The University of St. Thomas is building a new Division I stadium on campus for basketball and hockey, but that doesn’t appeal to everyone.
Many citizens are concerned about parking, traffic, and environmental effects and have posted “Say No” symptoms on the sand in their backyard. A citizens’ organization appealed the approval of the site plan to the city of St. John’s. John’s. Paul. La structure of the arena has been suspended since this appeal was resolved.
“We’d like them to find another one that works much better,” said Don Waage, a spokesman for the residents’ organization Advocates for Responsible Development. “There are a lot of problems in terms of parking, problems related to greenhouse gases and traffic problems. »
But a spokesperson for the University of St. Thomas says they’ve been diligent in communicating with city and state agencies about the plans, as well as neighbors.
“This progression has been reviewed by several city and state agencies and none of them have found a significant impact on the field from an environmental standpoint,” said Jerome Benner, director of community relations and academics at St. John’s University. John. . Thomas.
Benner went on to say that they had 16 listening sessions with neighbors to address their concerns.
The University plans to use round-trip facilities and pre-assigned parking to alleviate some traffic and parking issues.
Benner says that, at most in the evenings, the 5,400-seat venue may not be full.
“We’re making plans to have only 4 games a year at full capacity,” he said.
Plans call for the new one to open in the fall of 2025.
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