Facilities

[VULB#62]

Thanks 72.  Agree on the pool -- I was on campus  the year after that opened.  At the time it was OK.  Really cramped though and if a field house is to be a full student body thing, swimming and related aquatics in a lifestyle fitness center model would dictate the pool be in the field house.  Kinda agree on your point about SB diamond -- that's why I left it to my last phase.  It'll just be a short walk over from the Fieldhouse at any rate.

If the size of the student body is projected to grow to 6,000, the added seating at Brown Field IMO is warranted -- maybe not 8K but certainly 7,500.  I also neglected to add that a new upgraded and expanded press box on the new home side is sorely needed as well.  And perhaps a single soccer practice facility is sharable between WSO and MSO.  I just think integrating a new Field house into the Brown Field complex will create a cozy stadium atmosphere that will be serviceable for a number of decades. I'm also of the opinion that the "if you build it they will come" axiom might apply here.  Winning FB (which I am confident will come) together with an attractive stadium environment and fan experience will put people in those seats.  Having attended FB games at UNH, I can attest to the comfort that using the the field house for concessions and bathroom breaks adds to the experience. 

Regarding the fitness center, I have not been in it and didn't realize that it was that new.  But I do know the size of the building cuz I was an RA in the original Dau-Kreinhader dorms of which this is the remaining half and the former bookstore I believe. It may be nice, but I am comparing it to some campus fitness centers I've seen back here in the east and thought it a tad small (again, especially for a 6,000 student campus). 

[vu72]

Good post 62.  I need to keep remembering that the student body will grow to 6000 from 4000 and that certainly will impact athletic facilities and attendance.

I know I've asked this before and you may not have seen it, but, are you Harry Russert?  Pretty sure you aren't as Harry and his brothers were Phi Psis and you said before that you were a Phi Delt.  But, did you know any of the Rusert boys?  Harry was a terific Linebacker.

[KL31NY]

It's been a while since I looked at this and commented on this (have I commented on this thread before? not actually sure). Anyway, my thoughts:

Regardless of how quickly we can renovate facilities, HOW ABOUT MORE CONVENIENT RESTROOMS EVERYWHERE NOW? It is a pain to be at FB, MSO, SB, etc. and have to go so far to relieve oneself. At least a few extra Porta-Johns near where people are seated would be nice.

Also, would temporary lights be a nice investment for softball and baseball if we couldn't get permanent lighting? Especially since we are on pace to host the conference softball tourney this year and will probably need to bring in some form of lighting via league rules. Just throwing that option out. Don't know personally what the business end of this proposal would be...

I think there's been plenty of good ideas thrown out already by everyone else and won't go too much further into them then what I have put on the table. I'd personally love to see that track finally get built and to see what updates we can do by way of a new fieldhouse and everything else that might happen in the future.

[valpotx]

How about we build something like this while we are at it?  If a HS can do it, why can't we?  lol jk

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/sports/30allen.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/03/texas_high_school_building_60.html

[VULB#62]

Why not.  I've always felt Brown Field was a HS stadium   

[covufan]

Why not.  I've always felt Brown Field was a HS stadium   

Or less

[vu72]

The point is, obviously, that there are many high school stadiums that would be fantastic for Brown Field.  I took some pictues of a high school field near by that, I think, would be perfect for what we are thinking for Valpo. I'll try to post them but in the meantime this is what I saw:  Seating for about 5 or 6 thousand, six lane all weather track, double deck press box enclosed in glass, two restrooms for men and women under stands on home side and two concession stands also under the home bleachers. At one end was another building, presumably holding locker rooms and equipment. The field was enclosed in fencing with visitor and home entrance and of course lighting.  The home stands were "stadium like" in that there were several entrances to the stands rather than having to go around to the fronf and then walk up (like Brown Field currently has).  Although most seating was just metal bleacher type, there was a section in the center area that had park like backs to seats.  All in all a very attractive place that wouldn't cost millions and millions and would make all of us feel a lot better about the football scene.

[covufan]

The point is, obviously, that there are many high school stadiums that would be fantastic for Brown Field.  I took some pictues of a high school field near by that, I think, would be perfect for what we are thinking for Valpo. I'll try to post them but in the meantime this is what I saw:  Seating for about 5 or 6 thousand, six lane all weather track, double deck press box enclosed in glass, two restrooms for men and women under stands on home side and two concession stands also under the home bleachers. At one end was another building, presumably holding locker rooms and equipment. The field was enclosed in fencing with visitor and home entrance and of course lighting.  The home stands were "stadium like" in that there were several entrances to the stands rather than having to go around to the fronf and then walk up (like Brown Field currently has).  Although most seating was just metal bleacher type, there was a section in the center area that had park like backs to seats.  All in all a very attractive place that wouldn't cost millions and millions and would make all of us feel a lot better about the football scene.

Win, and they will build it!

[wh]

The local Applebee's on Rt. 30 has been closed for the past several weeks while undergoing major  building renovations.  I just got a card from them in today's mail that says, "Come see our new look."  Imagine that, spending tens of thousands of dollars to renovate a fully functional, structurally sound building so they can continue to serve the same food to the same people.  What could they possibly be thinking?

