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$20
million corporate sponsorship
Student Village named for John Hancock Financial Services, Arena dedicated
to Harry Agganis
Boston University has named its new housing, sports, entertainment, and recreational complex the John Hancock Student Village, in recognition of a $20 million corporate sponsorship from Boston-based John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. A naming celebration on October 16 also marked the designation of the new venue for Terrier hockey and basketball, scheduled to open in 2004, as the Harry Agganis Arena, and the opening of the new track and tennis center on Ashford St.
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| David F. D’Alessandro, chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., and a BU trustee, said at the October 16 naming celebration that his company provided sponsorship for BU’s new John Hancock Student Village because the facilities will serve the entire Boston community. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky |
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“We had not seen a sponsorship opportunity like this one before,
because it was not simply about putting our name on something,”
said David F. D’Alessandro, chairman and CEO of John Hancock and
a BU trustee, at the celebration. “It was about sponsoring a sports
and recreation facility that all of Boston can use.”
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino thanked BU for being “a great partner”
with the city of Boston during his tenure as mayor. “It’s
so important to have this University at work in our city, because most
of its students will stay in the city and become part of our employment
base,” he said. “And that’s what makes Boston a great
city -- the brainpower at our universities.”
BU Chancellor John Silber expressed appreciation to the BU Community Task
Force for its cooperation on the Student Village project, which he said
would be former BU President Jon Westling’s “legacy to the
University.” Silber also thanked John Hancock for allowing the Harry
Agganis Arena to be named after one of BU’s greatest athletes. “Harry
Agganis symbolized so much of what we believe is important in athletics,”
he said, “and why we believe it’s important for students.”
Harry Agganis (SED’54), a BU football and baseball star, who played
for the Boston Red Sox, died of a pulmonary embolism in 1955 at the age
of 26.
18 October 2002
Boston University
Office of University Relations