Remodeled McCarthy Gym to Reopen Sept. 6

McCarthy Gym, closed over the summer for a second round of remodeling, will reopen for students, staff, faculty alumni and the community on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Located on the University of St. Thomas south campus (south of Summit Avenue and west of Cretin Avenue), the gym opened in 1968 primarily for the use of seminarians of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and priests from the archdiocese. The university acquired the gym under a 1987 affiliation agreement between the university and the seminary.

The first phase of the gym’s remodeling was completed in the summer of 2010. Last year, the gym’s pool was removed and replaced with a second, multipurpose, wood-floor gym. The renovation included new men’s and women’s locker and shower areas, and cardio and strength areas and equipment.

In the second phase, which took place this summer, the level beneath the new gym was remodeled to provide locker and support services for the varsity men’s and women’s soccer teams and the fastpitch softball team.

In addition, the lobby on the main floor was rearranged to accommodate an elevator that was added to the building. Also, one of the four, second-floor racquetball courts has been converted to the gym’s cardio-exercise room. The former cardio room on the first floor now is used by the university’s crew team.

The university converted the McCarthy pool to a gym last summer in part to replace the heavily used third-floor gym in O’Shaughnessy Hall, which was torn down to make room for the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex as well as the Anderson Student Center that will open early next year.

McCarthy Gym will follow its regular schedule when it opens Sept. 6.  The facility is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. It is closed Sunday.

Students, staff and faculty may use the gym at no charge by showing their current St. Thomas ID card. Alumni and community members can purchase a 25-visit punchcard for $100 at the gym’s front desk.

Members of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex who are participating in the Wellness Rebate Program offered by the Human Resources Department can have their card swiped at McCarthy Gym. This will count toward the 12 visits per month required to receive a rebate.

McCarthy Gym is named for Monsignor Louis J. McCarthy, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who served the St. Paul Seminary from 1936 to 1948 and again from 1958 to 1968.

Ordained in 1932, McCarthy received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Louvain in 1936.  Sometimes called “Big Lou” because of his 6-foot-4-inch height, McCarthy taught at the seminary from 1936 to 1940 and was spiritual director from 1940 to 1945.

McCarthy served as the seminary’s rector from 1958 to 1968.  In addition to the gym, he oversaw seminary campus renovations that included the Brady Educational Center and Binz Refectory.