A $17 million renovation project to St. Lawrence’s beloved hockey arena has officially begun. As of Monday, March 18, construction of Appleton Arena has commenced. And this multi-million-dollar, donor funded project is just the beginning.
What began last Monday is just the first phase of renovation on the university’s most historic athletic building. Students can look forward to new features such as wider concourses along with a view of the ice from the concourses, a new multipurpose social space and updated streaming technologies. Student-athletes are anticipating a new strength and conditioning center, in addition to new locker rooms and meeting rooms. This phase is scheduled to be finished by November 2019.
Looking forward, Stephen Hietsch, Vice President for Finance and Administration, said that the complete project will not just benefit hockey teams, but all of the university’s athletic teams.
He claims, “A subsequent phase of the project will focus on expanding the footprint of the building to the north and adding additional amenities related to our division III athletic program.”
The project is funded entirely by donations and mostly by one generous $10 million donation from Tom Dolan ’74. Athletic director Bob Durocher said, “this happened because a single donor, our main donor, came to us and said, ‘I want to do something for hockey.’” Durocher claims, “We gave him a vision where we could not only help hockey but hope to help our division III teams as well.”
A rising funding concern for student Margret Munschauer ’22 involves other buildings on campus that need attending to. She claims, “I think it’s ridiculous that these wealthy families give money to schools for athletic arenas instead of actual campus-wide needs.” She adds that she also notices this as a trend with universities across the country.
Hietsch clarifies that there are many needs on campus needing attention. “The advancement team is constantly talking with donors about our fundraising priorities and the donor’s philanthropic interests.”
He goes on further saying that academic facilities, such as Madill and ODY’s renovations in the past, have been funded by donor gifts that “have been generated through the university’s fundraising efforts.”
Another concern for student Wallace Hurry ’22 is keeping the old school look of the arena intact. “I hope they will be able to maintain the retro design to the place. It’s one of the reasons why I love going to games” he claimed.
Durocher reassures that Dolan wants to “keep the integrity of Appleton Arena with the bowl and all that.”
Hietsch also adds that “the project is designed to upgrade and modernize Appleton while preserving the culture, feel and sense of tradition that makes it so special.”