Proposed basketball and ice hockey arena begins to take shape

By Caleb Tobin 

Stonehill College is planning to construct a combined basketball and ice hockey arena on campus as part of its next five-year strategic plan. 

The new facility will be located across the street from the College, between The Farm and the Easton Cemetery, on a plot of land roughly 14 acres owned by the College.  

A rendering of the proposed facility to be located between The Farm and Easton Cemetery. Photo Credit: Stonehill Athletics

There is no set timeline for when the facility will be ready to open, and the College is currently looking to raise money for construction. 

“Right now, we’re in the early stages of fundraising to try to find some of our largest contributors,” said Director of Athletics Dean O’Keefe. “We don’t have final estimates yet, but it’ll be several million dollars, certainly north of $40 million for the project.” 

The facility is projected to be one of the largest buildings on campus when completed. 

A map showing the plot of land the facility will be built on

Discussions surrounding the new facility began years ago when the College added the women’s ice hockey program, now in its third year. The men's and women’s hockey teams currently practice and hold home games at Bridgewater Ice Arena. 

The move to Division 1, along with the Merkert Gymnasium’s age, were factors in the decision to build a combined facility instead of two separate buildings. 

“It’s a gym [Merkert Gym] that’s probably, you know, its useful life is coming to an end. It’s old. It’s tired. It doesn’t have the best ADA accessibility,” O’Keefe said. “There are a lot of institutions that have a similar type of construction where it’s one building, so you can have some shared things like restrooms and concession stands.” 

Both the hockey rink and basketball court are projected to have approximately 2,000 seats, allowing the facility to be used for community events in addition to athletics. The Merkert Gymnasium, which opened in 1973 and was expanded in 1983, currently seats 1,560 people. 

“This could be a place where perhaps graduation happens as a backup as opposed to the Field House, that maybe where this is where spring concerts go,” O’Keefe said. 

The facility is being envisioned as an academic building in addition to a sports complex, providing opportunities for athletics department interns, exercise science majors, and sports management majors.  

The building will also be open for local groups to rent ice time when games and practices are not occurring since Easton doesn’t have an ice hockey rink. O’Keefe expects the facility to be in high demand when it is completed due to the growth of hockey programs in the region. 

“As much as our teams will be the primary tenets, I think this will be a place where Oliver Ames High School may play hockey. There will be a lot of times when we’ll rent that space to generate revenue for the College when our teams aren’t playing,” O’Keefe said.  

The revenue generated from renting out the building is expected to offset the cost of additional staff needed to maintain the facility. The going rates for renting ice time in the area range from $350-$450 per hour, according to O’Keefe. 

“This is designed to serve the whole community, to serve all of our students, and I think it’ll be a great addition to campus,” he said.