Demske Sports Complex

The Rev. James M. Demske, S.J. Sports Complex, built in 1989 at a cost of $4.5 million, provides a home field for Canisius University athletics. It has been hailed by the New York Times, USA Today, and The NCAA News as a model for urban campuses.

History
The facility is unique for its space utilization in a compact urban setting and has set the standard for design for other schools with limited land. Built on a 14-acre parcel of land located behind the Koessler Athletic Center, the multi-use, all-purpose, all-weather A-Turf surface serves as home to the Golden Griffin soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball teams. The field, which is fully lighted for evening activities, features grandstand seating for 1,000 and portable bleachers for 200. In addition to the field, locker rooms for Canisius student-athletes and visiting opponents sits adjacent to the Koessler Athletic Center.

The Demske Sports Complex underwent a major face lift during the summer of 2008 when Canisius replaced the old AstroTurf 12 playing surface with 123,000 square feet of A-Turf. A-Turf is a multi-purpose, all-weather synthetic playing surface that is virtually unaffected by adverse weather conditions. Using natural grass as its model, A-Turf’s synthetic turf consists of a denser construction of polyethylene fibers and a high-level of specialized rubber and sand mix to increase playability and lower the G-Max rating. The lower the G-Max rating, the greater the shock absorption and less impact to the athlete. In addition to the work on the playing fields, Canisius also installed brand new scoreboards and new baseball dugouts along the first and third base sides.

The Demske Sports Complex hosted the 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2013 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse League Championships, the 2012 and 2014 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championships -- both won by the Griffs -- and also served as the site of the 2010, 2021, 2022 and 2023 MAAC Softball Championships.

Capacity
1,200

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