clenz
August 10th, 2015, 09:02 AM
I meant to post this yesterday when I saw it pop up on my Twitter but didn't get to it
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/upgrades-to-uni-sports-facilities-in-the-works/article_179ea5a7-8895-5a38-b9cc-e3085f915f0d.html
CEDAR FALLS | If everything goes according to plan, the next 10 years will see significant upgrades in the University of Northern Iowa's athletic facilities.
From meeting space and new turf in the UNI-Dome to an on-campus soccer field, a basketball practice facility and renovation of the Dome, it's an ambitious agenda but one the university's administration considers vital for the future as it analyzes everything from the competitive landscape and game-day comfort of its fans to new ways to generate revenue.
"We don't have to have the best of anything, but we need to continue to be competitive," said Troy Dannen, UNI's director of athletics.
Four projects are on UNI's five-year capital improvement plan with an estimated total cost of around $17 million -- a $200,000 football operations center, the UNI-Dome turf (approximately $1 million), a soccer field (approximately $1 million) and the Panther Performance Center (approximately $15 million) that would primarily serve as a basketball practice facility.
Football Operations Center
Essentially, this project is a meeting area for large groups like the football team and the athletic department staff. It will be located in the south end zone area of the Dome.
"Simply put, it's a 115-seat auditorium for football," explained Dannen. "We don't have in any of our facilities a place where the entire football team can meet together.
"It won't be a game-day suite, but there will be game-day activities in it."
Like most facilities at UNI, the Football Operations Center will serve other purposes as well.
"Inter-departmentally, we also have a lot of call to have our own staff meet in one room, and we really don't have a space for that," noted Dannen.
Funding for the Football Operations Center has been secured, and construction is expected to begin shortly after the football season ends.
UNI-Dome turf
The existing turf in the Dome has reached its life expectancy of seven years. UNI is looking into other options that will last longer and provide more flexibility in usage.
"We probably need to get away from a rolling turf system, just from the fact that it doesn't survive the expansion and contraction and temperature differences in here very well, and every time you roll it you take a little bit of its life away," said Dannen. He added the machinery required to roll turf is becoming harder to find and costly to replace.
"In some other domed stadiums, tray systems are popular. We would have storage issues with that, but it would give us more flexibility. If we get that figured out, that would probably be the ideal system for us."
Soccer field
UNI currently plays its women's soccer games at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex. The Panthers, and Dannen, would prefer to be on-campus. And again, a turf surface on campus would serve multiple uses for the university and for athletics.
"That, I'd say, is something we will get done within the next five years, if not sooner than that," said Dannen.
"Another thing that would do is give us an outdoor practice field for football with a turf surface. It gives the band a place to practice. It gives rec a place to do some things they can't do now when the ground freezes.
"That's probably a $1 million project because I would like to have it lit."
Panther Performance Center
Dannen is waiting for the results of a feasibility study and preliminary drawings for this new facility.
"The timing of something like that is really contingent on our ability to raise the funds," he noted. "We've been able to raise funds for a lot of things ... scholarships, salaries, capital projects we've done here (the UNI-Dome) ... but since the McLeod Center was built and before that it was a long, long time before we really had a capital piece in athletics that we went out to our donars with.
"It would have dedicated basketball courts and basketball offices," Dannen explained. "It also includes an academic area for all student-athletes and includes some of the things we're seeing as athletics are evolving, like food availability.
"It would have food service in there or the capability to have food service ... refueling stations at a minimum and full means at a maximum.
"I can envision a couple of batting cages in there, too, for softball, so they don't have to drive all over town looking for a place to hit."
The preliminary vision for the Panther Performance Center also includes a space for large events.
"It would also have open space where we could host events for up to 400 or 500 people," said Dannen. "There are really only two places in town where you can hold an event that large, and they're booked. It's a long-term way to generate additional revenue. It's a need the university has, as well, for a larger common space."
Indirectly, the Panther Performance Center would also make the McLeod Center more available for special events and shows that would serve as another source of revenue.
UNI-Dome renovation
The fifth and final piece of the long-term plan is a $25 million dome renovation, which is also the largest and most challenging project. It's not on UNI's current five-year capital plan, but it's among the most important and could be added in the next year or two.
"The Dome is turning 40," said Dannen. "Before we know it, it's going to be 50. Besides the roof, it's a lot of the same infrastructure inside the building, including the restrooms, and that is the single biggest liability we have in our facilities. It's not as fan-friendly as it used to be."
Conceptual designs for the project include expanding the concourses, adding up to 100 toilets, expanding the number of game-day suites, adding some club-type and premium seating and either repainting or replacing the rest of the existing seating.
"I've always felt like purple seats would really make this place pop," noted Dannen.
UNI has made a handful of recent upgrades to the Dome, including the new video board, an improved point of sales system for ticketing and an $800,000 upgrade to the cooling system.
"The Dome is in remarkable shape," Dannen pointed out. "But if you don't do this, all of a sudden that dome is 50 years old and we're going to be chasing instead of being proactive.
"There are a lot of needs from a physical standpoint. We have to continue to invest in the infrastructure so we're not spending $80,000 to $220,000 to do repairs every year."
