![]() Proposal rendering | |
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Location | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
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Coordinates | 44°56′22″N93°11′40″W / 44.9395°N 93.1945°W |
Owner | University of St. Thomas |
Capacity | 4,000 (ice hockey) [1] 5,000 (basketball) [1] 6,000 (concerts, university commencements) [1] |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 2024 [1] [2] |
Opened | Fall 2025 (planned) [1] |
Construction cost | $175 million [1] |
Architect | Ryan A+E [3] Crawford Architects [4] |
Structural engineer | Meyer Borgman Johnson [3] |
Services engineer | IMEG [3] |
General contractor | Ryan Companies US, Inc. [4] |
Tenants | |
University of St. Thomas men's basketball University of St. Thomas women's basketball University of St. Thomas men's hockey University of St. Thomas women's hockey |
Lee and Penny Anderson Arena is a proposed indoor arena located on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. [4] The facility is planned to be the home arena of the St. Thomas basketball and hockey teams. [1]
In 2020, St. Thomas received approval to move its athletics programs directly from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division I [5] as a result of being removed from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. [6] At the time, it was noted that athletics facilities would need to be assessed, due to Division I's elevated requirements. Continued use of existing facilities, leasing other facilities, or building new facilities were all listed as options. [7] Since 2003, St. Thomas' men's and women's hockey teams have played at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights. With a capacity of just 1,000, it is the third-smallest arena in Division I men's hockey. [8]
In February 2022, St. Thomas offered $61.4 million to purchase nearby Town & Country Club, with the intent to build athletic facilities on the site. [9] The country club's board of directors voted to reject the offer. [10]
In June 2022, it was reported that the university planned to build sports facilities, including a new hockey arena, at the former Ford Motor Company Twin Cities Assembly Plant redevelopment site known as Highland Bridge. [11] In July 2022, St. Thomas announced it no longer planned to build a hockey arena at the Highland Bridge site and would focus on on-campus locations. [12]
On January 17, 2023, St. Thomas announced that it had received a $75 million gift from Lee and Penny Anderson to construct a multiuse on-campus arena in St. Paul. [4] With a total project cost estimated to be $175 million, the arena would be home to St. Thomas' basketball and hockey teams. [4] The arena would also host commencement, speakers, career fairs, and other events for the broader community, such as concerts. [4] Three buildings will need to be demolished to make room for the arena, including Cretin Hall, a dormitory designed by Cass Gilbert and built in 1894. [13]
In addition to the removal of three buildings, several surface lots will be removed, resulting in the net loss of over 250 parking spaces. Because of this, the university is exploring increased public transportation options, scheduling high-attendance events on weekends, and parking restrictions during events. [14]
In November 2023, residents living in the nearby neighborhood filed a petition to the Minnesota Court of Appeals to block construction of the project, releasing a statement which called the project's submitted environmental assessment misleading. The group's main concerns were lack of parking accommodations for the many expected events throughout the year. Combined with construction of the adjacent Schoenecker Center on the university's south campus, construction of the arena is set to result in a net loss of approximately 390 parking stalls. [15]
The arena's design is in a Gothic architectural style featuring Kasota limestone, [1] similar to many other buildings on campus. [16]
It will be designed such that quick conversions can be made between hockey, basketball and other events. [16] The complex will also house basketball and hockey practice facilities, including a second ice sheet. [17]
LEED Silver certification will be sought, a sustainability benchmark for green building certification. [16] The arena is pursuing utilizing both geothermal energy and groundwater to be the first sustainable ice rink in the US and one of the most efficient ice rinks in the world. [18]
Advocates believed the environmental analysis for the arena was inadequate due to failing to fully assess greenhouse gases generated by the arena and increased traffic. The Minnesota Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the lawsuit on April 11, 2024. [19] The Court has 90 days to file a written decision on the case.
The University of St. Thomas is a private Catholic research university with campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1885 as a Catholic seminary, it is named after Thomas Aquinas, the medieval Catholic theologian and philosopher who is the patron saint of students. As of fall 2021, St. Thomas enrolled 9,347 students, making it Minnesota's largest private, nonprofit university.
