St. Thomas raises $131 million for new basketball, hockey arena
St. Thomas basketball teams enter Year 4 in Division I
University of St. Thomas basketball coaches John Tauer and Ruth Sinn spoke Monday in front of what will be their new arena next season. Both Tommies teams open their 2024-2025 season in two weeks.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The University of St. Thomas will open its new arena for basketball and hockey in time for the 2025-26 season, the first year in which the programs will be eligible for the Division I postseason.
Wednesday, the school announced it has received more than $131 million in donations to help pay for Lee and Penny Anderson Arena. It’s the largest single fundraising campaign for a facility in the school’s history.
About the project
Why you should care:
The fundraising campaign started when Lee and Peggy Anderson announced a $75 million donation for the project in January of 2023. The gift is one of the 10 largest known in collegiate athletics ever nationally, and it’s the largest gift ever given in Minnesota.
St. Thomas has also gotten gifts from the Ryan and Iversen families for the project. The school has raised more than $56 million since the Anderson’s donation in 2023. They’ve gotten 13 gifts of $1 million or more, six of those being more than $5 million. In total, 35 donations reached the $131 million goal.
St. Thomas has Division I success
What we know:
The Lee and Peggy Anderson Arena will have about a 5,000-seat capacity for basketball, and 4,000 for hockey. The Tommies have seen success quickly in their transition to Division I. The football team won the FCS Pioneer League in just its second season.
This past year, the men’s basketball program led by John Tauer went 24-10 and reached the Summit League Conference Tournament championship game.
Season tickets on sale April 21
Timeline:
Season tickets for men's and women's basketball and hockey will go on sale to the general public starting April 21.
The Source: Information was provided by the University of St. Thomas.