As the U.S. Open Squash tournament kicked off on Oct. 19, elite players from around the world descended upon Philadelphia and, more specifically, Drexel University. For the 13th year in a row, Drexel hosted the U.S. Open Squash tournament. What led to U.S. Squash’s long-standing relationship with Drexel?
The event took place at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center. Located near 33rd Street and Lancaster Ave, the $40 million squash center opened in 2020. The center is named after former Pennsylvania Senator and squash player Arlen Specter.
According to a 2018 Inquirer article, the project found a home at Drexel in 2013 when the idea for a national squash center was born. Before that, it was home to the Drexel Armory, which mainly hosted indoor events for intramurals, tennis and softball.
In 1998, the Armory almost became a new basketball arena, but as former university President John Fry told the Inquirer, “a feasibility study determined they’d have to invest at least $90 million. And that was in 1998 dollars.”
So instead of a state-of-the-art basketball arena, a $40 million squash center was built. Funding for the project came from private donors and not Drexel because the university does not own the land. Instead, the land that houses the squash center is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which leases the land to Drexel. As part of the deal, Drexel subleases the land to U.S. Squash.
In the same article, the Inquirer reported that “bubble arenas will be constructed on campus to house the displaced activities.”
This bubble arena later became the Buckley Bubble, which sat on top of the Buckley Recreation Field, next to the Specter Center. Just four years later, in 2022, the Buckley Recreation Field was demolished to create space for a new private lab space development.
At the time of publishing, a new Buckley Bubble is being constructed and relocated to Vidas, over a mile away from the center of campus. In the meantime, many student activities have been disrupted, including club sports and intramural events.
U.S. Squash’s relationship with Drexel largely came to be because of former President John Fry. He is a well-known squash player, and two of his children played squash at the collegiate level. His son, Nat Fry, played at Drexel from 2013 to 2018. Two of the five courts in the DAC squash center are named after his children.
When Fry became president in 2010, he introduced squash as a D1 program and renovated the courts in the DAC in 2011. From 2010 to 2017, he served on the U.S. Squash board and was the chair of the board from 2013 to 2017.
U.S. Squash states, “Fry’s dynamic, visionary leadership led directly to the Arlen Specter US Squash Center becoming a reality.”
Because of his advocacy for squash in America, Fry was inducted into the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2022.
The growth of squash at Drexel largely seemed to be backed by Fry. He was the one who introduced squash as a D1 sport, despite it not being recognized as one by the NCAA. Fry approved the sublease of the land at a central location on Drexel’s campus to U.S. Squash and while Drexel has since developed a top squash program, as an indirect result, students lost a space to play sports years later.
As the search for a new president of Drexel continues, it remains to be seen what role squash will play in and around Drexel.