 Facilities
The Billiken Sports Center - BaseballSaint Louis University baseball competes at The Billiken Sports Center on the University campus. The facility opened in 1990 and originally was used for soccer, field hockey and intramurals. In the summer of 1991, a baseball diamond was added to make The BSC more versatile. The first baseball game at the facility ended in a 7-3 Billiken victory over Washington University on March 2, 19992. Dimensions for the baseball field are 330 feet down the lines, 365 feet in the alleys and 395 feet to center. Seating for baseball is 1,000 with space for additional seating. A chain-link fence was built during the 1994, and each sideline now features a true bullpen and batting cage. A new outfield fence was put up in 1999. Until the summer of 1999, The BSC boasted the second-largest artificial surface in the world. Now, after extensive renovation, the soccer, baseball and softball fields are a natural surface. Part of the renovation included adding a warning track in the outfield of the baseball diamond, and a softball diamond was added as well.
Also near The BSC is a nature area with two ponds stocked with wildlife indigenous to St. Louis and Missouri. A recreational putting green also is available for use by students, faculty and staff. The field at The BSC is truly the finest facility Billiken baseball has ever called home. Before 1992, Saint Louis played at Sauget Field in Sauget, Ill. Before that, the Billikens played at Musial Field, which was located where the soccer field now lays. For a long time before the opening of Musial Field in the mid-1960s, Saint Louis played its home games at Forest Park. Located on the University's midtown campus, The Billiken Sports Center is minutes from downtown St. Louis. The baseball field is one block south of Lindell Ave. and two blocks east of Grand Blvd. Parking is available adjacent to the field at the Olive Garage for the University's standard event parking fee. Anheuser-Busch Center - Field HockeyThe Anheuser-Busch Center is a facility that combines the elegance and ambiance of the finest European sports clubs with the resources and capabilities to meet the highest standards of the business community for meetings and other activities. The Center is located in Fenton, Mo., on 32 acres approximately 20 minutes from SLU's midtown campus. The facility is quickly accessible from business, transportation and lodging located throughout the greater St. Louis area. Two of the six fields are artificial playing surfaces, which feature state-of-the-art System 90 Astroturf. Beneath the playing surface, each field has a specially-designed pad and an innovative flow-through drainage system that allows water to drain without accumulating on the playing surface. The Billiken field hockey team plays on Field No. 2, which has a seating capacity of 2,500. The Savvis Center - Men's BasketballThe Saint Louis University men's basketball squad plays in the state-of-the-art Savvis Center in the heart of downtown St. Louis. Savvis Center opened in 1994 and rests on the former site of Kiel Auditorium. Located at the intersection of 14th Street and Clark Avenue in downtown St. Louis, Savvis Center is a contemporary glass and concrete structure with four seating levels, two restaurants (Savvis Club and 14th and Clark), 91 private suites, seven party rooms, dozens of concession stands and food courts and three retail shops. The 665,000-square-foot arena seats approximately 21,000 for Saint Louis University games and floor seating events and accommodates 21,000 for St. Louis Blues hockey games.
Many important renovations were made to Savvis Center prior to the start of this season, including new lighting and sound systems, an expanded Blue Note Authentics store, and The Top Shelf, a unique mezzanine level bar and concession party area overlooking the ice. Regularly ranked among the top 10 arenas in the country in gross ticket revenues, Savvis Center set an all time attendance record last season, with nearly 2.3 million tickets issued. The building played host to a total of 193 events over the season, including St. Louis Blues hockey, Saint Louis University Billikens basketball and a variety of other sporting events, concerts and family shows. The Billikens have ranked among the top 20 teams in NCAA Division I basketball attendance for the past six years, while the Blues have ranked among the top five teams in attendance in the National Hockey League for five of the past seven years. Highlights of the past six years include the 1999 Papal Visit Youth Rally; the 1998 NCAA Midwest Regional Men's Basketball Championship; the 2000 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the 2000 John Hancock U.S. National Gymnastics Championships; superstar concerts including Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Garth Brooks, the Eagles, Pavarotti, Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Kiss, Tina Turner, Cher, Bette Midler, Bruce Springsteen, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; sold out World Wrestling Federation live television events; and record setting grosses for Harlem Globetrotters, Sesame Street Live, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice. Savvis Center looks forward to hosting the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four in 2001. Savvis Center is privately owned by Paige Sports Entertainment, a holding company for investments of the Bill and Nancy Laurie family of Columbia, Mo. Originally known as Kiel Center, naming rights for the building were sold in August 2000 to SAVVIS Communications Corporation, a global data networking and business Internet related services company with dual headquarters in St. Louis and Herndon, Va. Savvis Center Fast Facts
The Billiken Sports Center - SoftballLike baseball, the softball Billikens play at The Billiken Sports Center. The first game at the new diamond was on March 13, 2000, when SEMO defeated the Billikens 10-3. The Billiken Sports Center originally opened in 1990 and was used for soccer, field hockey and intramurals. During the summer of 1991, a baseball diamond was added. The soccer stadium expanded and rededicated Robert R. Hermann Stadium in 1999. The softball complex is the latest addition to The BSC. The softball field is located directly behind the baseball field and across from the parking garage at the intersection of Olive and Compton avenues. The field is equipped with bleachers to seat up to 500 fans. The dimensions of the field are 200 feet down the left and right field lines. In the alleys, the fence is 215 feet, and it is 225 feet to centerfield.
