By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Oct. 7, 2025: As is my custom at the start of the school year, I interview our educational partners. I spoke at length with Sarah Lawrence College President Cristle Judd several weeks ago and this week I turned my sights to Dr. Seamus Carey, President of Iona University.

Given that Iona has a very timely project before our Planning Board, I concentrated more on the specifics of the project as opposed to the storied history of the university, which I shall do in a follow up column.

Is it really going to be a D1 stadium or are you planning to remain with the 150 seats requested of the Planning Board?

We are not building a stadium. We are updating a space currently used as a college baseball field to make it a safer, more appealing field with better use of space – but it will remain a baseball field. The seating would accommodate a maximum of 138 spectators, mainly parents of the players. We average about 75-90 spectators at games.

Similar to how we have updated buildings like Feth Hall and the Meyer gymnasium – we are upgrading facilities to be used for the same or similar purposes as they were used before we purchased the campus – but we are improving them to address safety, accessibility, aesthetics and become more in line with the needs of the Iona student community. The feedback we have received from the community is that the renovations we have done on the campus have been high quality and tastefully done. We similarly aim to accomplish the same outcomes with this project.

Is there any difference between D1 and D2 baseball talent?

The Bronxville campus has a long history of quality college baseball and excellent baseball players. In terms of player talent and hitting strength, there is not much of a difference between Iona’s D1 team and the D2 baseball teams that played here for Concordia in the past. The talent is pretty comparable when you consider that Concordia had several players who were drafted to play in the major leagues.

Will you be putting up nets to catch potentially stray balls?

Yes, the updates to the baseball field include nets around the field that would confine stray balls to stay within the baseball field. The specifications for the netting are determined by careful studies, which take into account all variables that influence and determine the flight path of baseballs. There is no danger of baseballs flying outside the field of play.

How many home games do you think will be played on the field each spring?

There will be 15-20 home games each year. We do not plan to host tournaments.

What might be the hours of usage of the field, including practice, etc. just a bit of a daily timeframe?

Baseball season runs September to late October, then late February to early May, weather dependent. Practices include a combination of indoor workouts and practice on the field, consistent with what the baseball team’s current schedule is now. The team typically practices between noon and 4 p.m.

Will the tennis courts be impacted?

Yes, they will. Throughout this process there has been a push for us to address flooding in the surrounding area. In close consultation with our engineers and the engineers working for the village, we have agreed to install water mitigation systems on our property. Unfortunately, one of the tanks that will be used for this system will be located under one of the tennis courts. This will force us to incur additional expenses to tear up and then repair the court after the tank is installed.

Additionally, we will be taking one tennis court offline to build a bullpen to service the baseball field.

Do you share the field with other youth groups?

Between our turf field, two basketball courts, softball field, baseball field and performance space, we have shared our spaces with roughly two dozen different community groups. This includes everything from baseball and lacrosse teams, including those from Bronxville Youth Lacrosse, Tuckahoe High School, and Eastchester Little League, among others, to trainings for police and fire departments to non-profit community service events with organizations including the American Cancer Society and more. We look forward to continuing to build new partnerships and welcome the opportunity to discuss use of our spaces. The best way to inquire about space usage is to contact Kimberly Winston in our Office of Conference Services at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 914-637-7790.

Are stadium lights in your project requestor wanted going forward?

Contrary to false information spread online about this project, lights are not, and never have been, a part of the baseball field renovation.  

Can you explain the added flood mitigation effort you plan to do in conjunction with the project?

There are two flood mitigation efforts we’re undertaking. Underground drainage pipes will collect and direct water from the baseball field area to a drainage system located under left field. During major rain events, the water will be held there and gradually released. That is in addition to the drainage system that will be added to the tennis court area to collect rainwater. Our engineers have designed this system to manage stormwater on the field and reduce the burden on the municipal system.

How many acres of land do you have in that area and your acreage in an aggregate? What might you use it for if the planning board request are denied?

The Iona Bronxville campus includes about 31 acres total. Approximately 9 acres are on the east side of Route 22 where the baseball field is located. While our preference is to renovate and maintain the baseball field, Bronxville is highly desirable real estate. We regularly receive inquiries about the property. Fortunately, one of the parties is interested in developing a facility that would provide our health science students clinical experiences directly across the street from their classrooms.

Can you share some of the programming that you had over the last year that was open to Bronxville residents?

In addition to daily visitors who walk the campus, we have ongoing offerings open to the community. For instance, last year the NewYork-Prebyterian Iona School of Health Sciences hosted a Health and Well-Being Symposium Series, covering salient topics in health and wellness as well as the future of health care. This series will continue this year with the first installment on Oct. 9^th focusing on mental health and well-being.

Last year we hosted a Presidential Speaker Series with D. Graham Burnett, nationally renowned author from Princeton University, in the Sommer Center for a presentation and discussion on the topic of attention. Shortly after his visit, Graham published his talks as a featured article in the New Yorker.

We welcomed Bronxville teachers to our Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning fall education conference on the topic of “The Future of Teaching in the AI Age.” It was a capacity crowd of engaged educators, showcasing Iona’s leadership in the space of innovative pedagogy in the age of AI. We also hosted – and look forward to doing so again – a Bronxville Community Day during our men’s basketball game in the Hynes Athletics Center. We celebrated community groups, including all the businesses in the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce, offering over 1,000 posters to everyone in attendance with the listings of all the businesses in an effort to support our new neighbors and businesses in Bronxville.

Can you tell us the relationship between your golf team and Siwanoy Country Club?

One of the most rewarding and productive relationships we have built with Bronxville neighbors has been with the Siwanoy Country Club. Iona provides full scholarships to qualified children of Siwanoy employees and our golf team has the good fortune to practice at Siwanoy. The staff at Siwanoy is always professional and courteous and the feedback on our golf team is that they are mature, courteous and respectful to all the members. Additionally, Siwanoy’s summer staff reside in our campus residence halls from June through August, a time when most Iona students are away.