Railers, DCU Center, Hanover Theatre cancel upcoming events

Photo/Grant Welker The DCU Center in Worcester

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By Grant Welker

The Worcester Railers hockey team has suspended its season, the DCU Center in Worcester will not have NCAA men's hockey tournament games, and the Hanover Theatre has cancelled three shows for this upcoming weekend.

All of this is being done as a precaution as the reaction to the coronavirus spreads in Central Massachusetts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged people to avoid large gatherings.

The Hanover Theatre in Worcester on Friday said it will cancel its three shows slated for this weekend. The musical "Giselle" from the Russian National Ballet was set to be Friday; comedian Artie Lang was scheduled for Saturday; and Cirque D'Or was set to perform Sunday.

"Ticket sales for future shows have essentially stopped," said Troy Siebels, Hanover Theatre president and CEO. "The impact of this will be profound, but we are a strong institution and will be here for the city in the future."

A decision late Thursday by the NCAA to cancel remaining collegiate sports through the academic season will mean Worcester's DCU Center will not host regional hockey tournament games later this month.

The DCU Center was slated to host men's hockey tournament regional games on March 27 and 28, along with arenas in Albany, N.Y., Allentown, Pa., and Loveland, Colo.

Those games will not take place, along with other well-known college tournaments including the March Madness men's and women's basketball championships, which were slated to start next week and continue through April. Conference tournaments have also been canceled, along with remaining scheduled spring sports in the Division I Patriot League, which includes College of the Holy Cross from Worcester.

The DCU Center has hosted more NCAA regional hockey games than any other site in the country, according to the NCAA, including in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. In all, it's hosted the tournament 16 times.

The Railers announced Thursday evening they have suspended play until further notice. They were due to play a home game at the DCU Center Friday evening.

The team had 11 games left on their schedule, including seven at home. The team's community events have also been called off.

"Because this decision was made so swiftly, the Worcester Railers HC is working on procedures to determine the best way to deliver credits and refunds to people who have purchased tickets for those games affected by the suspension," the team said in a statement. "We will be communicating to our members, partners and other affected parties with additional information at a later date."

Other event cancellations due to coronavirus include:

Worcester Art Museum will be closed to the public starting on Saturday and staying closed through March 27.
Tree House Brewing Co., in Charlton has taken a number of steps to keep customers from congregating at its site, although the business remains open.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce has cancelled all of its events through the end of March, including a Business After Hours networking event slated for Thursday.
Music Worcester is looking to reschedule its events on March 21 and 27, and April 5, and ticketholders will be updated with the new dates. The free concert from Milad Yousufi at Temple Emanuel Sinai slated for 2 p.m. Sunday is being changed to an internet live stream.
ArtsWorcester has postponed the public reception celebrating the opening of the exhibit "In Transition: A Members' Exhibition" from March 20 to the last day of the exhibition, on April 18. The gallery hours for the exhibit, done in conjunction with the Fitchburg Art Museum, will continue as planned.
The Discovery Museum in Acton closed on Friday and will remain closed through March 30.

WBJ Editor Brad Kane contributed to this story.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated the morning of Monday, March 13.]