[Valpo2010]

The local Applebee's on Rt. 30 has been closed for the past several weeks while undergoing major  building renovations.  I just got a card from them in today's mail that says, "Come see our new look."  Imagine that, spending tens of thousands of dollars to renovate a fully functional, structurally sound building so they can continue to serve the same food to the same people.  What could they possibly be thinking?

I think they were thinking that they had a massive fire in the kitchen that caused smoke and water damage to the entire building requiring the building renovation/rebuild

[vu72]

The local Applebee's on Rt. 30 has been closed for the past several weeks while undergoing major  building renovations.  I just got a card from them in today's mail that says, "Come see our new look."  Imagine that, spending tens of thousands of dollars to renovate a fully functional, structurally sound building so they can continue to serve the same food to the same people.  What could they possibly be thinking?

I think they were thinking that they had a massive fire in the kitchen that caused smoke and water damage to the entire building requiring the building renovation/rebuild

[valpogal]

You will NEVER see a new pool on this campus.  The people that make those decisions think its too expensive and that there really isn't any interest or need for one.

[sectionee]

Quote from: wh on April 26, 2012, 07:48:04 PM

    The local Applebee's on Rt. 30 has been closed for the past several weeks while undergoing major  building renovations.  I just got a card from them in today's mail that says, "Come see our new look."  Imagine that, spending tens of thousands of dollars to renovate a fully functional, structurally sound building so they can continue to serve the same food to the same people.  What could they possibly be thinking?


I think they were thinking that they had a massive fire in the kitchen that caused smoke and water damage to the entire building requiring the building renovation/rebuild

Yeah, a fully functional structurally sound building it was not after the place burned up!   

[wh]

Easy guys, I'm trying to get some conversation going in the boring off season.  I'm trying to make a point that businesses are constantly updating their appearance in order to remain relevant and attract customers.  Applebees could have recreated the exact same look less expensively (especially the exterior) but they didn't.  CVS abandoned it's location on Calumet, bulldozed a strip mall across from walgreens, and built a brand new store.  Taco Bell across the street changed it's entire facade.  Heinold & Feller, a local tire company by the university, recently made major changes inside and out.  Owner Joe Feller told me their store had been looking old and tired for a long time.  The list goes on and on.

Some of our posters have maintained that the ARC is basically ok as is until we fill it up.  Only then do we need to revamp it.  I think we need to be more proactive than that.  Like the old H&F store the ARC looks old and tired.  The university has done some good things (new floor, scoreboard), but much more needs to be done.

[vu72]

Easy guys, I'm trying to get some conversation going in the boring off season.  I'm trying to make a point that businesses are constantly updating their appearance in order to remain relevant and attract customers.  Applebees could have recreated the exact same look less expensively (especially the exterior) but they didn't.  CVS abandoned it's location on Calumet, bulldozed a strip mall across from walgreens, and built a brand new store.  Taco Bell across the street changed it's entire facade.  Heinold & Feller, a local tire company by the university, recently made major changes inside and out.  Owner Joe Feller told me their store had been looking old and tired for a long time.  The list goes on and on.

Some of our posters have maintained that the ARC is basically ok as is until we fill it up.  Only then do we need to revamp it.  I think we need to be more proactive than that.  Like the old H&F store the ARC looks old and tired.  The university has done some good things (new floor, scoreboard), but much more needs to be done.

Agree completely.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Like the old H&F store the ARC looks old and TIREd

PUN ALERT!  oh gosh that's bad.  i just wish i'd thought of it first.

[VULB#62]

The point is, obviously, that there are many high school stadiums that would be fantastic for Brown Field.  I took some pictures of a high school field near by that, I think, would be perfect for what we are thinking for Valpo. I'll try to post them but in the meantime this is what I saw:  Seating for about 5 or 6 thousand, six lane all weather track, double deck press box enclosed in glass, two restrooms for men and women under stands on home side and two concession stands also under the home bleachers. At one end was another building, presumably holding locker rooms and equipment. The field was enclosed in fencing with visitor and home entrance and of course lighting.  The home stands were "stadium like" in that there were several entrances to the stands rather than having to go around to the frond and then walk up (like Brown Field currently has).  Although most seating was just metal bleacher type, there was a section in the center area that had park like backs to seats.  All in all a very attractive place that wouldn't cost millions and millions and would make all of us feel a lot better about the football scene.

I send an email to Mark Labarbera every now and again, and I recently sent one commenting on the hiring of Tracey Dorow and congratulating him on the direction the program was going (3 HL championship so far this year and baseball right there in the hunt as of today).  I also took the opportunity to send along a PowerPoint with layouts that reflected my ideas on a proposed athletic campus (1- field house w/ 200 m indoor track, training facilities, lockers, offices, etc. located on the north side of Brown Field, 2 - expanded Brown Field stadium and press box integrated with the south side of field house, 3 - a new track around the FB/soccer game field, 4 - lighted soccer practice fields, 5 - relocated, lighted Em Bauer BB field, 6 - general use fields, etc.).  In his reply, he said that it was very similar to the board-endorsed plan for an 'athletics district' surrounding a RENOVATED ARC (my emphasis).  I'm sure that 'renovated ARC' makes many of you smile.   I wish I knew exactly what all of those endorsed plan were.  Maybe those of you who are closer to the pulse of VU, may already know this, but I thought I'd pass the knowledge on anyway.

