop is again open for business. "I can't wait to get feedback on some of the changes that have been made here at the arena. Hockey players and hockey parents spend so much time at this place 10 months out of the year that we really want them to get that homey feel."
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