COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Lights will be constructed at Saint John's University's Clemens Stadium to improve recreational and intramural usage for students, allow increased practice time for SJU varsity teams and create additional opportunities for high school teams to use the facility, SJU athletic director Tom Stock announced today.

The plan is to have the lights installed by fall, 2011. Funding for the project was provided by the Donald McNeely Foundation.

“These specially designed lights will allow us to better utilize Clemens Stadium -- for late-season football practices, intramurals, club sports and evening high-school athletic events,” Stock said. “Lights will also provide opportunities for various Saint John's Preparatory School athletic practices and competitions.”

“The Clemens Stadium turf is a valuable recreation resource and has been underutilized in the past. The expansion of lights give us the opportunity to program a wide variety of activities,” Stock said.

The lights will be constructed below the level of the pine trees within Clemens Stadium, which will contain the illumination to the venue. They will be shut off at 10 p.m., and used primarily in the spring and fall.

There are no plans to move any starting times for SJU football games, which have traditionally started at 1 p.m. Saturdays. (Late-season NCAA Division III playoff games have started at noon.)

“Although we don't plan on scheduling any night games in the near future, these lights will enable us to continue practicing outdoors late in the season,” head football coach John Gagliardi commented. 

The lights are the latest improvement to the stadium, which was listed by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of 10 “Dream Destinations” in all of college football. Most recently, in 2009, the press box and suite areas were enlarged and improved. A SprinTurf field surface was added in 2002.