Also near The BSC is a nature area with two ponds stocked with wildlife indigenous to St. Louis and Missouri. A recreational putting green also is available for use by students, faculty and staff. The state-of-the-art diamond is the best facility in Billiken softball history. Prior to the 2000 season, the Billikens played their home games in numerous parks in the St. Louis area, including St. Louis Forest Park, ABC Fields and the Affton Athletic Association. The Billiken Sports Center is located just minutes from downtown St. Louis with the St. Louis Gateway Arch is visible from the softball bleachers. Parking is available for softball games adjacent to the field in the Olive Garage. Quick Facts Robert R. Hermann Stadium - Men's & Women's SoccerThe 1999 season was a significant hallmark for Saint Louis University's soccer program as both men's and women's teams returned to the newly renovated Robert R. Hermann Stadium and enjoyed the benefits of a true home field advantage as both won Conference USA championships. The Billiken men's team christened Hermann Stadium by knocking off defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Indiana 3-2 on Aug. 21, 1999, before a record on-campus crowd of 6,517. The project began on March 17, 1999, with the removal of the synthetic surface, and the sod was laid on May 25. The state-of-the-art surface is a mixture of blue grasses that covers an area of 155,000 square feet. The Billikens play on a regulation 120 x 75-yard soccer pitch. The surface sits upon an 8,400-ton root zone composed of 90 percent sand and 10 percent peat moss. A four-inch gravel drainage blanket is composed of 3,100 tons of pea gravel. The drainage system is capable of filtering 10 inches of rain in an hour. The grass is watered with a sprinkler system that features 70 sprinkler heads connected by approximately 1.5 miles of piping.
The addition of permanent seating on the east side of the stadium, along with expanding the main grandstand, increased the facility's seating capacity to 6,050 from 2,400. Munie Outdoor Services of Caseyville, Ill., was the contractor for the project under the direction of the University's grounds and materials management office. The field is located one block east of Grand Boulevard on Laclede Avenue, just behind Busch Memorial Center. Visitors to campus can park in the 2,000-car Olive Parking Garage adjacent to the soccer facility. Originally opened for play in 1990 as The Billiken Sports Center, the facility was home to the men's soccer team until 1994. It also served as a site for NCAA Division I and II playoff games and as a home field for other local collegiate soccer programs when their fields were unplayable due to severe weather conditions. After the soccer team moved its home games to the Anheuser-Busch Center in 1995, the field was used for Billiken field hockey games as well as campus intramurals. Adjacent to Hermann Stadium is The Billiken Sports Center's baseball and softball diamonds and tennis complex. Hermann Stadium At a Glance
Original Cost: $5.1 million The Billiken Tennis CenterSaint Louis University's tennis programs got a significant show of support from the department of athletics with the opening on The Billiken Tennis Center in the fall of 1998. In a department-wide effort to bring more intercollegiate sporting events to on-campus facilities, the tennis teams were among the first to return to a more convenient site.
The Billiken Tennis Center includes nine lighted courts that are open to the public when the Billikens are not competing or practicing. The St. Louis District of the United States Tennis Association named the Billiken Tennis Center its Facility of the Year on Nov. 4, 1999. Prior to 1998, the Billikens were forced to practice and play matches at a number of sites in the area. Most events were held at the Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center in nearby Forest Park. Located on Laclede Street across from Robert R. Hermann Stadium and The Billiken Sports Center, the facility includes office space for both tennis coaches. Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center - Volleyball & Women's Basketball
The Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center was formally dedicated in 1986 in honor of the late Clarence A. "Bob" Bauman and Walter C. Eberhardt. Bauman was the former trainer for Saint Louis University and the St. Louis Cardinals. Eberhardt served as chairman of the physical education department at the University from 1938-71. The building, constructed in the 1920's, served as the Billikens' homecourt until the team moved to the old Kiel Auditorium in the 1940s. It now houses the athletic department offices and acts as the practice home of the basketball Billikens. The building, which can seat up to 2,200 fans, serves as the homecourt for SLU's women's basketball and volleyball teams.
The front of the building dons a glass entrance, new lighting and trophy cases. The building's lower level has undergone dramatic improvements in recent years with elaborate additions to the weight complex, training room and locker room facilities. In 1999 a new floor was installed along with bleacher seating on the floor. The summer of 2000 saw the addition of a new overhead scoreboard. The back of Bauman-Eberhardt contains the Saint Louis University Hall of Fame, which displays trophies and memorabilia from the outstanding accomplishments of individuals and teams throughout Billiken sports history.
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