SPORTS & RECREATION FACILITIES
The Master Plan involves planning for three major types of athletic sports & recreaton facilities. Type One Facilities house athletic programs such as baseball, basketball, football, tennis, track, golf and volleyball. Type Two Facilities house programs for the student recreational and intramural sports. Type Three Facilities house the health and kinesology and dance departments.
TYPE ONE FACILITIES
Each sport within the athletic program has been evaluated and the recommendations for each facility is listed below: The baseball complex recommended upgrades have been split into two phases with Phase One items being the first priority.
Phase One consists of the following items:
- New playing field with improved drainage
- Replace outfield fence and score board
- Evaluate turf options using natural turf and artifical turf
- Replace field lighting and poles with higher light levels and taller poles
- Renovate, expand or replace team locker room, coaches locker room, and covered hitting facility
- Upgrade existing stands and seating
- Upgrade and replace concessions/toilet building
Phase Two items consist of the following:
- Add new concessions/toilet room building in addition to Phase One concessions/toilet building
- Renovate the press box
- Add new plaza entry and ticket building
- Add new parking lots
- Add private suites on first base side
- Add private suites on third base side
- Replace aluminum seating platforms with concrete platforms
- Replace equipment storage building
The existing golf driving range does not have perimeter netting to contain balls and range length is too short for distance required by the golf team. In addition to netting and range length the following upgrades are recommended
- Provide target greens at varing distances within range
- Place berm at end of range with low fence and landscaping
- Irrigate turf area
- Add lighting for night time practice
- Improve drainage
- Move range to location south of baseball field that allows for range size of 350 feet Provide nets along sides of range at appropriate height
- Plant appropriate bermuda grass on range and greens
- Design a covered hitting facility and office building with meeting room and restrooms
- Add chip and putt area as part of range
The study previously completed by LAN/Leo A. Daly dated January 2003 for Cardinal Stadium, outlines the upgrades required for football. In addition to stadium improvements a minimum of two practice fields with lighting area recommended in the location shown on Sheet E-3.
The current plan for softball involves utilizing an off campus location for playing and practices. Our recommendation for the long term plan includes adding a softball field for athletics adjacent to the baseball facility with separate locker room, office, toilet and concessions building.
Track and field events areas should be upgraded in the following areas:
- Improve drainage around track
- Rework apron at high jump
- Replace equipment storage building
- Add lighting for use of track by all campus users at night
Tennis facility is adequate and no upgrades are recommended at this time.
Montagne Center, the Basketball Facility upgrades include the following:
- Replace scoreboards
- Provide lighting survey over gym floor to balance out any hot spots with new lights or re-aim existing lights.
- Provide upgraded graphics and interior finishes to enhance concourse
- Provide a new practice facility adjacent to the Montagne Center for basketball teams which will be more efficient to operate, allow for multiple events to use the Montagne Center on dates other than game day, and allow for better privacy during practice for coaches and players
Volleyball will utilize a part of the new student recreational sports facility for practice, competition and locker rooms.
Sports such as soccer (other than intramural & P.E.) are not part of this Master Plan, however, it may need to be considered in a future plan.
TYPE TWO FACILITIES
Type Two Facilities consist of the following:
- Renovation and expansion of McDonald Gymnasium into a new student recreational facility which is currently being designed with a scheduled opening for Fall Semester 2006. Refer to sheet E-1 for site location of expanded facility. The new recreational sports facility will also accommodate expanded weight training and fitness areas. The existing fitness center will be vacated.
- Intramural sports will share the use of the existing tennis courts, existing golf driving range, existing track and renovated basketball courts in McDonald Gym for practice and competition.
Currently, intramural playing fields are located in various parts of campus and consist of open playing fields without fenced boundaries, lighting or toilet facilities.
The proposed solution consolidates sports such as flag football, soccer, cricket, softball and rugby, as a sports field complex including toilet facilities, and limited parking located on the south end of the campus near Vincent Beck Baseball Facility.
The final design of the sports field complex should have an integrated design with a boundary fence that matches the campus standard. Landscaping, hardscape, and lighting will also link this facility to the campus and define the edge of campus along US 69. Refer to sheet E-4 for suggested field layouts.
A campus jogging track was evaluated and it was determined that due to security issues at night the existing track should be lighted as an alternative to a new jogging track.
TYPE THREE FACILITIES
Type Three Facilities consist of the following buildings:
- Women’s Gym
- Women’s Gym Annex
- Fitness Center
The Women’s Gym currently has a shortage of office space and an excess of locker room space. Our recommendation would include developing a detailed space utilization plan to properly readjust spaces as a renovation project. The gymnasium, swimming pool, and dance studios are adequately serving the users, however, due to the age of the building, it is time to evaluate the need to replace interior finishes.
The Women’s Gym Annex is adequate for dance programs, however, the height of the building is not adequate for volleyball play. The access to the building is not open for users except during scheduled class times. Our recomemndation is to create a connection to the Womens’ Gym to allow more open access in a controlled manner.
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