Maryville University

southsidepride · Dec 17, 2007#12007-12-17T16:09+00:00

well it looks like Maryville University is trying to use the Highway 40 shutdown to market itself to those west of 270.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

I guess I can't blame them for seeing an oppotunity to boost enrollment, but I'd like to see the other universities counter by offering shuttle service to the students west of 270 or try to expand housing options for those who would normally commute (maybe weekday dorm options)

Alex Ihnen · Dec 17, 2007#22007-12-17T17:38+00:00

^ or other universities could counter by offering knowledge that would allow students to understand that closing highway 40 isn't going to be catastrophic.

debaliviere · Dec 17, 2007#32007-12-17T18:59+00:00

I would hope that most people would not choose an institution of higher learning just because there's less traffic.

bonwich · Dec 17, 2007#42007-12-17T21:15+00:00

^Indeed. They should have good reasons, like mine for choosing the University of Wisconsin: It was in an 18 state.

southsidepride · Dec 17, 2007#52007-12-17T21:16+00:00

^ I remember an episode of "Family Ties" where the college Mallory Keaton and neighbor Skippy attended was more known for its steaks than for its education.

And while I don't remember any college cafeteria serving steaks the fact that Maryville is going down this road (no pun intended) in its marketing will similarly brand it as an institution.

crbswiss · Dec 17, 2007#62007-12-17T21:37+00:00

^When I was in the dorms at UofI (Weston) they served steaks every wednesday! "Fat Don's" as the event was called, drew the entire meal-plan carrying population of the campus.

sc4mayor · Apr 01, 2022#72022-04-01T17:06+00:00

Maybe this could be renamed to a general Maryville thread (and also maybe move it out of the Transportation section lol)…big project coming to the corner of 64/141.

Maryville University plots campus expansion with mixed-use development anchored by 3,000-seat esports arena
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... h-D1Awu-OY

The project is also slated to include a five-story residence hall that would house 400 students above 6,000 square feet of retail that would be open to the community. Most of the 1,300 parking spaces needed for the project would be inside a parking garage. The site would also have outdoor plazas, walking trails and bike paths for students and the community. The shopping center, owned by Solon Gershman Inc., an entity of Gershman Commercial Real Estate, was appraised at $3.83 million in 2021, down from $5.1 million in 2020. The owners had marketed it for sale as far back as 2017.

framer · Apr 01, 2022#82022-04-01T18:10+00:00

Okay, I gotta ask: Are there actual scollerships available for eSports players to attend a university?

sc4mayor · Apr 01, 2022#92022-04-01T18:15+00:00

I know nothing about esports, but there's no mention of scholarships here. Looks more like a club activity.
https://www.maryville.edu/studentlife/esports-clubs/

The arena is kind of cool though. Maybe it could be built with some flexibility where high schools or smaller colleges in West County could use it for a number of different events. Regular sports, graduations, etc.

Laife Fulk · Apr 01, 2022#102022-04-01T18:34+00:00

Yes, there are scholarships for esports at some universities. They're not the same as athletics scholarships (and aren't regulated by the NCAA at all). I don't believe any are to the level of full tuition, but they can range up to $5k per year at some universities and college (and there may in fact be some places that offer full tuition scholarships, I just haven't dug into it that much).

npav · Apr 01, 2022#112022-04-01T19:32+00:00

I am not that into e-sports (despite being a traditional sport nut and loving video games, e-sports just never appealed to me), but a lot of people are, and it's an emerging thing that is being accepted into the mainstream, so really cool to see an STL institution get into it with a stadium! It's a very nice looking facility, unique to the region, and I'm sure it'll get a lot of use.

EDIT: After some google work, I believe this would be the largest dedicated e-sports facility in the USA. Passing the current largest in Arlington, TX by 500 seats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esports_Stadium_Arlington

dredger · Apr 01, 2022#122022-04-01T22:41+00:00

sc4mayor wrote: ↑
Apr 01, 2022
I know nothing about esports, but there's no mention of scholarships here. Looks more like a club activity.
https://www.maryville.edu/studentlife/esports-clubs/

The arena is kind of cool though. Maybe it could be built with some flexibility where high schools or smaller colleges in West County could use it for a number of different events. Regular sports, graduations, etc.

The other thought depending on how the space built out is robotics competitions. Essentially covered the area of a basketball court. My teenage son was involved in his first one and the gym was packed without even allowing public spectators (covid caution).

