ND arena picture coming into focus
By STEVE WOZNIAK
Tribune Staff Writer
Apparently, two in the bush is better than one in the hand. Or at least that's what Notre Dame is hoping.
Wednesday's announcement that the Irish hockey program had received an anonymous $15 million donation to apply toward a new rink for the team raised more questions than it answered.
Now, there are more answers that should provide hope and comfort for Notre Dame hockey fans and Irish coach Jeff Jackson.
At first glance, the announcement that the price tag had been adjusted upward at least $10 million made it seem that the university had put itself in an even bigger fundraising hole.
Not so, says Senior Associate Athletic Director Bill Scholl, who is overseeing the fundraising efforts to renovate both the North and South Domes of the Joyce Center.
According to Scholl, the hockey program has roughly $20 million in hand to apply toward building a new "arena within an arena" in the Joyce Center's North Dome for the hockey team.
If most or all of the other pending and potential donations should become official, Notre Dame is expected to have approximately $25 million to $30 million to play with when designing the new arena. The final price tag will be determined by just how successful Notre Dame is in collecting some of those donations.
Scholl expected the university to have a more finite figure in 30 to 45 days.
But why upgrade, rather than take what funds were on hand and build what they can for $20 million?
"Of course, we considered that option," said Scholl. "But we immediately realized that this was a 40 to 50-year decision, and we unanimously decided almost immediately that we were going to go for the $25 to $30 million. When you're building something to last for that long a time, you want to make sure it's of the highest quality."
The new arena is expected to have permanent seating for any where from 3,000 to 5,000. It currently seats approximately 2,700.
Jackson was among those in support of waiting for a new building to be used exclusively for hockey, rather than simply settling for an attractive Band-Aid for the current facility.
"What I like the most is that we're keeping the new building within the same envelope (of the Joyce Center complex)," said Jackson. "When we get this building finished, it's going to help the continued growth of our program immensely."
While many of the current players may not get the chance to play in the new arena, current freshmen and most importantly, future recruits, will likely get to skate in what could be one of the premier facilities in college hockey.
Another concern is how construction would happen around the hockey season. The off-season for college hockey is a brief six months, not nearly enough time to tear down the current rink and build a new home for the team.
"Like we did with the football stadium, we may have to work in the summer, shut it down for the season, and then finish the next year," said Scholl. "It may take two offseasons to get it done, but we're hoping we can do it in one. The last thing we want to do is displace the hockey team for a whole season."
