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| Artist's rendering of the Saint Louis University Arena as viewed from Laclede Avenue. |
ST. LOUIS-- Saint Louis University announced today that the groundbreaking ceremony for it’s new $80.5 million multipurpose Arena will take place at 12 noon on Monday, Aug. 28, at the Arena site near Compton and I-64/Highway 40. Construction of the Arena complex will take 18-19 months with an opening in March of 2008.
“I am very pleased to tell the St. Louis community that the beginning of this significant project is here,” said University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J. “This Arena will be a beacon for Midtown St. Louis as well as further enriching our University campus life.”
In preparation for construction to begin, some site clearance, including the removal of tennis courts and a portion of the University-owned Grand Forest Apartments, will take place beginning over the next several weeks. Finalization of design and construction plans is being completed this summer and construction will begin immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony. St. Louis-based Clayco has been selected to build the Arena complex has been actively involved in preparing for the start of construction. The Arena complex is being designed by St. Louis-based Mackey Mitchell Associates and sports architects Sink Combs Dethlefs, based in Denver, CO.
The Arena complex includes a 10,600 seat Arena, which will be home to Billikens’ men’s and women’s basketball games and a host of other events; an athletic practice facility, which will also host SLU women’s volleyball games; and a three-story building that will house athletic department offices and support facilities. Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum has been selected to manage the Arena when it opens in 2008.
“This is a truly momentous announcement for Saint Louis University and our Division I athletic programs,” said Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick. “The announcement of a groundbreaking date will have an immediate impact on our recruiting efforts for men’s and women’s
basketball as well as our other sports teams, which will also benefit from this outstanding facility.”
The University’s Board of Trustees approved moving forward with the re-designed Arena project in February and approved moving forward with construction in May. The Arena will be funded through fund raising, $8 million in TIF funding, and bonds, which will be paid off with revenues from the Arena.
Additional details on the groundbreaking ceremony will be released in August.
The Arena will host a variety of events, including concerts, family shows, trade shows, sporting events and commencements, and is expected to bring more than 400,000 people per year to Midtown St. Louis. More information about the Arena project can be found at http://arena.slu.edu.
When Arena construction begins, the University will have the two largest construction projects in its history underway simultaneously. The $67 million Edward A. Doisy Research Center Building is under construction and scheduled for completion in the summer of 2007. An additional $13 million to renovate existing research facilities will bring the total Doisy Research Center project to $80 million.
“These two significant projects again show Saint Louis University’s commitment to the future of Midtown St. Louis,” said Biondi. “Nationally, these projects, combined with our enrollment growth and significant increases in research and academic reputation, show that the University is continuing its forward momentum as one of the nation’s leading higher education institutions.”
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