On Friday last I had the opportunity to attend the dedication gala for the Agganis Arena, the future home of BU hockey (and to a lesser extent, for now basketball). Let's just say that it's pretty much the anti-Walter Brown Arena, in any number of ways:

You can hear the PA, whose crystal-clear tone is a 180 degree change from the WBA set up, where it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher trying to read Finning through a Dixie Cup and string arrangement.

The video equipment is much improved, which is to say there actually is some. There are replay screens on the center scoreboard, and one of those ribbon displays around the perimiter for ads and such.

The seats are padded, all of them, which some premium seat holders area little miffed about given that padding seemed at one point to be exclusive to premium seat holders. I can't say I care.

It's less murky, with great lighting and a higher ceiling, which opens things up quite a bit. That will deaden the sound a bit, and there is an echo present which does not bode well for concerts.

There are luxury boxes, which are pretty nice. They're at the top of the seating area, so they're not as separate as they are in pro arenas. If the box I got to see was representative, they have leather seating, a sink and counter area, and a phone.

The red line has paw prints on it, which is cute.

Player recognition areas are better, with nicer displays for All Americans, BU players in the NHL, and BU Hall of Famers.

There's a club room, which premium seat holders get to use. It has lounge areas, some food and beverage service, and a number of displays so you can keep track of the game. It's also the current home of the Harry Agganis statue, which I think is being relocated to outside at some point.

Oh, Harry's number is now retired, which I can't imagine will mean much given that the school "retired" the two sports he playedat BU some time ago.

Anyway, I can now say without hesitation that BU has the second-best college hockey facility in the country, after North Dakota.

As for the gala, it reconfirmed that when BU wants to put on a party, it knows how to do so. The food was outstanding, and free drinks are always welcome. The arena appears to have Harpoon IPA as an offering, which puts my stand against buying stadium beer to the test. No idea what they'll charge, but I'm sure it'll be pricey. BU does have a building to pay off, after all.