If you are familiar with Saint Louis University athletics, you know that not all sports compete or practice on campus. It is difficult to find on-campus space for sports facilities due to the size and location of the campus itself. Sports that are hosted on campus include baseball, basketball, soccer, swimming/diving, track and field, softball, and volleyball, whereas sports that host their home events off campus include cross country, tennis, and field hockey. However, this is about to change for the women of the SLU field hockey team.
Currently, the field hockey team both practices and hosts their home games at SportPort International, an outdoor field complex located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. This facility is roughly 30 minutes from SLU, meaning that a standard practice or game entails about an extra hour of commuting time for each of the girls. Seeing as this is not ideal for the team, a recent decision was made regarding a new field hockey pitch to be used for both practice and games. President Fred Pestello and Athletic Director Chris May agreed on the installation of an on-campus field hockey pitch, expected to be ready for play before the start of the 2024 season. Since field hockey is specifically played on wetted astroturf, the construction of an entirely new field is necessary to ensure the required criteria for play is met. This field is set to be installed on South Campus.
The University News first obtained this breaking news from the Midtown Madness Podcast, a podcast hosted by Zac Miller and Peter Hale about all Billiken athletic news. An interview was then conducted with SLU Athletic Director, Chris May, in which this information was confirmed.
The Midtown Madness Podcast is currently in its fourth season and released the news about the installation of a field hockey pitch at SLU during episode 18 of this season, released on December 11th, 2023. During the conversation, Hale gives his perspective on the time-saving benefit that the field will provide for the girls.
“The quality of life difference when all you have to do is get over to the med campus as opposed to getting all the way out to Earth City… they’re getting days of their lives back in terms of the amount of time that they spent commuting back and forth,” Hale said in his podcast.
Rather than the entire team having to accommodate the 30-minute drive to every practice and game, the commute will now be much shorter, as the only drive necessary is down Grand Boulevard.
Aside from the team and coaching staff, the change of location will also provide an easier commute for fans, especially SLU students. At the current game location in Maryland Heights, it is rare that the team has a student section cheering them on during games because many students do not have cars on campus and there is no transportation provided by the university to take students to and from the field hockey games. Having the field on the South campus will likely increase student attendance at home games since only the campus shuttle is required to get there. Athletic Director Chris May commented on the impacts that the field will have.
“This will be focused on the SLU community, and it’ll really lend itself to students coming in and watching and supporting each other,” May said.
May explained how the installation of the field plays into the three objectives of the SLU Athletic Department, which include education, competition, and building community. With the addition of the on-campus field hockey pitch, the SLU community will be further brought together through support of Billiken sports.
The installation of an on-campus field hockey pitch has been long awaited by both the team and fans and is sure to provide a decrease in travel time as well as an atmosphere of Billiken pride for the women’s field hockey team. Next season is sure to hold excitement for the field hockey team, as they will be the first group to play on this new field and will have the opportunity to set the tone for what is to come in the future of the program.