Per the SBT, there's a bunch of things happening this summer in terms of facilities for ND athletics. Looks like Kevin White got some things moving before he bounced to the Dukies.
The big changes afoot:
- Two new artificial turf practice fields and 1 new natural surface field for football and other varsity squads. Lighted for night practices.
- New lacrosse stadium.
- New track and field facility.
- Old softball stadium to be re-purposed as a soccer practice field.
- New construction will begin in September on Purcell Pavilion, which will be a 60,000-square-foot expansion at the southern end of the JACC. New entry way, atrium and corporate entertainment areas will be included in the expansion. In May of '09 the interior of the JACC, including seating, will be renovated.
My thoughts: A lot of this is good. A lot of this is great.
But the JACC stuff sounds a bit 'meh'. I like the idea of the new entrance and adding some square footage and new facilities. That part is great. My concern comes in at part II: If the renovation of the basketball and hockey arenas isn't SERIOUSLY SWEET, I will be very disappointed. New seats are great, but the whole place needs upgraded - and I'm not talking slapping some paint on the walls. We need upgraded everything - new scoreboard, new seating, new aisles and walk-ways, new vendor stations... And don't even get me started on the travesty that is the hockey arena. I used to help PUT UP and TAKE DOWN that thing as a job when I was an undergrad. That's right, it's freaking portable! It needs fixed, and it needs to be permanent.
So, I hope when they say renovation, they mean 'complete re-do just keeping the foundation, walls and ceiling (which will all be made to look nice at the least)'.
Enter: Jack.
By Mike July 22, 2008 - 11:49 am
No mention whatsoever of improvements that benefit the hockey program is disappointing. The new atrium sure as hell isn’t going to help the fact that their locker rooms are still the bathrooms I used during Junior Parents Weekend.
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By weisgipper July 22, 2008 - 11:58 am
The Track & Field facility is a joke. Not that ND has had a lot of outdoor T&F meets recently, but it would be nice to sit and watch. Unofortunately, there will be no seats in that facility. It’s the same old nickle and dime crap Dr. White used before, and now we see it on his way out!
As for some of the other improvements, like the new soccer stadium….It’s about friggin’ time! You have two of the best soccer programs in the nation and they don’t have the best soccer facility in town. That actually goes to one of the Catholic HS: Marian.
Don’t get me started about the JACC. It’s a complete and utter joke. If you’re going to scale down the seating for basketball, make a new arena just for basketball like Pitt, Clemson and UVa. Those are new arenas with all chairback seating, corporate boxes, and whatnot. Basically they are just putting a band aid on this old relic and it makes me sick as an alum and supporter of ND hoops.
Hockey deserves their own facility. Heck if Western Michigan has their own arena, then ND should too! To prove a point, Ohio University in Athens, has their own hockey arena. And they are only a CLUB SPORT!
The big question or concern I see is one of two things: IS ND that cheap? or Is the Athletic Department not doing a good enough job of getting donors to help fund these essential athletic needs?
Remember how long it took to get the new Football Facility and how behind the times we were on that? Swarbrick and Jenkins cannot let this happen again.
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By The Biscuit July 22, 2008 - 2:06 pm
I agree WG. The JACC needs a complete overhaul. I dont really mind the Hoops and Hockey arenas being under the same roof, but they should be real renovations (essentially starting over) rather than the band-aid strategory. Hopefully Swarbrick will see this, and act. As for the cause, I don’t think ND is too ‘cheap’ for it or that it’s just donation. I think it’s a combination of the two, along with an alum donation focus on Football. All 3 need fixed.
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By Mark July 23, 2008 - 1:39 pm
I agree weisgipper that basketball and hockey are both deserving of their own well built, brand spanking new, arena. But is it a question of money, or of space and time? Building two whole new buildings to house hockey and b-ball would an enormous amount of space (tOSU hockey arena is quite a building and it takes up plenty of land.) Not to mention the eye sore that type of contstruction project would create around campus. I think renovating the JACC with a new facade and just plain gutting it from the inside would solve both those problems, and we could still get an amazing arena if they invested some serious cash (just ask Dick Ebersol if he has any lying around.)
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By Craig July 23, 2008 - 1:47 pm
The advantage of re-using the JACC is that the site prep is already done and the external superstructure is already in place. I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be cheaper without having to worry about that stuff. Plus, the location of the building is more or less ideal. Any alternative would be farther from students, parking, or both.
At last word, hockey was something like $5 to $8 MM from their goal, which last I’d heard was ca. $30 MM. They’re talking about doing some sort of “arena within an arena” in the north dome, which could look really sharp as long as they do it right. (And for me, doing it right is going to require altering the ice surface, as anything that has an asymmetrical curved wall on one side is going to look low-rent. They need to either rotate the ice or move it further away from the wall.)
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By The Biscuit July 23, 2008 - 1:58 pm
Craig, thanks for that info. Not a bad idea – but you’re right – if they don’t do it right it’ll look like shite. Like the Pirates playing in Three Rivers Stadium (yes, from the burgh) for all those years. Just doesn’t fit.
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