Campaign for Athletic Complex

 

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AU gives OK to proceed with Athletic Complex - Board of Trustees votes its approval to begin work on the final pieces of new facility on Broad Street

May 12 , 2009 by T-G Staff Writer, Courtney Albon

The final phase of Ashland University's $23-million athletic complex is a go.

The AU Board of Trustees on Friday unanimously approved the last phase of construction, which includes the 1,000-seat soccer and track stadium and football stadium end zone facility.

The university has secured permits and construction will begin as soon as possible, said university president Fred Finks. Finks expects the field will be ready for play by the fall season.

The project needs another $1.6 million in funding, but Finks said there's a steady stream of interested donors. In mid-April, the project was about $3 million short.

"We're very solid right now and have a lot of momentum," Finks said. "When the opportunity came, people stepped up to do it."  Had the board not approved the final phase and construction been delayed, Finks said, the end zone facility -- which includes locker rooms, offices, a weight room, athletic training space and an entertainment area -- would not have been completed by fall 2010. Finks said competitive construction prices also drove the board's decision.

"(The meeting) was really amazing and the board was very, very positive," Finks said.

The board decided at its December meeting to approve the project in three phases. Finks expects the football stadium to be completed by Ashland's Sept. 12 home opener with Michigan Tech.

 

Planning commission approves university's Athletic Complex

May 5 , 2009 by T-G Staff Writer, Courtney Albon

The Ashland City Planning Commission on Monday approved the site plan for the proposed Ashland University Athletic Complex. Included in the plan were details about sidewalk installation and parking availability.

Rick Ewing, AU's executive director of facilities management and planning, presented the commission with plans detailing installation of a 6-foot-wide integral curb and sidewalk, which would run from the corner of Moss Hill Drive and Broad Street to about 40 yards past the intersection of Davis Road.

Ewing said the integral curb is a standard installation in the university's recent building projects on Kind Road, Samaritan Avenue and College Boulevard because of its "clean look" and low maintenance needs. Also, because there is a significant grading rise along Broad Street, a tree lawn and sidewalk would be insufficient without the curb. Ewing said the curb and sidewalk would make it easier for pedestrians to access the area.

Ewing's proposal included a plan not to install sidewalks along Berry Street; however, commission members said the issue would have to be raised with city council.

Among the items approved was the university's parking plan, which, with the installation of a new 110-space lot near Davis and Fairbanks Streets, would give the school approximately 1,100 parking spots for athletic events.

The current rule says a ratio of six patrons per parking spot must be provided. The new stadium seats 5,100, and, with approximately 1,100 available parking spots, more than fits within the city's zoning laws.

Ewing said the parking and sidewalk plans were meant to make attending athletic events safe and enjoyable and to ease concerns about traffic flow.

"Quite honestly, we want game day to be a pleasant experience," Ewing said. "It's our intention that we have a situation that works."

Commission member Greg Gault, who raised concerns about parking and traffic flow on Broad Street at previous meetings, questioned whether parking on the street should be banned altogether.

Mayor Glen Stewart said parking is necessary along Broad Street and until the planned parking lot is completed -- Ewing said he thought it would be ready for the fall semester -- parking should remain available. Ewing said the university could make the street off-limits for parking on game days.

Included in the approved plan were drawings for two storage sheds and a set of bleachers, which may not come to fruition and, as currently drawn, violate some setback dimension requirements. Ewing asked that the commission consider the items "future structures" and said the university would seek approval "when or if these structures come to fruition."

 

Eagle sports enjoying boom/University's athletics doing well in tough times, Finks says

April 24, 2009 by T-G Sports Editor, Doug Hadet

With a rocky economy and the topic of a $23 million-plus athletic facility on the lips of many in Ashland, university president Frederick Finks said the institution's athletic program has been able to sustain tough times.

Many alumni will be in town for tonight's 7 p.m. Purple and Gold spring football game at Community Stadium, and the school's new football facility is progressing on Broad Street. Finks said $3 million still needs to be raised to make the whole complex -- which would include soccer and track facilities -- a go.

"We've raised $21.8 million, so it's the most money we've ever raised for any focused project," said Finks, who said the majority of that money has been committed to the football portion of the complex, which is the driving force of the project. "We've never raised this kind of money in advance of any project ever in the history of this institution."

Finks said enthusiasm surrounding the project has been so broad the top three donors -- a $7 million and two $3 million donors -- were not even varsity athletes at the university.

But while new seating for the football stadium began to arrive April 13, Finks said progress on the soccer and track portions is on hold until the remaining $3 million is raised.

"We don't want to wait too long," he said. "We don't want to build the football (portion) and then not begin the other piece because then people begin losing confidence in 'Are we ever going to do this?'

"I would hope that if we could raise $1.5 million, that the board would give us the green light to go forward with the entire project."

The field house portion of the football facility, which is to include offices and locker rooms, among other things, is another phase of the project which has been put on hold.

"We know that if we don't begin the construction of the end zone facility by mid to late summer, then we won't be in it for the fall of 2010," he said. "So that's got us all working on all cylinders right now."

While there has been doubt voiced as to whether the football facility will be ready for the team's home opener Sept. 12 against Michigan Tech, Finks said he expects it to be done.

"The goal is -- and we are not moving away from that goal -- to be in there Sept. 12," he said.

As for athletics at Ashland overall, Finks said the school's programs largely have been able to take on the tough times with only a few adjustments.

