The Lee & Penny Anderson Arena opened Friday for the women’s and men’s hockey teams’ games against Providence College. One year and eight months after construction started, the 5,500 seat venue is ready.
The arena sits on the south side of the St. Thomas campus, across the Schoenecker Center. It will be home to St. Thomas basketball and hockey, with locker room facilities for men’s and women’s soccer and softball. Softball and soccer share a field behind the arena.
“This building is phenomenal,” women’s hockey coach Bethany Brausen said. “From the ice level, to our lounges, to the player’s spaces … I think, personally, it’s gonna be the premier women’s ice hockey facility across the entire country, as well as men’s.”
The facility will also open the door for stronger recruiting, according to Brausen and men’s hockey coach Rico Blasi. The arena includes a nutrition center, hot and cold tubs, a strength and conditioning space, lounges, and an academic study area.
“As we project out to recruiting opportunities in the future … there’s not a lot of selling that you have to do, you just get families and prospects into the space and the building speaks for itself,” Brausen said.
Both coaches noted the new arena’s proximity to campus is the biggest advantage for player development – on the ice and academically. Previously, the Tommies practiced and played at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights. The rink was shared with St. Thomas Academy and is a 15-minute drive from campus.
“We have a place to have meetings before practice and watch video. We can do individual skill and video-work, which we didn’t have any place to do that. And they’re not rushing off here to try to get to class,” Blasi said. “They don’t have to try to find a parking spot at noon on campus, which is almost impossible.”
Brausen said that the arena has made the team’s daily life more cohesive and efficient.
“It’s an opportunity to have a one stop shop,” Brausen said. “They can spend hours at a time and feel like it’s their home. You’d be amazed, for the life of the student athlete, what every extra five, ten, twenty minutes can capture.”
Lee & Penny Anderson Arena opens today and both programs are focused on making the most of their new home.
“We’re so thankful for Lee and Penny Anderson,” Blasi said. “We’re excited to make full use of it.”
Reagan Boschulte can be reached at bosc3829@stthomas.edu.
Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.
