Cross Insurance Arena/Center

The team canceled two home games in Portland this weekend and warned that that additional games could be called off amid a players’ strike over the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the ECHL minor league.

The Cross Insurance Arena has been home to professional hockey since it opened in 1977, hosting the original Mariners until 1992, then the Portland Pirates, then the current Mariners since 2018.

The Mariners, purchased last year by Dexter Paine, began their partnership with Boston and Providence, R.I., in 2021.

The proposed 66,000-square-foot venue, which requires approval by the city's Planning Board, would be located steps from the city-owned Merrill Auditorium. 

Royce Cross started at family-owned Cross Insurance in 1970, working alongside his father Woodrow Cross, and has since overseen significant growth.

Mainebiz profiles four businesses with next-generation leaders in charge.

Patriot Benefit Solutions in North Andover, Mass., will operate under the Cross Insurance name, overseen by Dave Messersmith, president of Cross Insurance's coastal region.

Cross oversees a company with 1,000 employees in more than 50 offices, serving 100,000 customers. The family business has grown through 175-plus acquisitions to become the largest independent insurance provider in New England.

The 2022 edition of the annual event is taking place all day Thursday at the Cross Insurance Arena and online.

Plans in place since nearly the start of the pandemic call for venues in both cities to serve as makeshift COVID-19 field hospitals. That hasn't been necessary, but officials are preparing, just in case.