[vufan75]

From another post labeled Heckler interview under the General VU discussion area, 78Crusader mentioned President Heckler's recent WVUR interview. Per 78Crusader's post, several topics were discussed, as noted below.

President Heckler was interviewed on WVUR this afternoon. Highlights:

1. The next project after the Welcome Center will be a new dorm. Planning will begin this summer with the hope of presenting something to the Board this fall. After that, Brandt will be renovated;

2. In what he described as happening in the "medium term," VU will build a field house that will start where the old tennis courts are north to the old hospital site. VU will also plan on a 15 million renovation of the ARC, with an entirely new arena and locker rooms.....I added the bold font to the original post.

3. VU will continue to purchase all the property it can along LaPorte all the way west to Morgan St.

Exciting stuff!

Paul
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I just wonder what sort of time frame "medium term" refers to? I'm hoping something like 3-5 years? Wonder if any of our well connected posters might have a better idea what that timeframe might be? I am excited to read and hear there are plans in place to address facilities, including the ARC. Can't wait to see the result.....

[wh]

I'm not the well connected poster you're looking for  , but I do know that in today's business world long term planning is generally considered beyond 5 years.  So your guess of 3-5 years could be very accurate.

[VULB#62]

Thanks for the added detail vufan75. Yeah, seeing is believing -- even if they are visionary plans vs. construction drawings.  Even if 3-5 years away, putting that stuff out there now would be a way to attract donors.  Wow,  $15 mil to the ARC.  Sweet.  I'd still like to see the field house built a bit easterly to enable an integrated FB/track/pressbox stadium.  I need to figure out how to add a screen shot of my PPT.  That would be fun to fool around with on the board.

[chef]

I vote for a new football pressbox

[VULB#62]

Since participating in this forum and particularly this string (and having too much time on my hands on airplane flights) I putzed around in PowerPoint and came up with some ideas for an Athletic Campus along the lines of what I've been reading but also with some things I'd like to see.  Thought I'd put them out here and let all of you have fun with them.  If this goes right there will be three separate posts, each with it's own attachment:  Master Plan, FH Ground Floor and FH Second Floor with Stadium.

Click on the attachment to enlarge it.  And thanks to Valpo04 for setting up the forum playground so I could experiment with this.

I put Em Bauer Field, with adequate stands, on the Porter Hospital property rather than where Kroencke Hall is (I remember ideas on that in some earlier string) to consolidate with lockers and indoor practice options.  I also wondered about players having to cross a busy street with equipment and such.  Soccer and Baseball field locations could be switched if that makes more sense. Outdoor lighting would then also be concentrated in one area. I didn't put in intramural fields, but they would go beyond Em Bauer Field on the Porter Hospital plot (I ran out of space).

Though I put just one soccer practice field on the master plan, I believe there should be two so that field time would not need to be shared between MSO and WSO.  It would be up to the soccer program to determine if the practice site would be artificial or natural turf (I'm a grass guy for soccer). This is based on the belief that soccer games would continue to be played on Brown Field.

Miller is already scheduled for demo, but this plan, unfortunately, also requires demolition of the nursing building (LeBien Hall?)

Have fun and opinionate like crazy.  This is here to tickle imaginations and stimulate conversation. 

[VULB#62]

Here's my idea of what the ground floor of the Field House might look like.  The track is a 200 meter track and inside the track would be 3-4 tennis courts/basketball courts for team practice as well as student recreation.  Indoor batting cage(s)?  Of course.

With just a little adjustment the field surface could easily convert to ample space for indoor baseball/softball fielding practices, off-season FB and soccer, etc.  There is a varsity weight room, but I also added a student fitness center even though there already is one, as well as a bunch of handball/raquetball courts, thinking that with ample locker space, students would appreciate all indoor recreation facilities in one place.  I know where my kids went to college (D-III Colby and Middlebury), their field houses became a second campus center -- kinda like a sweaty student union.

[VULB#62]

Here's the second floor with the integrated Brown Field home side stadium grandstand.  Access to the stands would be both around the outside of the field house as well as through the field house on both levels.  I figured to leave the current home stands as the visitor side.

The field house elevator in the lobby makes the second floor grandstand outdoor veranda and the press box handicap accessible.  Though the diagram doesn't show it, the press box should be a two level affair.  To leverage season ticket holder loyalty I've added a chair back section (maybe 250 seats?) and there is ample restroom facilities on both the ground floor and second floor.  Concessions are on the ground floor under the stands.  I also thought that there should be some kind of lounge area inside the building and adjacent to the grandstand for what I called boosters (but that can sometimes have a bad connotation) -- just a nice place to retreat to discuss what the next athletic fund raising program might be   

[okinawatyphoon]

wow, very well thought out plans 62. thanks for posting!