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Lee and Penny Anderson Arena
Lee and Penny Anderson Arena Rendering
Proposal rendering
Location Saint Paul, Minnesota
Owner University of St. Thomas
Capacity 4,000 (ice hockey)[1]
5,000 (basketball)[1]
6,000 (concerts, university commencements)[1]
Construction
Broke ground Spring 2024 (planned)[1]
Opened Fall 2025 (planned)[1]
Construction cost $175 million[1]
Architect Ryan A+E[2]
Crawford Architects[3]
Structural engineer Meyer Borgman Johnson[2]
Services engineer IMEG[2]
General contractor Ryan Companies US, Inc.[3]
Tenants
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.[3] The facility is planned to be the home arena of the St. Thomas basketball and hockey teams.[1]

History[]

In 2020, St. Thomas received approval to move its athletics programs directly from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division I[4] as a result of being removed from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] The country club's board of directors voted to reject the offer.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[3] With a total project cost estimated to be $175 million, the arena would be home to St. Thomas' basketball and hockey teams.[3] The arena would also host commencement, speakers, career fairs, and other events for the broader community, such as concerts.[3] 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.[12]

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.[13]

Design[]

The arena's design is in a Gothic architectural style featuring Kasota limestone,[1] similar to many other buildings on campus.[14]

It will be designed such that quick conversions can be made between hockey, basketball and other events.[14] The complex will also house basketball and hockey practice facilities, including a second ice sheet.[15]

LEED Silver certification will be sought, a sustainability benchmark for green building certification.[14] 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.[16]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 St. Thomas receives record-setting $75 million gift to build new sports arena on campus (17 January 2023).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 New University of St. Thomas sports arena will support school's move to Division I athletics (en) (30 March 2023).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 St. Thomas Announces Record-Breaking, $75 Million Gift for Multiuse Arena (17 January 2023).
  4. St. Thomas gets approval from NCAA to go Division I.
  5. St. Thomas wins too much, kicked out of MIAC (en) (22 May 2019).
  6. St. Thomas announces intentions to go Division I after getting removed from MIAC.
  7. New opportunities, challenges for St. Thomas hockey in Division I.
  8. Seeking hockey arena, St. Thomas makes $61.4 million unsolicited bid for Town & Country golf course. Pioneer Press (22 February 2022).
  9. Town & Country Club Rejects Golf Course Bid from St. Thomas (23 February 2022).
  10. University of St. Thomas eyes Highland Bridge for Division I hockey, baseball, softball venues. Pioneer Press (5 June 2022).
  11. St. Thomas pulls Division I hockey stadium plan out of Highland Bridge, but baseball, softball remain. Pioneer Press (7 July 2022).
  12. University of St. Thomas announces record-setting donation for new sports arena.
  13. St. Thomas arena project taking shape in St. Paul | Finance & Commerce. Finance & Commerce (12 July 2023).
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Ryan Companies to build Lee and Penny Anderson Arena (24 January 2023).
  15. 'It's a game-changer': Record $75 million gift makes on-campus St. Thomas hockey, hoops facility a reality (en) (17 January 2023).
  16. "Lee and Penny Anderson Arena opens possibility of the most sustainable ice rink in the nation", TommieMedia, 11 May 2023. 
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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