St. Lawrence University to use donation for study on renovating Appleton Arena

CANTON, N.Y. — St. Lawrence University will use a donation from an alumnus for a study to consider ways of “renewing and enhancing” the school’s Appleton Arena.

Tom Dolan, who graduated from the school in 1974, and the Woodbury, New York–based Dolan Family Foundation provided the donation, St. Lawrence said in a news release issued Friday.

The school will use the donation as a “planning grant,” according to the news release.

St. Lawrence University didn’t release the dollar amount of the donation, as it has yet to select an architect for the project, Ryan Deuel, director of media relations & acting executive officer for university communications, said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.

The school plans to select an architectural firm “shortly” to develop detailed concepts and plans.

St. Lawrence said it sees Appleton Arena, which originally opened in 1951, as one of the school’s “significant heritage facilities.”

It wants the study to “benefit” participants in the men’s and women’s hockey programs and other intercollegiate and intramural sports. St. Lawrence also hopes the study will suggest ways of “improving the spectator experience,” both in the arena and through online livestream.

With the grant, the donors want St. Lawrence to “ensure that the core essence of Appleton Arena is preserved, the strength and conditioning facilities are modernized, and that the livestream quality of home game broadcasts matches the best in NCAA Division I hockey,” according to the school’s news release.

St. Lawrence has formed two groups consisting of trustees, senior-leadership staff, athletic coaches, and both current and former hockey players to assist in the planning process.

The university expects the full plan will be finished during the upcoming spring semester.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com