Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse
nickname =


location = Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA 19131
broke_ground =
opened = November 11, 1949
closed = March 6, 2008 (will reopen as Hagan Arena in 2010)
demolished =
owner = Saint Joseph's University
operator = Saint Joseph's University
surface =
construction_cost=
architect =
former_names =
tenants = Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball (NCAA Division I) (1949-present)
seating_capacity = 3,200

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 and was inaugurated on November 26th 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. [http://www.sju.edu/ir/pdf/fall%2004-spring%2005%20files/Building%20History%209-04.pdf]

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 fieldhouse is currently going through extensive renovations and additions, with many sections of the building being razed for expansion purposes. Work began in the Fall of 2007. The final product of the project will add 1,000 seats to the arena, as well as the addition of a new basketball center, concourse, entrance and lobby on 54th and Overbrook and concessions. The renovations will continue through 2009, resulting in the Saint Joseph's mens basketball team playing their home games at the historic Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, with the women playing on the campus of Philadelphia University. With the reopening, the fieldhouse will be renamed the Michael J. Hagan Arena, in honor of Hagan who donated $10 million to the project. The renovations are expected to cost approximately $25 million. [http://www.philly.com/dailynews/breaking/sports/20070607_St__Joes_Fieldhouse_to_be_renovated__renamed.html]

External links

* [http://sjuhawks.cstv.com/facilities/stjs-fieldhouse.html Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse at SJUHawks.com]
* [http://sjuhawks.cstv.com/genrel/040308aac.html Coverage of Demolition and Construction Progress]