January 9, 2010
Hagan Arena (Capacity: 4,200)
Philadelphia, PA
Saint Joseph’s Hawks vs Fordham Rams
Final Score: 82 – 69
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My second trip ever into Philadelphia was to visit Saint Joseph’s University and their newly renovated arena on a very cold, but sunny January day. The school’s basketball team has been successful over the years as the Hawks have won many Atlantic Ten regular season titles. They have appeared in 19 NCAA tournaments with an Elite Eight and a Final Four appearance. Their best team was the 2003-2004 squad, which went undefeated in the regular season, led by Jameer Nelson and Delonte West. The small Jesuit school has 8,500 students and ranks quite high in many categories. Built in 1949 and originally known as Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, Saint Joseph’s basketball arena underwent a $27 million, two-year renovation. When it reopened in 2009, the Fieldhouse was renamed in honor of Michael Hagan, who was a significant donor to the project. Along with many upgrades, an additional 1,000 seats were added.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
Saint Joseph’s is just within the limits of the fifth largest city in the United States. Philadelphia has a ton of history and there are many places to visit that highlight Philly’s storied past. Campus is called “Hawk Hill” and it is in Overbrook, a neighborhood in northwestern Philadelphia about 20 minutes from Center City. The small campus features a couple of old, gothic-like buildings. Barbelin Hall is worth a look as it is a quick walk from the arena. Lots of strip malls and shopping plazas line nearby City Ave, nothing really worth seeing. The one exception is the excellent Larry’s Steaks, which is across the street from the arena. I had one after the game and it was an awesome, authentic Philly cheesesteak.
Location Ranking: 6 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
City Ave separates Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and it is surprisingly easy to get to. An exit right off of I-76 (exit 339) leads there. After making a left on 54th Ave, the parking lots for Hagan are nearby. There are not many spaces in the main lot (I arrived early enough to get one), however a garage across the street satisfies the overflow. From Center City, fans can also take SEPTA public transit to the Overbrook station. The area in general has a lot of car movement and whether you are slowed down by traffic or not is variable.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
The first building most fans see is the Jack Ramsey Basketball Center, which houses offices and other rooms. Tucked around back is the actual arena and it’s a little difficult to gauge the shape because of the other attached buildings. The front and back entrances are flat and the main entrance is the one that faces campus. Here, it is made up of a couple shades of light-colored brick and features different styles of windows throughout the front. Near the top of the arena are small red letters saying “Hagan Arena” and a small St. Joe’s crest. The back of the Fieldhouse faces 54th Ave and features another entrance with the name written on the building.
Exterior Ranking: 6 out of 10
Concourse and Food
Fans enter into a main lobby, which is small, but furnished nicely. Along with a huge Hawk logo on the floor, there is a monitor on the front wall which plays the game telecast. The arena name is spelled out in silver above, while two display cases show team accomplishments. A few merchandise tables are set up, along with an area for food that offers standard fare (hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, etc) and of poor quality at that. The disorganized box office is to the left of the lobby and I had my issues there (see Other Stuff). A concourse on the second level is small as well and also offers some food stands. Hagan Arena is a tight space and there is not much room to move around.
Concourse Ranking: 1.5 out of 5
Food Ranking: 2 out of 8
Interior
The Fieldhouse has always been known as a bandbox and though an additional thousand seats were added from the renovation, it remains a confined facility that can garner lots of noise. Seating configuration is not the greatest and the low roof really makes things look and feel cramped. On the sides are two “levels” that are flat with all of the chairbacks facing straight ahead. This poses a problem if you are stuck at the end of a sideline section as the view is pretty terrible as you are pointed behind the basket. The bottom level folds in and only has about four or five rows. At the ends are two sections of plastic bleacher seats that are disconnected from the sides and extend pretty far back. Students sit at one end and they make up nearly a quarter of the building. Some of the higher end seats in the arena look like they may be obstructed by the roof. Seats are colored scarlet, while closer to the court on the ends, the sections spell out S-J-U in gray. The roof is quite low and red cylinder piping lines the ceiling. Above the side seating is a walkway with windows on the wall that allows natural light in. Seating is intimate though and the chairs aren’t too bad.
