For the second time in two years, the city of St. Paul has given the greenlight to a new Division 1 sports stadium at the University of St. Thomas.

Under legal pressure from neighborhood residents to double check its math, the city recently published findings that the 4,000-to-5,500 seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena — a Division 1 basketball and hockey arena already under construction — will not require deeper environmental review through an intensive process known as an Environmental Impact Statement. The arena is to be located at Grand and Cretin avenues.

Following a comment period, the city’s latest determination was made official Tuesday in the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board Monitor: “The city of St. Paul has made a negative declaration and does not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project.”

This is the second time that the city has found an EIS study is unnecessary, based on the lengthy but less elaborate Environmental Assessment Worksheet prepared for the six-acre site by planning and engineering firm Kimley-Horn. St. Paul initially accepted the findings of the original EAW published in June 2023, but neighborhood residents took their objections to court, calling the document incomplete.

Court ruling

In July, an appeals court panel determined the city had prematurely adopted the findings of its previous EAW without considering the cumulative impacts of other construction projects across 11.7 acres of campus, including the new Schoenecker Center, an arts and sciences building situated next to the arena, and a proposed Microgrid Research Center facility that will adjoin Owens Science Hall.

In addition, the court noted the St. Paul Seminary, north and west of the university’s south campus, plans to construct 73 units of surface parking, most of it located within a new parking lot along Mississippi River Boulevard.

The court also found that the arena’s approved EAW failed to include mitigation measures for traffic, parking and greenhouse gas emissions beyond passive approaches, such as monitoring traffic levels for two years.

The city later updated its EAW to include a look at cumulative environmental impacts from the construction projects, as well as specific measures that will be taken to alleviate parking and traffic congestion, among other concerns. With additional comments and appendixes, the newly updated EAW runs to 830 pages.

Construction continues

The updated EAW spells out event-day traffic mitigation measures that St. Thomas is expected to employ, including event-specific signal timing at certain intersections, as well as traffic control officers at Cretin and Grand or Cretin and Summit avenues. The university is exploring additional options, such as pre-paid event tickets that include assigned parking locations, ramp restrictions, restaurant shuttles and free transit passes issued with tickets.

An “Event Management Plan” working group consisting of community members and various city departments will work to finalize the options.

Still, “even with the mitigation measures, maximum basketball events are expected to have a parking deficit of 200 to 300 vehicles on a weeknight,” reads the EAW. “Note: these games are expected to only occur once or twice a year, if at all.” For the busiest game days, shuttles could operate from an off-site parking location such as Allianz Field.

The coalition of residents opposed to the arena, known as Advocates for Responsible Development, have attempted to slow or block arena construction through a variety of means. Among them, they argued that the appeals court decision should have invalidated any building permits and halted construction, which has continued despite their attempts to seek a legal injunction.

“We’re looking at opening in the fall of 2025, which has pretty much been our plan all along,” said Bryce Butzer, a spokesperson for the university, on Tuesday.

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