Facilities Plan

[alum73]

Saw the plan for the facilities upgrade. 5 Phases total price tag in 2004 $ is 200 million. Phase one is the 2 turf fields for Lax and field hockey. The would go in the space right of the current football and bubble. Phaes 2 is the stadium. Pretty impressive plan. It will take a while before it's completed. Hope I'm around to see it.

[reeder]

Thanks for the info, couple of questions:

1. price tag in 2004 alone is $200 million?

2. was timing discussed? When is phase 1?

 

thanks

[DaneFan2k3]

1. price tag in 2004 alone is $200 million?

 

Pretty sure he means, at least from what I've heard, that the cost is $200 million right now, in today's dollars and that is the plan.

 

But as we know prices go up, inflation, bids, delays, etc. So that's why I think he said "in 2004", meaning this is the plan and projections for now.

[Dane96]

Alumn,

 

Are your referring for the area where the current outdoor hoop and basketball courts are (really horrible concrete area), for the lax field hockey?

 

Where is the location for the stadium?

 

Any guestimate on how long "awhile" may be???

 

I hope to make it up for the game this weekend so that I can get a looksy when McElroy makes his announcement.

[danefan]

The estimated completion date is 2007. The football stadium is proposed as of now with the following specs:

~15,000 seats; expandable to 25,000

The stadium will run north-south sitting in the current RACC parking lot and extending into the current practice fields slightly.

Looking at the RACC from the Campus Circle the home side will be on the West (left) side.

The home side will be two-tiered (Like stonybrook)

The lower tier will continue on around the north endzone to the visitors side (Horshoe type stadium).

The visitors side will consist on only one tier for now. (Hence the expandability of the stadium).

The stadium itself will be dug down as the south endzone will have a grass hill for people to sit on if they wish (somewhat like Lehigh's stadium).

The North endzone will have a second tier of sorts, but it will be a weightroom overlooking the field.

The parking lot will be where the current practice field is.

University field will be leveled and turned into a grass tailgating area to also be used for practice and intermeural sports.

The stadium will have no track! (hooray)

The new track and field compound will be where the current field hockey and softball field (not conflicting with the softball field, that will remain in the same place I think)

The Lacross and fieldhockey fields will be where the crappy basketball/tennis courts are to the right of bubble.

There are also inprovements for the equipment room, offices, athletic training facilities, and baseball and softball fields.

The project is estimate at $200mil.

The football stadium alone is estimated at $40 mil. ($20mil from state funding and $20 mil from private/corporate donors)

They want to have this done by 2007 (Good luck!)

It will be one of the best college athletic facilities in the northeast when finished.

 

The official drawings and such will be released in about a week i believe.

The entire project will run from Dutch tower, east to the baseball field.

[Dane96]

Holy Crap....not about the facilities...but about the tailgating area. THANK G-D THE SCHOOL IS THINKING!

[GreatDanes06]

they announced all of these plans this evening???

[danefan]

They had an administrative meeting with coaches and such. I spoke to a coach and an assistant AD who both had the same specs. The final master plan should be releases soon. The football stadium details will not be finalized for some time, still need to raise $20mil. BUt the general gist of it won't change. The lacrosse and field hockey turf fields will be the first thing done. THey already have the money and the bids will start coming in soon. Probably to be finished by 05 or spring of 06.

[alum73]

I think phase 1 (turf fields) are supposed to e done by next Fall.

[UAalum72]

Field hockey pitch will be built first, hoping to have it finished by next August. Detail design needs to be done before putting it out to bid, hoped for by the end of the year. An A-frame grandstand between the FH and Lax fields, which run north-south, will have 2,500 seats for each, with concessions and turf equipment underneath. $7 million for this phase has been approved.

 

There will be about 400 parking spots next to the football stadium, 100 west and 300 east, about the capacity of the current lot. It may open with about 10,000 seats, before the second deck is completed.

 

Part of the $40M cost include a 4-story building connecting the FB stadium to the RACC, including the mentioned weight room, coaches' offices moved out of the PE bldg, medical/therapy facility, and an enhanced entrance to the RACC.

 

Dutch quad tennis courts are out, the track east-west from Dutch parking lot to the gym, with the throwing areas behind it nearer Dutch Quad. Softball field remains.

 

A student recreation building SE of Dutch, including the only banked indoor running track in NY State outside NYC.

 

The FB 'bowl' won't be paved, but 'tailgating' there will be tent/party variety; nobody will be parking RVs there.

 

All-new tennis courts will be in a double column almost from the podium to the gym, near Indian quad.

 

The soccer field will be slightly east of where it is now.

 

The 2,500 seat baseball field will be built west of the current location, to try to cure the drainage problems of a field downhill from the pond. I didn't think to ask if anyone thought of artificial turf for at least the infield, for the same reasons lacrosse needs it - games played in early March.

 

As part of the cross-country course, a footbridge will be built over the western half of the pond, finally replacing a wooden one that rotted and was torn down about 1970. This should make it easier to use the picnic area on the north side of the pond.

 

The Giants should be happy because now they'll have practice areas with all kinds of surfaces - FH and Lax will have two different types of plastic grass.

 

When Adm. Ryan came here he asked how they could recruit any D-I athletes with the facilities we had. Interviews with presidential candidates begin soon and they hope to have a final choice by mid-winter.

Edited October 10, 2004 by UAalum72

[GreatDanes06]

where did all this info come from???

[UAalum72]

where did all this info come from???

There was a presentation after the game in the Hall of Fame room yesterday. Apparently not many people heard about it - it was on the Homecoming Schedule that was mailed out about a month ago.

 

 

It will be at least 10-12 years before all of the plan is implemented.

[GreatDanes06]

so let me get this straight...by next August, the University SHOULD HAVE the New Lacrosse/Field Hockey Field? What else SHOULD BE DONE BY NEXT YEAR? I was hoping that at least the stands could be put in with a press box for the baseball field. But as a Junior here, i would like to know what i WILL be seeing before i graduate.

[pfraina]

As long as the stadium is a priority. They should start breaking ground ASAP if it is going to be finished by the start of the 08 season.

[UAalum72]

so let me get this straight...by next August, the University SHOULD HAVE the New Lacrosse/Field Hockey Field? What else SHOULD BE DONE BY NEXT YEAR? I was hoping that at least the stands could be put in with a press box for the baseball field. But as a Junior here, i would like to know what i WILL be seeing before i graduate.

'Might' is a better word than 'should'. It sounded like they'd be happy if the field hockey is in place next fall, maybe all the planets have to be aligned for that to happen.

 

The money, both private and public, will have to be arranged before ground is broken for the football field.

 

My opinion only, since the baseball diamond is least affected by the rest of the construction, it will probably be in one of the later phases. And since it's an entirely new facility, maybe 150 yards west of the current one, I wouldn't count on many more improvements to the existing field.

 

All they had was a wall map of the area affected so you could see where everything's going. I'm sure they know when they'd LIKE everything done, but events are also controlled by the new University president, the Board of Regents, and the governor's office, so you can't KNOW the future.