Businesses surrounding Saint Louis University eagerly anticipate events at Chaifetz Arena. Acts and shows such as Ben Folds, Vampire Weekend, Disney Princesses on Ice, and So You Think You Can Dance pull crowds from the St. Louis community with magnetic energy, simultaneously bringing life-blood to several eateries in our immediate proximity.

Triumph Grill and Pappy’s especially have seen greater crowds before and after the events, especially athletic events.

Chaifetz Arena is a SLU project that has really brought SLU community members to campus; our respect and fame has grown within the surrounding community. Children will remember shows such as Disney Princesses on Ice; Neil Diamond was a treat for an older generation. Vampire Weekend has thus far been the concert of the year for many SLU students. Chaifetz has proven its ability to reach out to people from all brackets of life.

Chaifetz’s growing popularity and well-established credibility (it was recognized as being the busiest venue of our size in the nation in the months of April and May of this year according to Venues Today magazine) as a platform for these acts has benefited SLU on many levels. As mentioned earlier, surrounding businesses see an increase in traffic on event days at Chaifetz. In addition, however, we see SLU establishing itself as a welcoming, community and family-friendly campus. We can truly feel like an active part of our surroundings, and it’s a good feeling.

We hope, however, that the administration will recognize that these exciting new changes in our campus dynamic call for an equal number of changes on our part. Greater access to parking (such as Laclede Garage) for games and events will alleviate some of the crowding problems that naturally happen at large venues.

We want to keep people coming to SLU, and some minor changes can help ensure our continuous and joyful interaction with the people of the greater St. Louis community.