Hagan Arena

Hagan Arena
Hawk Hill
Former names	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1949–2009)
Location	Saint Joseph's University 54th and Overbrook Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131  United States
Broke ground	October 6th, 2007
Opened	October 17th, 2009
Owner	Saint Joseph's University
Operator	Saint Joseph's University
Construction cost	$25 million
Architect	Burt Hill
Capacity	4,200
Tenants
Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball (NCAA Division I) (2009–present)

The Michael J. Hagan Arena (previously known as the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse) of Saint Joseph's University is SJU's home court for Men's and Women's basketball. The new arena seats 4,200 which is 1,000 more than the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse seated. The renovation adds a concourse, larger offices and locker rooms, a Hall of Fame room, study rooms, basketball center, and practice facilities.^[1] Seven-hundred seats were added to the student section which puts the total at 1,700 and makes this part of the arena even more intimidating for opposing teams.

History

The original Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse was a 3,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The arena, home to the Saint Joseph's University Hawks basketball opened in 1949 on Hawk Hill and was inaugurated on November 26 with a loss to the University of Rhode Island. The first women's varsity home game was a loss to Immaculata University on January 17, 1974. The building was dedicated to all college soldier-heroes on its dedication day, Veterans Day 1949.[1]

The Hawks were 305-76, winning 80% of their games, in the Fieldhouse. They only had 2 losing records in 57 seasons in the Fieldhouse. In addition to serving as an arena for the basketball teams, Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse also contains locker rooms for students, faculty, and other varsity teams, an additional recreation room, squash courts, a swimming pool, and a weight room.

On October 26, 1967, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to 3,400 people in the Fieldhouse. Today, a bronze plaque in the lobby recognizes his visit. The Hawks won 34 consecutive games in Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. In the 1980s and 90's, the Fieldhouse served as the practice home for the Philadelphia 76ers.[2] There were over 125 sellouts over the last 15 years the Fieldhouse was open.

During the 2007 season, it was announced that the Fieldhouse would be closed and transformed with a $25 million renovation project to provide a 21st century facility for the quickly growing campus. The final game at the Fieldhouse was a win over #8 ranked Xavier University on March 5, 2008. The sellout crowd included Hawk legends Jameer Nelson and Jack Ramsay[3].

During renovations, the Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team played its home games at the Palestra on the University of Pennsylvania's campus.

The arena was named after Michael Hagan, a 1985 graduate of Saint Joseph's and Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania resident who donated $10 million toward the project. The renovation is part of a larger project called With Faith and Strength To Dare: The Campaign For Saint Joseph's University.

Ramsay Basketball Center

The Hagan also includes the Ramsay Basketball Center, named after legendary coach Jack Ramsay, which is a two-story, 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) wing with locker rooms, offices, study space, conference rooms, and a Hall of Fame room.

The first game at Hagan was a win against Drexel University and the Hawks went 8-4 in the first season at Hagan.

See also

Philadelphia portal

• Saint Joseph's University
• Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball

References

1. ^ http://campaign.sju.edu/priorities/fieldhouse.html

Preceded by Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse

Home of the Saint Joseph's Hawks 2009 – present

Succeeded by Current

Coordinates: 40°02′03″N 75°20′12″W / 40.034072°N 75.336553°W / 40.034072; -75.336553