Interior Ranking: 6 out of 14
Scoreboard
The red, four-sided scoreboard displays time and score at the top, while a large video screen makes up most of the scoreboard in the center. However, the screen’s only purpose was to play advertisements. Each corner had a flat board on the wall that provided additional game information including player fouls and points.
Scoreboard Ranking: 1.5 out of 4
Displays
The main lobby features two display cases, each for the men’s and women’s basketball achievements. There are some interesting items in here that are worth looking at. Also in the lobby, is a nice touch that is a small plaque denoting Martin Luther King Jr’s 1967 appearance in the Fieldhouse. In the upper concourse, some of the walls featured large picture murals of past teams and players. Inside, the most noticeable banners have player pictures on them. There are seven retired numbers hanging above the court and each banner is really well done with a large player picture and then the name, number and years they played. Otherwise, Atlantic 10 team banners were up there as well, but no Saint Joseph’s championship or honor banners were found. That missing piece is a big one.
Displays Ranking: 3.5 out of 6
Cost
Prices were on the high side as they seemed geared more toward the big city as opposed to a small college. Tickets were $20 with a $5 fee. Overall $25 for an A-10 game is ok, but they should price down those awful seats in the 200 level behind the basket. Parking was a high $10 and my program was $5. Food prices were reasonable.
Cost Ranking: 6 out of 8
Fan Support
Villanova and Temple garner the most following in the area as the other local schools have their own niche (but passionate) groups. Saint Joseph’s is probably the most ardent of that group, though I’m not sure if that is a lingering byproduct of the 2004 historical run when they were ranked #1 in the country. Attendance so far this season has been near capacity for all games and the one that I saw featured just a smattering of empty seats. Saint Joe’s fills their gym better than most of the other A-10 schools.
Fan Support Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The atmosphere was really solid, despite the students being away on break and the team playing poorly. It was not deafening nor extremely intimidating in there, but when the crowd made noise, it was quite loud. There were a few times the reached that level: when the refs made a bad call (lots of angry booing) and then again when the Hawks made a big run. Fans also gave the team a rousing ovation at the end for pulling out the win. There was a pep-band and student section, but again the turnout was low with the kids on break. A few of the chants I heard included “Let’s Go, St. Joes” and “S-J-U”. Their famous saying is “The Hawk Will Never Die” and though I never heard it chanted, it was crazy to watch their Hawk mascot flap its wings the entire game without stopping once. The pep band plays “When the Hawk comes Flying in” to the tune of “When the Saints come marching in”.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Saint Joseph’s is part of the Big 5, an unofficial conference featuring Division I schools from the Philadelphia area. It is a historical group of teams and the games against each other are passionate. La Salle, Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova make up the Big 5 and these teams play each other once a year (Drexel also plays in the city, but for some reason is not included). As the saying goes, “They say there is no real prize for winning the Big Five. They must not be from Philly.”…..One of the most heated Big 5 battles each year is between Villanova and Saint Joe’s. The Holy War is fierce with some heated games…..During the 2008 season, the Hawks played at the historic Palestra while the Fieldhouse was transformed…..I had some ticketing issues at this game as the will call ticket I ordered a week earlier was not at the box office. How that gets messed up I don’t know. I wasn’t pleased, but the staff gave me a random ticket on the sideline.
Game
The game was close throughout as neither team could string a run to put the game away. Fordham led by five at the half and Saint Joe’s seemed to get the edge in the second half, but Fordham’s rebounding margin kept them in it (they led that stat 46-30). Finally, a late 9-0 run pushed the Hawks lead to 74-66 and they went on to win the game. Darrin Govens scored 21 and Todd O’Brien had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