Ashland University absorbed 48 job cuts in November. It warded off a second round of such cuts with strong student retention rates.

While graduate assistants for the majority of AU sports for the 2009-10 school year have been reduced -- and in some cases eliminated -- Finks said Ashland has not changed the way it handles contracts with its head coaches.

"There was no great deal that you could cut in athletic programs because of travel, schedules that are set two years in advance," he said. "And increased costs for umpires and referees are there, so we did not cut budgets in athletics at all."

Additionally, the president said the number of athletic scholarships in athletics has not been affected, and that AU
has strengthened financial aid packages for student athletes.

With an impressive spring under way, in which the men's outdoor track and field team is ranked No. 1 in the country, the baseball and softball teams both are No. 1 in their respective regions and the women's golf team is closing in on its first NCAA Tournament appearance, business in AU athletics is booming.

And Finks said the emphasis has remained where it should be.

"Our athletes hold a GPA of 3.0 here, across the board," he said. "They graduate at a higher rate than our regular undergraduate program, so that's a pattern that's different at many, many schools."

 

Ashland University Athletic Complex Campaign Nearing Goal

Aug. 8, 2008

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ASHLAND, Ohio –Ashland University could be breaking ground this fall as a campaign for a new athletic complex nears its goal.
The University has raised more than $20 million for the construction of the new athletic complex. The Campaign for Athletic Complex includes funding for a 6,000-seat football stadium, a 1,000-seat soccer/track stadium, an athletic center, an intramural field, land acquisition and endowment.

Fund raising continues toward the $23 million campaign goal, but the executive board of the AU Board of Trustees met Wednesday and unanimously gave authority to move forward with site development needed to prepare for construction.

AU President Dr. Frederick Finks said he is pleased with the progress of the campaign, noting the campaign may surpass $25 million when finished.

"Never in the history of this institution have we raised that amount of money in that amount of time," Finks said, noting the campaign has received broad support from all segments of the Ashland community, campus and alumni population.

Site preparation will begin in September, Finks said. In October, blueprints will be completed and the bid process will begin. In November, bids will be returned and the Ohio Higher Education Facilities Commission could approve AU for bond funds.

Groundbreaking is expected to take place this fall with the first home athletic events hosted in the fall of 2009.

Ashland University is a private, comprehensive institution located in north central Ohio between Cleveland and Columbus. On-campus enrollment is nearly 2,150 undergraduate students while total enrollment, including graduate and off-campus centers, is more than 6,500.

 

Ashland University Announces Plans for Athletic Complex

January 25, 2008

At its meeting on Thursday, the Ashland University Board of Trustees reviewed and supported the public announcement of the AU fundraising campaign to build a new athletic complex on the north side of Broad Street on the Ashland University campus.

The campaign, “Bringing Spirit to Campus,” calls for a new athletic complex that features a 7,000-seat football stadium with synthetic turf, a 1,000-seat soccer and track stadium with synthetic turf, an intramural/club sports field and a field house with offices, locker rooms, weight room, athletic training area and entertainment areas. The stadium will feature concession and merchandise areas and press box, and plans also call for a marching band room to be located near where the band will practice.

“This is truly a bold and exciting plan to provide students with expanded recreational, intramural and physical activity opportunities throughout the week and on weekends. Ashland University recognizes it must continue to provide recreational facilities to improve the quality of life on campus as well as maintain the health and wellness of its students,” said Dr. Frederick Finks, president of Ashland University.

“We believe the new Athletic Complex will be a showcase for football, soccer and track in Ohio and throughout the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference. Ashland has a long history of excellence in sports, with 14 of our 20 teams being ranked nationally this past year. We see the value in bringing three major sports -- football, soccer and track -- to a premier sports complex that will continue this excellence, help in recruitment and retention, and raise the level of school spirit.”

Finks said the University launched its “Quiet Phase” of the campaign in May of 2007, and has experienced positive progress toward achieving the $23 million goal, which includes money earmarked for furnishings and endowment as well as construction.

“We believe now is the time to go public. With our anonymous lead gift of $7 million, we are at $14.5 million in commitments at this point,” Finks said. “We cannot say when we will build, only that we plan to break ground as soon as the cash flow from the commitments to the campaign will allow us to begin construction.”

Finks said the public announcement of the campaign will allow the University to capitalize on the momentum generated by the announcement.

“Going public allows us to confirm the project, which has been a topic of discussion for many years, to current and prospective student athletes, alumni, parents and coaches,” Finks said. “Coaches are very excited about sharing the news with potential recruits and showing them the planned complex, and we believe this will impact both recruitment and retention of athletes in track, soccer and football.”

Finks called this an “exciting time” in the life of Ashland University.

“Never in our history have we had such momentum going into a major campaign. Never have we had a lead gift before a campaign was announced. Never have we had a $7 million gift toward any project,” he said. “We have positive results behind us and great momentum ahead as we go public with the campaign.”

AU alumnus and Wooster resident Jack Miller, Class of 1974, is serving as campaign chair, while Dwight Schar, Class of 1964, and Fred Martinelli, former football coach and athletic director, are honorary co-chairs for the campaign.

“We are excited about an on-campus premier Division II football stadium and we look forward to having a home track meet, and having football, track, soccer and their auxiliary functions all in one great venue,” Miller said. “‘Bringing Spirit to Campus’ has been an easy sell and will further enhance excellence at AU.”