Facilities facelift to boost athletics

In the never-ending race to compete for recruits, endorsements, donations and fan support, a $65 million plan is set for approval that will expand Memorial Stadium and create new facilities for eight of IU's athletics teams.\nThe facelift, which is scheduled to be paid for entirely in-private donations, is highlighted by a $35 million addition to the north end of Memorial Stadium.\nThe plan will be proposed to the IU board of trustees in the fall and upon approval, construction would begin when finances become available for each facility.\nA three-story addition modeled after the architecture of buildings around campus will enclose the north end of the football stadium, increasing the seating capacity and creating room for a new football weight room.\nAdding to the aesthetics of Memorial Stadium, built in October of 1960, will be an IU gift shop and a Hoosier hall of fame overlooking the field.\nAthletics Director Terry Clapacs said raising home football attendance is the key to the department's financial well-being, and that these investments will be key in bringing a buzz back to cream and crimson football.\n"I've often thought that this stadium is basically fan unfriendly," Clapacs said. "We need to create a whole new environment. It's a good stadium, and it's in good condition. But there's not a whole lot of character and not a whole lot of home field advantage."\nThe expansion would add approximately 2,000 seats to Memorial Stadium, bringing its seating capacity to 54,180.\nAlso on the list of improvements is the opening of a new athletic academic center where the current football offices are located.\nThe current IU academic support services area, which is grossly overcrowded, is smaller than facilities at most Big Ten schools. Creating a state-of-the-art study facility for IU's student athletes would help in the battle for signing recruits not only on the football field, but for all of IU's 24 varsity sports.\nFootball recruiting is difficult enough when competing with the likes of in-state foes Purdue and Notre Dame, but has been additionally difficult because most of IU's facilities do not compete with schools boasting impressive weight rooms and academic support areas.\nAmong other planned improvements set aside by the proposal are designs for new or expanded amenities for baseball, basketball, golf, field hockey, rowing, softball, tennis and volleyball.\n"As far as tennis is concerned, I'd place our facilities towards the bottom of the Big Ten," IU women's tennis coach Lin Loring said. "Our outdoor courts are cracked and need to be replaced, and our indoor tennis center struggles because there are so many demands for court time. The lack of facilities here has definitely hurt us over the last eight of nine years."\nThe specifics of additional facilities and their locations will not be discussed until the trustees have a chance to vote and discuss specific cost estimates.\nHowever, the basketball improvements would not include replacing historic Assembly Hall. Rather, it would benefit from a multipurpose facility, adding room for a basketball practice gym and a new home for the Hoosier volleyball and wrestling programs.\nRecent graduate and IU sports enthusiast J.D. Uebler said putting money toward the improvement of IU football is important, but that spending $35 million on stadium additions may not be the solution to IU football's woes.\n"Football-wise they should want to guarantee more fan support before investing this money into something people may never see," Uebler said. "I can understand how the improved weight room and academic center will help towards recruiting, but adding seats and spending to make the stadium bigger might be a waste when we struggle to fill the space we already have. That's a lot of money to spend in hopes more people turn out at games."\nAlthough no dates have been set for the start of IU's renovations, it is expected that the money for Memorial Stadium can be raised in three to four years.\n-- Contact staff writer Jeff Fuldauer at jfuldaue@indiana.edu.