The George B. Myrum Memorial Fieldhouse

    The first ever indoor hockey arena at Gustavus Adolphus College was in the Myrum Fieldhouse, which was located in the parking lot directly north of Uhler Hall. The fieldhouse also housed the Gustavus basketball team, and various other activities throughout the year. Construction of the Myrum Fieldhouse began with a groundbreaking ceremony on September 21, 1938. The building, 220 feet long and 110 feet wide, was the largest structure of its type west of the Mississippi River. The entire cost of the building came to the total of $33,354 and was capable of seating around 5,000 people. One of the main supporters of building this facility was athletic director and football and baseball coach, George B. Myrum.

    A student approached him by the name of, John Holcomb, who wanted to attend a four-year college that had a hockey program that had the capability of playing year round. Thus, Myrum took Holcomb’s wish and made it a reality by having one of the main highlights of the new facility an indoor hockey arena. However, George Myrum did not get to see the final result of the building due to a tragic car accident that resulted in the death of him and a few of his players traveling home from a football game on November 11, 1938. The field house was then dedicated to him in January 1939 and took the name George B. Myrum Memorial Fieldhouse. 

The Men’s Gustavus Adolphus College hockey team thrived starting in 1939 with student John Holcomb as their student coach. However, the hockey team’s time in the facility was short lived due to WWII. The fieldhouse was taken over by the United States Navy and used for a drill hall V-6 program. The hockey boards were then put away and wouldn’t return until the 1970’s when coach, Don Roberts, started the dream for a new hockey arena and the planning for the Lund Center began. The 45-year-old George B. Myrum Memorial Fieldhouse was demolished in 1984.

The Lund Arena (Don Roberts Ice Rink)

The construction of a new hockey rink began in August 1973, with much support from coach, Don Roberts who started his hockey-coaching career in 1964. The hockey rink was the first stage in the building of the physical education and sports facility that would later be the Lund Center. The outdoor hockey rink project cost around $100,000 and remained an outdoors facility until the fund were available. The rink seated around 2,750 and standing room was available for 300 persons. The outdoor rink lacked locker rooms, which was another downfall aside from there being no roof.

        The process of installing a roof over the hockey rink began in September 1974.  With the cost of constructing the roof and the locker rooms, the total worth of the hockey facility was around $900,000. After the roof was completed, the 1975 Nobel Conference was held in the Lund Arena with 3,200 people in attendance. Then, in 1976, the college received a $125,000 grant from the Kreage Foundation of Troy, Michigan, allowing the construction of the Lund Arena to be completed. The facility not only hosted the College’s hockey games, but also was available to the community for high school hockey games, open skate, skating lessons, and even housed the tennis courts in the summer.

        The official Lund Center was completed in 1984 and dedicated to Russel T. Lund, Rhoda Berge Lund, and Patricia Hays Lund on October 21, 1984. The rink could seat 1,500 spectators and 3,000 floor seating. The ice rink was named after former hockey coach Don Roberts, who was head coach from 1964-1997. At his retirement in 1996, he had the most wins as a hockey coach in NCAA Division 111 history. Today, the facility still houses the Men and Women’s Gustavus Adolphus College hockey teams, open skate, intramural sports, and various conventions such as the Nobel Conference every year.

Courtesy of the Gustavus Adolphus College Website

Sources

Lund Ice Arena and Athletic Complex Folder, Vertical Files, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives

Lund Ice Arena and Athletic Complex Folder, Concrete Start, Vertical Files, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives

Lund Ice Arena and Athletic Complex Folder, Rink Gets a Roof, Vertical Files, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives

Myrum Fieldhouse Folder, Vertical Files, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives

Myrum Fieldhouse Folder, Brandrup: Myrum Being Demolished, Vertical Files, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives

Oen, Kyle. "Don Roberts Ice Rink/Lund Center." Vintage Minnesota Hockey. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan 2014. <http://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page/show/1052544-don-roberts-ice-rink-lund-center>.