CANTLON’S CORNER: SACRED HEART ANNOUNCES NEW ARENA DEAL 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

BRIDGEPORT, CT – In all the hoopla on Saturday for the first SNY CT Ice Festival, the Sacred Heart University Pioneers put their stamp of approval on building a brand new on-campus hockey arena.

The arena will be the permanent home for both the men’s and women varsity programs, its club hockey team, and in its national renowned varsity figure skating team.

The $60 million 4,000 seat facility is expected to be open in 2022. The Pioneers are in the AHA conference.

“The facility will be home to our Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs, our nationally ranked figure skating team and our men’s club ice hockey team. It is the continuation of a robust, multi-year building and expansion program reflecting our significant growth, appeal, and national status,” said university President John J. Petillo announced in a prepared press release timed to coincide with SNY CT Ice Festival.

The arena will be located on the West campus of its Fairfield location, which is the home of the University’s Jack Welch College of Business and Technology.

The arena is being designed by architectural firm ALG of North Dakota and the S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury.

The location will be a minute off Exit 46 of the Merritt Parkway for easy access for students and the community.

The hockey team’s present home is presently at Webster Bank Arena and announced its intentions to leave earlier in the year. The team also played in the archaic Milford Ice Pavilion for many years.

“This arena will be the Division I intercollegiate skating crown jewel and a standout facility in the Northeast,” said Jim Barquinero, senior vice president of enrollment, student affairs, 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.”

Barquinero gave a nod to Sacred Heart coaches and hockey players, past and present, whose dedication and commitment led to this moment.

“It truly is the culmination of many years of athletic excellence by all our former hockey players — men and women — who have donned the Pioneer jersey,” he said.

He said future plans call for the addition of a women’s club ice hockey team plus synchronized skating and more.

“The arena will be engineered to the highest standards, with enormous attention to detail and quality involving the design of locker and training rooms, spectator space and the rink itself,” said Michael Kinney, senior vice president for finance. “It will include broadcast facilities and a wide range of complimentary amenities.”

The team’s athletic department is rightfully proud and jacked up for the future this step will bring to the hockey program and the university as a whole.

“This arena will be a game-changer for Sacred Heart University, our student-athletes and coaches, visiting teams and the youth and families already supporting our athletic teams,” said Bobby Valentine, Executive Director of Athletics, of course, the former Major League baseball manager and player and Stamford native.

“Not only does it provide a fitting venue for what will soon be a national hockey powerhouse, but it creates a halo effect that elevates, all of our Division I athletic programs. It’s another example of Sacred Heart’s commitment to providing our student-athletes, students, and fans with a remarkable experience whenever they step on our campus.”

The contrast with UCONN’s hockey arena aspirations can’t be missed.

UCONN announced over a year ago the intention of building a $45 million 2,500 seat on-campus arena that is still mired in its conceptual stages and a completion date is nowhere in sight.

Recently, the planning costs have mushroomed from $400K to $1.4 million and has been shelved for yet another year.

This comes amid the state’s continued budget woes, a $42 million budget shortfall in the athletic program at UCONN and the continued uncertainty surrounding their current home rink, the daily outmoded 50-year-old XL Center.

Sources have said to Cantlon’s Corner over the past month that there is talk of splitting the new arena project at UCONN’s Storrs campus from the planned marriage with a present on-campus training rink and facility Freitas Arena apart than together on the same lot.

The school is required to have an on-campus arena that meets the minimum Hockey East requirements and the 2,500 equals Matthews Arena (Northeastern) and Merrimack’s. It has been a sore point among other conference school members that UCONN has none.

Another year delay hurts head coach Kevin Cavanaugh’s recruiting for UCONN for national prospects with the lack of a true on-campus modern training facility and arena is a critical part of the growth of the program.

When asked Cavanaugh several weeks ago regarding this latest delay was diplomatic in passing the puck upwards.

“Ask our AD and the Board Trustees they have the power on this issue, it’s above my pay grade.”