January 1, 2024
With over 125 D3 Men’s Volleyball programs in the country, we see a wide variety of home courts and facilities of different sizes and investment. Some are older than others and represent the traditions and culture of each individual school. Over the years, we have seen many of the facilities, certainly not all, but can comment on what we have seen. The home field advantage is overwhelming in some facilities especially when traveling and trying to steal a win at Tarble Arena in Carthage or in Santa Cruz at the home of the Banana Slugs. Every time we visited Juniata, we left shell shocked. Partly from the big crowd and support from the Eagle fans and partly from navigating the twist and turns over the mountain car ride to get there. We have seen some great technology at certain locations like Kean or Stevenson. The video production capabilities were awesome. We have seen large facilities that are absolutely state of the art like Roanoke where it is virtually impossible to hit the ceiling with a volleyball, even if you punt it. And other facilities like the Barn at Southern Virginia where you feel like you can reach up and touch the ceiling with your hand. We have watched the snow fall in Rochester at St. John Fisher’s arena through glass panels that wall the top of the arena. And felt the nostalgia ooze from the rafters at Springfield College. All of the arenas are unique and offer some twists that can provide an advantage to hometown teams.
Last season, we traveled to NYU to view a game at their temporary Brooklyn facility. It was not an arena that made it easy to watch a game as a fan. I think there was one row of seating for guests at floor level. Much better to watch the live stream at this location which was actually done very well.
This year, in 2024, the long awaited and state of the art John A. Paulson Center has opened on Mercer Street in NOHO. This has been 13 years in the making from original thought and design through construction and opening. Here is a list of just “some” of the new added facilities:
Over 700,000-square-feet of space in the new building, which is now the largest owned by the university.
58 new classrooms added to NYU’s Washington Square campus.
Three theaters.
Two dining locations.
Three residential towers, which house 400 first-year students.
An ensemble practice room.
42 faculty apartments which are housed in a separate tower with its own entrance.
And subterrainian sports facilities:
Four basketball/volleyball courts.
A pool.
Cardio and weightlifting equipment.
Martial arts rooms.
Squash courts.
Here is a gallery of some of the pictures gathered on the new spaces…
So how much does a facility like this cost to build in NYC? When all of the invoices were added up over the past decade, the final amount exceeded 1.2 billion dollars. Yes, with a “B”.
For visiting teams this year, you might as well make a day of it in one of the best parts of Manhattan. Watching some highly competitive D3 volleyball, dinner in SOHO, and a walk around one of the most eclectic parts of New York City.
The Violets are expected to have a top 20 team in the country and recruit most of their players from California. The excitement is building for the team as the new season approaches. NYU will debut the new digs on January 10th when they host D1 Farleigh Dickinson for a scrimmage before departing to Santa Cruz, California where they will have their first three matches of the season against # 18 UC Santa Cruz, #5 Carthage, and #7 Cal Lutheran. NYU is currently ranked #16 in the country in InsideHitter’s most recent preseason ranking update.