Draddy Gymnasium, home of the Jaspers.
MANHATTAN.EDU/ COURTESY
By Mack Olmsted, Features Editor
Manhattan College hosted this year’s Buzzell basketball game with Horace Mann Preparatory School and Riverdale Country School, both of which are Riverdale neighbors to MC.
With the success of hosting the Buzzell game, MC is looking to host more outside vendors and organizations to rent out the athletic facilities, with Draddy Gymnasium and Gaelic Park being the two main sites.
Draddy was packed with over 500 fans in the stands, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady. The feedback was overall positive, and MC is looking to host more high school and other organization events with its athletic facilities.
“The students love playing at Manhattan,” Horace Mann athletics director Matt Russo said. “They enjoy the bigger space and the TV lights. The benefit of being there is both Horace Mann and Riverdale can make it an event instead of just a game. We had a great turnout this year and neither of our home gyms could support that. Our relationship with Manhattan [College] is terrific. Irma Garcia and Anthony Kurtain are great to work with and we plan on working together for many years.”
Horace Mann has partnered with MC to host its Buzzell game at the college for a while. The athletics department unanimously agrees that hosting external events in these facilities is beneficial for both the college and the local schools.
Deputy director of athletics Anthony Kurtin is pleased to work with the schools.
“We’re gonna be good neighbors and give them our gym whenever we can,” Kurtin said. “We are glad to give a high school student-athlete a chance to play on a college court. It’s a special treat to get to play the big game at a college court.”
Kurtin explained to The Quadrangle that, in the foreseeable future, there are plans to host more events for outside organizations; however, they will not conflict with any MC-associated events.
Before an outside vendor can book a date, the college makes sure that the schools’ organizations come first.
“We just want to try to help, as I said, [we] hope to help the community around us all,” Kurin said. “All of this is good for the college because ultimately those are our feeders to get students. If we put on a good show, they’re gonna want to come to school here, so that’s the ultimate goal.”
Jay Ahmed, director of facilities and operations, agreed with Kurtin and hopes that the college will host more games in the future so that more people can enjoy what MC has to offer.
Renting out these athletic facilities is a “revenue generator” according to Ahmed. He explained that by renting out these facilities revenue goes back to athletics, and sometimes the campus as a whole. With the college’s budgets being the main source of conversation this year, Draddy has proved itself to be a useful asset.
“We have two wonderful facilities that we’re highly looking forward to working with outside vendors, whether it’s other college campuses, any kind of corporate companies, or private training organizations,” Ahmed said. “We look forward to building more relationships and making Draddy fun at the college.”