McLane Squash Courts

Home of St. Paul’s School Squash

The McLane Squash Courts are one of the most historic athletic facilities at St. Paul’s School and a home to the School’s boys and girls squash programs. The 10-court facility combines more than a century of squash tradition with the equipment and technology needed to support today’s players.

St. Paul’s has a remarkable connection to the history of squash in the United States. The sport arrived at the School in 1884 through the efforts of the Rev. James Potter Conover, Form of 1876. St. Paul’s subsequently built the country’s first venue for squash when it built 4 open air squash courts.

As interest in the sport grew, Maurice Roche, Form of 1905, provided funding for a new series of indoor courts along Library Road. Built in 1915, those courts became the facility known today as the McLane Squash Courts.

McLane has seen many different iterations and is now a modern10-court squash center used for practices, matches, training and School squash events. Over the years, the facility has been modernized while retaining much of its historic character. Improvements have included new walls and floors, expanded seating, Club Locker integrated scoreboards, a full venue audio system, 4K live-video capabilities, and ball and racquet-stringing machines.

At the center of the building is the Waterbury Room, a wood-paneled gathering space that also serves as an informal museum of St. Paul’s squash history. Team photographs, plaques and other displays celebrate generations of SPS players and teams.

For players, walking into McLane means joining a squash tradition that stretches back more than 140 years. For spectators, the building offers a distinctive glimpse into both the history and the continuing life of the sport at St. Paul’s.