St. John’s University’s plans for a new on-campus basketball practice facility are still projected to finish on schedule according to President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, who offered additional details on how the facility would impact student life on the Queens campus.

The Spring 2027 completion date for the new facility announced in an email sent to students in March 2024 is still the target.

When asked about a potential groundbreaking date for the project, Shanley established that it could occur very soon.

“It would hopefully be this spring, Spring ‘25,” Shanley told The Torch.

He also clarified the location of the new facility, confirming that it would take the place of the parking lot across from Carnesecca Arena.

Concerning any rough estimate for the budget and cost of the new building, Shanley stated that negotiations are still ongoing. 

“We are in the process of what is called value engineering, trying to drive the price down,” he said. “We’re getting a meeting of the minds together on what we can afford and build but I don’t have a number for it.”

One of his main goals during his tenure has been to add more recreational space to campus for students to enjoy. A plan for more student space is outlined in the original announcement email:

​​”We explored various construction alternatives, always with the same goal in mind: prioritizing uninterrupted use of the existing recreation space for our students and employees.” 

But a clear opening for recreational space becomes available after construction. 

The current home for men’s and women’s basketball practice, Taffner Field House, is being eyed for a brand new “modern Campus Recreation Center,” as said in the email.

“The plan is [to] build this new basketball facility then clear out Taffner, completely gut it,” Shanley said. “I think that would be a game changer for a lot of our students to have bigger, better recreational space.”