Work on St. Lawrence University’s Appleton Arena to begin this spring

CANTON — Renovation work on St. Lawrence University’s Appleton Arena will start “this spring” following the conclusion of the current hockey season, the university announced in late January.

St. Lawrence University has chosen Northland Associates Inc. of Clay as the construction manager for the upcoming project.

Northland Associates has previously worked on other projects at St. Lawrence, including the Johnson Hall of Science, Kirk Douglas Hall, Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall, and Sullivan Student Center, the university said in a release.

St. Lawrence hopes to have this phase of the project complete by the start of the 2019-20 college hockey season, Ryan Deuel, the university’s director of media relations and strategic communications, said in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry.

The renovations will provide St. Lawrence’s NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs with a “superior” athletic facility, the school contends. 

A second phase of the project will also expand Appleton Arena to support the Saints’ NCAA Division III men and women’s lacrosse, field hockey, softball and the men and women’s rowing teams. That portion of the renovation will begin as additional fundraising is completed.

A little more than one year ago, St. Lawrence embarked on a study of Appleton Arena to “enhance the appeal” of the facility for both athletes and the fans. 

It selected HOK, an architectural firm for designing sports venues, to conduct the study. HOK delivered its findings to the school’s steering, planning, and oversight committee as well as its campus user group in the fall. The firm also handled the design work for the project, Deuel said.

First opened in 1951, Appleton Arena is regarded as one of St. Lawrence University’s “significant heritage facilities.” 

Improvements will include a new entrance, widening concourses, expanding concessions, additional social spaces including the Legends of Appleton room, and improving both broadcast and live-streaming technologies. 

It will also include a strength and conditioning center named in memory of 1974 graduate Michael “Buddy” Cornacchia, who died in 2014.

“The character of Appleton Arena has aged over the years like a finely crafted historical home. In the NCAA Division I ice hockey world, it shares the comparable essence of Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. And like those beloved landmarks, renewed in every generation, it needs a timely upgrade,” St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox said in the release. “As one of St. Lawrence’s venerable and distinctive structures, Appleton is the ‘rink of dreams’ for North Country youth and the ‘forever home’ of St. Lawrence hockey. And that’s why this project, envisioned by generous Laurentian families, is so important to our University’s sense of pride and tradition.”

Donor-funded

Two major financial commitments secured last summer as part of the Campaign for Every Laurentian “put the project in motion,” the university said. They included a $10 million donation from 1974 alumnus Tom Dolan and the Dolan Family Foundation.

In addition, the Torrey and MacAllaster families — in memory of William A. (Bill) Torrey Sr. — provided a $1.5 million donation. Since then, St. Lawrence has secured additional “major” gifts, raising close to $17 million to date for the completely donor-funded Appleton-renovation project.

The Appleton Arena project is supported by The Campaign for Every Laurentian, “the largest comprehensive fundraising initiative in the more than 160-year history of St. Lawrence University.” With a fundraising goal of $225 million, the effort will support four priorities: “Endowing Our Future, Learning for the 21st Century, the Power of Connections, and Campus Stewardship as well as continued support for the St. Lawrence Fund,” the school said.