September 26, 2016
Bradley Umpleby
Before a new baseball field and indoor athletic facility is added to the list of construction on campus, UCCS has to meet the fund requirements and choose a site. The indoor athletic facility, costing $7 million, is expected to be complete by January 2018, according to project manager Charles Cummings.
The baseball field, which costs $5 million, is expected to be complete by late spring of 2017, according to chancellor Pamela Shockley-Zalabak.
Both the facility and the field will be located on the west edge of campus, although the exact location is unknown.
Shockley-Zalabak hopes the price of these additions will cost less with the use of private contractors.
“It is confessable that we might have a field one year and the bleachers next year. We have to have a way to pay the bills,” said Shockley-Zalabak.
The board is considering several locations to construct the facility and field. One of these locations is off Heller Road, according to Cummings.
Large construction projects impact the surrounding environment. Roads, infrastructure, water and sewage are factors that need to be considered.
“Anytime one builds anything new on the campus, it isn’t simply location. We have to look into other needs, like how it relates to a traffic flow perspective and how it relates to an access to the public,” said ShockleyZalabak.
Other athletic expansions may include a field for lacrosse and track, according to Shockley-Zalabak.
The new facilities are in need because the NCAA division II has officially began their baseball season, and the demands for more athletic fields for the student body are increasing, for intermural sports and other activities.
“Students want to participate themselves, but also want to act as spectators, either when their friends or team is playing,” said ShockleyZalabak.
The Colorado University Board of Regents believes that more sports will be added as the campus grows, but no details have been proposed yet.
“There are other programs we will look at. Also, there is more on the track and field that we haven’t done, so that could be an expansion in those programs as we grow as a campus,” said Shockley-Zalabak.
Before new sports can be added, the board has to make sure that there are enough schools in each individual sporting conference so that teams do not have to travel out of conference. This could lead to increased spending, said Shockley-Zalabak.
“You have to have meets to go to or competitors for games, and if there is not enough schools that total the conference requirement, the trouble for that is prohibitive,” said Schockley-Zalabak.