Trololzilla · Apr 02, 2022#132022-04-02T11:20+00:00

npav wrote: ↑
Apr 01, 2022
EDIT: After some google work, I believe this would be the largest dedicated e-sports facility in the USA. Passing the current largest in Arlington, TX by 500 seats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esports_Stadium_Arlington

Would be cool to see some smaller Counter Strike or Dota 2 tourneys/events held here.

Suburban Sprawl · Apr 03, 2022#142022-04-03T01:20+00:00

Maryville's story is quite interesting. They are one of the fastest growing universities in the country. Interesting to see them plotting further expansion of the campus here too. They have lots of branding around Busch and BPV. Quite aggressive moves they are making to grow the University both in physical footprint and just general awareness. Wouldn't surprise me if in the third/additional phases of BPV if there is any office space there they lease some for a DT base.

jshank83 · Apr 03, 2022#152022-04-03T03:41+00:00

npav wrote: ↑
Apr 01, 2022
I am not that into e-sports (despite being a traditional sport nut and loving video games, e-sports just never appealed to me), but a lot of people are, and it's an emerging thing that is being accepted into the mainstream, so really cool to see an STL institution get into it with a stadium! It's a very nice looking facility, unique to the region, and I'm sure it'll get a lot of use.

EDIT: After some google work, I believe this would be the largest dedicated e-sports facility in the USA. Passing the current largest in Arlington, TX by 500 seats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esports_Stadium_Arlington

Philly planned on building a 3500 seat one pre pandemic. Not sure on its current status.

https://fusionarenaphilly.com/

framer · Apr 03, 2022#162022-04-03T12:33+00:00

Anyone know what the material will be on those vertical slats? Something with inherent variations in color and texture, or something uniform and boring? Seems to me that that's what will make or break the design.

Miss Shell · Apr 03, 2022#172022-04-03T13:21+00:00

While I'd be fine having the arena in that location, I don't think I'd want to live in the new dorms. You'd have to walk across two highways to get to the main campus.

Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk

sc4mayor · Apr 03, 2022#182022-04-03T14:53+00:00

^ Considering Maryville’s current setup, I’d wager most will be driving anyway.

It also wouldn’t be difficult for Maryville to run a shuttle between the two if necessary.

sc4mayor · Apr 07, 2022#192022-04-07T16:47+00:00

Some more details from the PD. Nice to see the arena will be built with other sports in mind:

A new state-of-the-art venue, which also will serve sports like wrestling, volleyball and basketball, would help raise Maryville's status in the multibillion-dollar esports industry while helping to grow the sport locally. The arena could also be an economic driver for the area. An esports tournament sold out at St. Louis University's 10,600-seat Chaifetz Arena a few years ago, said Dan Clerke, Maryville's director of esports.

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... -top-story

chriss752 · Apr 07, 2022#202022-04-07T18:30+00:00

+1

TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 · Apr 18, 2022#212022-04-18T15:11+00:00

I had a few conversations over the last week regarding this topic and directly heard of students getting "full rides" to major universities on eSports scholarships. Not just 5k, but 20k+. Same schools are pumping tens of millions into eSports facilities. Reason? eSports is a roughly multi-Billion a year global industry that is largely viewed as untapped.

Locally, even high schools are getting into the mix, fielding competitive teams, and in the case of CBC, building their own state-of-the-art on campus facility. SLUH uses the science center's e-tainment zone after hours.

Mind boggling for a guy who grew up on Atari, Nintendo and Sega Genesis.

framer · May 14, 2022#222022-05-14T17:19+00:00

Here's a pretty lengthy article covering the April 20th public meeting:

"Maryville has big dreams for Woods Mill Center but Town & Country neighbors say, ‘Not so fast’"

https://www.westnewsmagazine.com/maryvi ... 2b727.html

sc4mayor · May 14, 2022#232022-05-14T17:29+00:00

^ Great find. I was never much of a reader of West Newsmagazine but that was a well written and in-depth piece.

Not at all surprised about the resident complaints. Town and Country (as that retired planning official said) has long fought to "keep the country in Town and Country." It is nice to get a site plan and some additional renderings though.

(apparently Chris posted these a few posts back, but I didn't see them)

framer · Feb 01, 2023#242023-02-01T22:20+00:00

New plans call for a smaller arena/event space, a single-story restaurant, and a bunch of parking. No dorms. No hotel.

https://www.constructforstl.org/maryvil ... ll-center/

sc4mayor · Aug 12, 2023#252023-08-12T04:46+00:00

Maryville University pulls plan for esports arena after resident complaints
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/bus ... -top-story