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/upgrades-to-uni-sports-facilities-in-the-works/article_179ea5a7-8895-5a38-b9cc-e3085f915f0d.html
CEDAR FALLS | If everything goes according to plan, the next 10 years will see significant upgrades in the University of Northern Iowa's athletic facilities.
From meeting space and new turf in the UNI-Dome to an on-campus soccer field, a basketball practice facility and renovation of the Dome, it's an ambitious agenda but one the university's administration considers vital for the future as it analyzes everything from the competitive landscape and game-day comfort of its fans to new ways to generate revenue.
"We don't have to have the best of anything, but we need to continue to be competitive," said Troy Dannen, UNI's director of athletics.
Four projects are on UNI's five-year capital improvement plan with an estimated total cost of around $17 million -- a $200,000 football operations center, the UNI-Dome turf (approximately $1 million), a soccer field (approximately $1 million) and the Panther Performance Center (approximately $15 million) that would primarily serve as a basketball practice facility.
Football Operations Center
Essentially, this project is a meeting area for large groups like the football team and the athletic department staff. It will be located in the south end zone area of the Dome.
"Simply put, it's a 115-seat auditorium for football," explained Dannen. "We don't have in any of our facilities a place where the entire football team can meet together.
"It won't be a game-day suite, but there will be game-day activities in it."
Like most facilities at UNI, the Football Operations Center will serve other purposes as well.
"Inter-departmentally, we also have a lot of call to have our own staff meet in one room, and we really don't have a space for that," noted Dannen.
Funding for the Football Operations Center has been secured, and construction is expected to begin shortly after the football season ends.
UNI-Dome turf
The existing turf in the Dome has reached its life expectancy of seven years. UNI is looking into other options that will last longer and provide more flexibility in usage.
"We probably need to get away from a rolling turf system, just from the fact that it doesn't survive the expansion and contraction and temperature differences in here very well, and every time you roll it you take a little bit of its life away," said Dannen. He added the machinery required to roll turf is becoming harder to find and costly to replace.
"In some other domed stadiums, tray systems are popular. We would have storage issues with that, but it would give us more flexibility. If we get that figured out, that would probably be the ideal system for us."
Soccer field
UNI currently plays its women's soccer games at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex. The Panthers, and Dannen, would prefer to be on-campus. And again, a turf surface on campus would serve multiple uses for the university and for athletics.
"That, I'd say, is something we will get done within the next five years, if not sooner than that," said Dannen.
"Another thing that would do is give us an outdoor practice field for football with a turf surface. It gives the band a place to practice. It gives rec a place to do some things they can't do now when the ground freezes.
"That's probably a $1 million project because I would like to have it lit."
Panther Performance Center
Dannen is waiting for the results of a feasibility study and preliminary drawings for this new facility.
"The timing of something like that is really contingent on our ability to raise the funds," he noted. "We've been able to raise funds for a lot of things ... scholarships, salaries, capital projects we've done here (the UNI-Dome) ... but since the McLeod Center was built and before that it was a long, long time before we really had a capital piece in athletics that we went out to our donars with.
"It would have dedicated basketball courts and basketball offices," Dannen explained. "It also includes an academic area for all student-athletes and includes some of the things we're seeing as athletics are evolving, like food availability.
"It would have food service in there or the capability to have food service ... refueling stations at a minimum and full means at a maximum.
"I can envision a couple of batting cages in there, too, for softball, so they don't have to drive all over town looking for a place to hit."
The preliminary vision for the Panther Performance Center also includes a space for large events.
"It would also have open space where we could host events for up to 400 or 500 people," said Dannen. "There are really only two places in town where you can hold an event that large, and they're booked. It's a long-term way to generate additional revenue. It's a need the university has, as well, for a larger common space."
Indirectly, the Panther Performance Center would also make the McLeod Center more available for special events and shows that would serve as another source of revenue.
UNI-Dome renovation
The fifth and final piece of the long-term plan is a $25 million dome renovation, which is also the largest and most challenging project. It's not on UNI's current five-year capital plan, but it's among the most important and could be added in the next year or two.
"The Dome is turning 40," said Dannen. "Before we know it, it's going to be 50. Besides the roof, it's a lot of the same infrastructure inside the building, including the restrooms, and that is the single biggest liability we have in our facilities. It's not as fan-friendly as it used to be."
Conceptual designs for the project include expanding the concourses, adding up to 100 toilets, expanding the number of game-day suites, adding some club-type and premium seating and either repainting or replacing the rest of the existing seating.
"I've always felt like purple seats would really make this place pop," noted Dannen.
UNI has made a handful of recent upgrades to the Dome, including the new video board, an improved point of sales system for ticketing and an $800,000 upgrade to the cooling system.
"The Dome is in remarkable shape," Dannen pointed out. "But if you don't do this, all of a sudden that dome is 50 years old and we're going to be chasing instead of being proactive.
"There are a lot of needs from a physical standpoint. We have to continue to invest in the infrastructure so we're not spending $80,000 to $220,000 to do repairs every year."