The University of St. Thomas will have to look elsewhere for a home for its new ice hockey arena after the Town & Country Club rejected its unsolicited offer to purchase the historic St. Paul golf course.
On Tuesday evening, the private country club said its board of directors had voted unanimously not to entertain the $61.4 million proposal.
In a statement, Town & Country’s board said:
“Over the last week, the Town & Country Club Board of Directors carefully reviewed the University of St. Thomas’ proposal, explored questions related to the proposed transaction and most importantly, listened to input from our members. Having completed that work, the board voted unanimously to reject the university’s proposal and inform them that we have no interest in any further engagement on this topic. Town & Country Club is not for sale.”
St. Thomas had eyed the golf course overlooking the Mississippi River as a new home for a hockey arena and other athletic facilities, including baseball and softball fields, as well as parking.
The Catholic university said this week it is also looking at land associated with the Highland Bridge development, the site of the former Ford automotive plant in Highland Park, among “multiple options being considered.”
In a Tuesday night statement in response to the country club’s announcement, St. Thomas spokesman Andy Ybarra said “we understand and respect this decision. We appreciate that Town & Country’s leadership brought our interest forward to its membership, and we thank them for their consideration.
“Moving forward, we will continue exploring other options that would allow us to develop new facilities to support our D-I athletics programs. Those options include the Highland Bridge development in St. Paul, and others.”
The St. Thomas men’s and women’s hockey teams jumped from NCAA Division III to Division I this fall and are still using St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, its home arena since 2003, for home games. The arena, also home to the St. Thomas Academy high school team, has a capacity of 1,000 fans.
St. Thomas’ campus is largely hemmed in by the Merriam Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods, leaving limited options for expansion.
Leaders of the Town & Country Club, the site of the oldest golf course in Minnesota, had circulated the news of the purchase offer among their membership and contracted a law firm to assess it.