The Strategic Plan has now entered its final days of drafting and, right now, the main objection is to finish the outdoor athletic and recreation aspect of the Plan.
As of right now, the idea is to have two 65-yard fields next to one another running from north to south where the soccer field is now located. These two practice fields will be near the side of Jennison Street and another 100- yard field will run east to west behind the aforementioned 65- yard fields.
The area where the old practice football field is located, along with the houses and space behind the Athletic Center, will be transformed into the new baseball facility. Home plate will be located at the corner of Jennison and Russell and will project out towards the tennis courts. As for the area where the old baseball field was located, that will become the new soccer stadium.
Dean of Students Dr. Thomas Bambrey wanted to make it clear that these ideas are still in the early stages and could change in the coming weeks. “At the January meeting of the Board of Trustees we were given permission to go ahead with the project to improve outdoor athletic fields,” Bambrey said. “Since that time, we have been working on field design with Hastings and Chivetta, the firm doing our Campus Master Plan. At this date, we have received from Hastings & Chivetta very preliminary drawings on the fields. They and we will continue to work on the details as the plan matures. So, I emphasize that what I include here is very preliminary.”
Dr. Bambrey said he has spoken with the respective coaches about these possible changes and received feedback, but he did not elaborate on whether this feedback was positive or negative. Dr. Bambrey also mentioned that both soccer and baseball will have permanent seating, but that the decision as to what the field surfaces will be, either natural grass or synthetic surface, has been made. However, it has been determined that both will have a press box.
The football stadium will have synthetic turf installed, although a certain type has not yet been determined. The stadium’s press box will be upgraded, along with the restrooms.
In the spring, the new football and soccer fields will serve as our competition surface for track and field throwing events: shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer. Director of Public Affairs and Marketing Jim Amidon explained that the three-day meeting held by the Trustees and the Director of the National Association of Wabash Men at the end of last month aided in the current drafting of the Strategic Plan by President White.
The plan is for the campus to have a draft on March 10, and the Board is on schedule for that date. Mr. Amidon said that the draft of the Strategic Plan will be discussed at a faculty meeting and a staff community meeting.
“The student advisory committee will get a chance to meet to talk with the President about the plan,” Amidon said, “and I think they are going to try to do some campus-wide breakout conversations related to the plan, and the trustees will see drafts of it through the rest of the spring, and then hopefully have a final draft for the Board at the May meeting.”
If the final draft is not completed by the May 9 deadline, the final draft will definitely be completed by October, but Mr. Amidon is confident it will be finished by May. Everything is on schedule, and President White is working diligently on the final draft.
The sketches of the fields and when they will begin construction is not clear due to the fact that installing the football stadium is a meticulous process and requires a specific timeline.
This is also true for the baseball and soccer stadiums, if they also will be made of turf..
“We have made no decisions on the details of these fields; we will do so as we refine the projects with the help of Hastings & Chivetta,” Bambrey said. “The timeline is still undetermined, but we hope to move the projects forward as quickly as possible.”