Ridder Arena is an indoor ice rink at the University of Minnesota, and home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey team. The arena is adjacent to the men's 3M Arena at Mariucci. It was completed in 2002, and includes the connected Baseline Tennis Center for the men's and women's tennis teams. It was the first facility in the United States built specifically for college women's ice hockey, and has hosted the NCAA Women's Frozen Four on four occasions. The arena is named for benefactors Robert Ridder and Kathleen Ridder.
Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is a 2,092-seat hockey arena in Princeton, New Jersey. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers men's and women's ice hockey teams as well as the venue for club and intramural hockey teams, intramural broomball, figure skating and recreational skating. It is the only ice skating rink on the Princeton University campus. It is named in honor of former Princeton star Hobart A.H. "Hobey" Baker, '14. Baker was a football and hockey star who died shortly after World War I. In December 1921, it was decided to build an on-campus arena for the hockey team, and to name it after Baker. Efforts to modernize the arena began in the mid-1970s with major improvements including the addition of locker rooms, a skate sharpening room and a stick storage room in 1981, a new scoreboard and lighting improvements in 1984 and a renovation of the roof in 2002. It is the second-oldest arena still in use in NCAA Division I hockey, behind only Matthews Arena at Northeastern University; however, Northeastern has only played at Matthews Arena since 1930, giving Princeton the distinction of being the school that has played in its current home the longest.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
The Penn State Ice Pavilion was a 1,350-seat ice arena on the campus of The Pennsylvania State University located in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States. The ice arena included an NHL regulation sized 200' x 85' ice sheet as well as a 45' x 55' studio ice sheet.
The Super Rink at National Sports Center is a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) ice rink facility that features eight sheets of ice and is the largest ice arena complex in the world. It is located on the National Sports Center campus in Blaine, Minnesota, a northern suburb of Minneapolis – Saint Paul.
Edwin Jeffrey Saugestad was an American ice hockey coach. From 1958 to 1996, he was the head hockey coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He led the Augsburg hockey team to three National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics men's ice hockey championships and six consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships from 1976 to 1982. At the time of his retirement in 1996, he ranked second in career wins in NCAA Division III history. He received the John MacInnes Award in 2002 for his lifetime of contributions to amateur hockey and the Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award in 2007. As of 2010, he ranks 18th all-time among college men's ice hockey coaches with 503 wins.
The LaHaye Ice Center is a 4,000-seat ice arena located in Lynchburg, Virginia on the campus of Liberty University. The ice arena is also the home to the Liberty Flames men's and women's ice hockey teams that currently compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association as independent teams in the ACHA Division I. In addition to LU's varsity teams, the Liberty JV team, Virginia Military Institute, and Lynchburg College teams at the ACHA Division II level playing in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference also use the arena. And for LU's synchronized skating team. The ice arena is also used for various recreational uses by students and local public for ice skating, figure skating, ice hockey, and broomball.
The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum, having moved from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut during the 2022–23 season.
The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania on the campus of Penn State University. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the Bryce Jordan Center. The arena is named after Kim and Terry Pegula for their donations to fund the arena and it replaced the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion.
Lee Reuben Anderson Sr. is an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the owner and chairman of the Minnesota-based API Group Inc., a holding company for numerous construction and fire-protection firms. His charitable interests include children's health, higher education, and the welfare of American military veterans.
The St. Thomas Tommies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent University of Saint Thomas. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a tiger named Tommie, and the school colors are purple and gray. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I as members of the Summit League in all varsity sports except for football, which competes in the Pioneer Football League, the men's ice hockey team, which competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and the women's ice hockey team, which competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. St. Thomas offers 10 varsity sports for men and 11 for women.
The St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team represents the University of St. Thomas, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in NCAA Division I as a member of the Summit League where they have been a member since their Division I debut in 2021.
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