Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Sacred Heart University Breaks Ground on Ice Arena

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/16/21

Sacred Heart University, located in Fairfield, Conn., has officially broken ground on the construction of a $70 million ice arena to be located in west campus. The arena continues a multiyear expansion program that aims to foster personal development, student growth, and student engagement, says SHU President John J. Petillo.

The arena will play home to the university’s men’s and women’s Division I hockey teams, the figure skating team, the men’s club team, and the women’s club team (whose inaugural season is set for fall 2021).

“This arena will be a Division I intercollegiate skating cornerstone and one of the best in the Northeast,” said Jim Barquinero, the university’s senior vice president for enrollment and athletics. “In addition to providing a sophisticated and beautiful home venue for our teams, it will serve our entire university community and residents throughout the region.”

The new arena will be named in honor of Marisa and Frank Martire, who donated $5 million to the arena’s development. Frank Martire is a graduate of SHU from the 1960s, serves as chairman of the university’s board of trustees, and holds an equity interest in the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

The facility will measure in at more than 122,000 square feet and include state-of-the-art ice management technology to maintain the NHL regulation-size rink (200 feet by 85 feet). The complex will also include locker rooms, workout facilities, a sports medicine and hydrotherapy suite, practice rooms, and meeting and lounge areas. Figure skaters will benefit from a pro-motion training harness and their own custom-designed locker room.

The rink’s first action is already scheduled for Jan. 14, 2023, when the men’s ice hockey team will face off against Boston College. The women’s team’s first game will take place the following day against Harvard University.

“This is a historic day, not only for the university, but for our hockey programs,” said men’s ice hockey team head coach C.J. Marottolo. “This arena has NHL amenities with a collegial feel. Our teams and students will have a place to call home, and that really fills my heart.”

Thomas O’Malley, head coach of the women’s ice hockey team, agrees wholeheartedly: “We are so excited for the new arena and what it will do for our team,” he said. “It’s going to continue to allow us to recruit and bring in Division I student-athletes here to SHU.”

The facility is also sure to delight hockey fans with a hanging scoreboard, lighting effects, a pro shop, food and beverage facilities, and luxury suites. “Sacred Heart spent a lot of time focusing on the fan experience,” said Barquinero. “We want this arena to be a destination for fans and families to enjoy cheering on the Pioneers. From fan engagement, youth programs, high school games, and open skate, all are welcome.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • CU-Lock Haven Receives $1.75M Gift for New Entrepreneurship, Media Center

    Commonwealth University-Lock Haven in Lock Haven, Penn., recently received a $1.75-million donation from entrepreneur and alumnus Nicholas Subich ’17, according to a university news release. The funds will go toward establishing the Nicholas Subich Center for Entrepreneurship and Media, a technology-driven hub for innovation and experiential learning.

  • Quattrocchi Kwok Architects Opens New Office in Denver

    Education planning and design firm Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) recently announced that it has opened a new office in Denver, Colo., the firm’s third overall. QKA is headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif., and runs an East Bay Area office in Oakland.