Bust Summer for Dunkin’ Donuts Center - TD Garden Has U2, Paul Simon, Eagles and Much More

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Monday, May 07, 2018

GoLocalProv Business Team

It is the tale of two arenas. In Providence, the Dunkin’ Donuts Center goes dark this summer hosting fewer than five events and in Boston, at the TD Garden, the building is rocking literally all summer and into the fall with the biggest names.

After the college graduations, Providence’s premier event venue hosts only a food event, a “Conversation with Bill Clinton” scheduled for June 15, and an August appearance by Banda Ms de Sergio Lizarraga. The rest of the summer the building is closed.

Rest of the Summer is Dark at the Dunk in Providence.

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Just ten years ago, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority spent $62 million to upgrade the Dunkin’ Donuts Center with “the creation of 20 new suites, new seating, and upgrades of the existing MEP systems. Additional upgrades include refurbishing and expanding the lobby and concourses, adding concession areas, restrooms and dressing rooms.” The reason for the upgrade was to keep the building competitive with other venues in New England.

Larry Lepore, General Manager of Dunkin’ Donuts Center, said in response to multiple questions, "I have been there since 1999 there has been very little concert activity in the summer since the early 1990s."

But a review of previous years found that the building hosted multiple concerts and events each summer. As an example, the Dunk hosted Demi Lovato and American Idol, bull riding and multiple other events in 2010. Most summers, the building hosted multiple events.

Bruno Mars plays two nights at Boston's TD Garden

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In contrast, venues like Boston’s TD Garden are jammed packed with premium events — Depeche Mode, Paul Simon, Harry Styles, two nights of U2, Sam Smith, WWE Raw, Shania Twain, two nights of the Eagles, Panic! At the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, two nights of Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Big 3, and four days of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

The TD Garden has an equally impressive fall lineup — Childish Gambino, Kevin Hart, two nights of Bruno Mars, Bill Burr, two nights of Elton John, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, and Josh Groban.

And it's not just Boston. Portland Maine’s civic center — the Cross Insurance Arena — is home to five home games of the arena football team, the Maine Mammoths, this summer.

In Hartford, the XL Center is hosting concerts by Journey and Def Leppard, Elton John, Eagles, Maroon 5, Marvel Universe! Age of Heroes — this summer and fall.

Presently on the Dunkin’s Donuts Centers’ fall schedule, only Thomas Rhett is listed.

For two years wet floor conditions have disrupted multiple games

Not the Dunks Only Problem

This past season the Providence College Friars game against Seton Hall had to be suspended due to unplayable floor conditions.

Officials as well as PC head coach Ed Cooley and Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard made the decision with 13:03 left to play and the Pirates leading 56-47.

“We have been working with the Dunk over the last few days to make sure it was going to be okay. When we walked in it was 59 degrees, but it then got progressively worse as the game went on,” said Providence College athletic director Bob Driscoll in a press conference last season.

The game was continued on Thursday, February 22 at noon at Alumni Hall. It was open to students, faculty, and staff of the college only due to the seating.

This was not the first time that the management of the Dunk has been unable to manage the floor condition and have put players at risk.

Last year at nearly the exact same time of the year, the Dunk's floor condition was lambasted nationally. In a critical game for the Providence College Basketball team against Big East rival Marquette often looked more like skating than basketball. Condensation on the floor made the floor “the second worst I have ever seen,” according to CBS' John Sadak, sports announcer. "The worst was when a women’s game was delayed by eight hours because the floor had been waxed with the wrong kind of wax."

CBS Sports' other announcer Brendan Haywood, former North Carolina great and NBA player, said the conditions were unplayable. "I cringe every time someone makes a move," said Haywood who noted it was the worst he has ever seen.

In response to the criticism, Lepore of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center told GoLocal, “70 degrees outside and 90 percent humidity, what do they want me to do.”

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Jackson Browne at PPAC

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Hall of Famer Jackson Browne is coming to PPAC in May.

In his career, Browne has sold over 18 million albums in the U.S.

He is known for songs such as "These Days", "The Pretender", "Running on Empty", "Lawyers in Love", "Doctor My Eyes", "Take It Easy", "For a Rocker", and "Somebody's Baby" and others.

Browne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2007

Click here for tickets

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Boston Calling 2018

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Boston Calling, the first New England music festival of the season kicks off in downtown Boston on the weekend of May 25 to the 27.

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Bust Summer for Dunkin’ Donuts Center - TD Garden Has U2, Paul Simon, Eagles and Much More