The St. John’s University baseball Johnnies will have a new clubhouse at Becker Park thanks to donations from alumni, parents and friends of SJU baseball.
The 3,800-square-foot building will be constructed between the third base dugout at Becker Park and Durenberger Fields Drive. It will have a locker room with space for 55 or more athletes, making more room in the locker room at the Warner Palaestra.
'Right now, we really don’t have a home,' said coach Jerry Haugen. 'Our lockers are in the Palaestra, and especially during the five-and-a-half weeks of fall practice, we’re squeezing into any spots available to us. During the spring, we take up half the football locker room. But this will give us a place we can call our own.'
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for April and builder Donlar Construction expects to be finished with the project by January 2024, according to SJU. Becker Park opened in 2013 and is named for donors Scott and Julie Becker.
After playing football and baseball, Scott Becker graduated from SJU in 1977. He has been a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team for seven seasons.
Haugen said the new facilities will help with recruits, saying the locker room 'will really deliver the wow factor.'
'The objective is to create the best Division III baseball experience in the country, and to provide the facilities that make that possible,' said John Young, the associate vice president for institutional advancement at SJU. 'Our goal is to win national championships.'
The school has not released the expected price for construction but named the Becker family as a large contributor. Scott Becker is a founder of Northstar Capital and has contributed significant sums of money to the Johnnie athletic department.
St. John’s is 9-8 so far this year but has had trouble playing at home because of inclement weather. Its first two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Concordia Moorhead (6-10) and Saint Mary’s (6-8) have been postponed.