University of St. Thomas Athletics
Photo by: University of St. Thomas
Facilities update from Vice President & Director of Athletics Phil Esten
10/18/2022 9:43:00 AM | Athletics
Dear St. Thomas community,
Year two of Division I is off to a great start! The energy is palpable as students are engaged on campus, and our teams are demonstrating that we belong at the D-I level. As St. Thomas continues its journey toward raising its national profile, I'm excited to share updates on resources to help provide student-athlete and fan experiences commensurate with our D-I expectations. Specifically, progress continues to be made finding long-term homes for our hockey, baseball and softball programs.
First, please know all plans include expectations that funding for facilities will be solidified before proceeding with any construction. To be financially responsible, we will only finalize plans once we have secured sufficient funds through philanthropy and corporate partnerships. In addition to fundraising, planning new facilities is a complex process that demands deliberate thought and planning. After careful consideration and exploration, I'm happy to report the following updates:
Hockey
I am excited to share we are now focusing efforts to bring hockey to campus. We've said from the start we would examine every option to find a solution to best suit the university's needs. After exploring multiple off-campus sites, we can confidently say a new on-campus home for hockey is the best path forward. This arena will operate as a multipurpose facility that serves as an asset for our entire campus by offering student life and community engagement opportunities, in addition to serving as a home for our men's and women's hockey programs.
South campus is the likely destination for such a facility, and earlier this month we issued a formal request for proposal (RFP) to invite prospective design-build partners to submit for the opportunity to bring this to life. We will receive these proposals soon and expect to select our partner by semester's end to keep the process moving. More information will be shared as available.
Baseball/Softball
We are taking next steps to explore Highland Bridge – specifically the old Canadian Pacific Railway property – as a potential site for new baseball and softball fields, as well as indoor training and parking facilities. We believe this site would serve the university well, and will allow the current baseball and softball field space to be repurposed for other athletic and campus recreation needs. In order to keep this site a possibility, we are entering into an agreement with the St. Paul Port Authority to begin an environmental cleanup process of the property, and we have agreed to purchase the property following environmental remediation. This allows us to proceed with exploration, as the Port Authority serves as an important partner in site remediation for properties across the city of St. Paul.
To reiterate, these projects depend upon raising the funds necessary to advance from design to construction. Building infrastructure is hard work, but we have enjoyed the commitment from so many partners in our campus community to support our D-I experience. With these next steps we can make further progress in this space.
I invite all Tommies to join us in creating an atmosphere of support for our 535 student-athletes as we solidify our position at the Division I level.
Roll Toms!
Year two of Division I is off to a great start! The energy is palpable as students are engaged on campus, and our teams are demonstrating that we belong at the D-I level. As St. Thomas continues its journey toward raising its national profile, I'm excited to share updates on resources to help provide student-athlete and fan experiences commensurate with our D-I expectations. Specifically, progress continues to be made finding long-term homes for our hockey, baseball and softball programs.
First, please know all plans include expectations that funding for facilities will be solidified before proceeding with any construction. To be financially responsible, we will only finalize plans once we have secured sufficient funds through philanthropy and corporate partnerships. In addition to fundraising, planning new facilities is a complex process that demands deliberate thought and planning. After careful consideration and exploration, I'm happy to report the following updates:
Hockey
I am excited to share we are now focusing efforts to bring hockey to campus. We've said from the start we would examine every option to find a solution to best suit the university's needs. After exploring multiple off-campus sites, we can confidently say a new on-campus home for hockey is the best path forward. This arena will operate as a multipurpose facility that serves as an asset for our entire campus by offering student life and community engagement opportunities, in addition to serving as a home for our men's and women's hockey programs.
South campus is the likely destination for such a facility, and earlier this month we issued a formal request for proposal (RFP) to invite prospective design-build partners to submit for the opportunity to bring this to life. We will receive these proposals soon and expect to select our partner by semester's end to keep the process moving. More information will be shared as available.
Baseball/Softball
We are taking next steps to explore Highland Bridge – specifically the old Canadian Pacific Railway property – as a potential site for new baseball and softball fields, as well as indoor training and parking facilities. We believe this site would serve the university well, and will allow the current baseball and softball field space to be repurposed for other athletic and campus recreation needs. In order to keep this site a possibility, we are entering into an agreement with the St. Paul Port Authority to begin an environmental cleanup process of the property, and we have agreed to purchase the property following environmental remediation. This allows us to proceed with exploration, as the Port Authority serves as an important partner in site remediation for properties across the city of St. Paul.
To reiterate, these projects depend upon raising the funds necessary to advance from design to construction. Building infrastructure is hard work, but we have enjoyed the commitment from so many partners in our campus community to support our D-I experience. With these next steps we can make further progress in this space.
I invite all Tommies to join us in creating an atmosphere of support for our 535 student-athletes as we solidify our position at the Division I level.
Roll Toms!
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