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Excitement builds with stadium
By Paul Gregersen
 Media Credit: Ryan Henry A worker from W. Gohman Construction company brave bitter cold temperatures while working on the new athletic complex near Halenbeck Hall. The stadium is slated to be open in the Fall of 2004.
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Contrary to what students may think, the mammoth concrete structure west of Halenbeck Hall is not going to be a football stadium. It will be more like a giant Swiss Army knife that MacGyver himself would envy.
The project is actually a $9.7 million multipurpose stadium and $6 million recreation center that students voted in favor of bonding in 2001. The bond covers the entire cost of the recreation center and $5 million toward the stadium. The state will kick in the remaining $4.7 million.
"It's not just a football stadium; students should never fund just a football stadium," said Sports Facilities/Campus Recreation Director Ron Seibring.
The stadium, scheduled to be completed Sept. 1, will seat about 5,000.
The 120-by-80 yard field, big enough for soccer and football, will be covered with artificial turf similar to that of the Metrodome.
"We are excited, very excited," said women's soccer head coach Stephanie McGuinness. "When a lot of our players left for Christmas it was just a hole in the ground, so when they came back they were excited to see the progress."
Of course the football and soccer teams will utilize the Swiss Army knife facility, but only one or two blades. The scissors, tweezers, bottle and can openers will be used by a much larger portion of the student body in the form of a 65-foot high dome.
After the last soccer or football games, the dome, equipped with lights and a heating system, will be inflated over the field portion of the stadium to host practices for club teams such as lacrosse and rugby. It will also service intramurals and be a place for students who want to throw a frisbee or play softball year-round. Community programs may also be scheduled to help generate revenue to pay for the dome.
The extra blades, toothpick, file and corkscrew, disguised as the recreation center, will be connected to the stadium as well as Halenbeck Hall and will be completed by Dec. 1.
The facility will include a rock climbing wall, a 10,000 sq. foot fitness center, equipped with 20 state-of-the-art treadmills and exercise bikes, cardio theater with television and movies to watch while working out, outing center for kayaking and backpacking, information center, martial arts center, wellness center with two massage therapy rooms and an assessment area.
Office space for club teams will also be provided so it will be easier for students to find out about them.
Students can access the recreation center with a swipe of a student I.D.
However, classes will not be held in the new facility.
"It's a recreation center not an academic center. You actually, as students - just like Atwood Center - are paying the debt retirement. You're paying the operating, it's your facility," Seibring said. "With that $6 million facility, you get a lot of bang for your buck."
Gohman W. Construction Co. of St. Joseph put in the lowest bid for the project and was chosen as the general contractor in charge of putting all the gadgets of the knife together.
SCSU Owners Representative John Stelton was hired from Cost Planning & Management International Inc. (CPMI) of Bloomington and is in constant communication with the contractor. According to Stelton, Gohman Co. is right on schedule for the completion dates.
CPMI also represented SCSU during the construction of the James W. Miller Learning Resources Center and Lawrence Hall, but this is the first project Gohman Co. has been involved with on campus.
What will happen with 67-year-old Selke field and the Halenbeck Fieldhouse?
Seibring said for now they will stay put so SCSU athletic and club teams can practice, but plans will soon be in the works to renovate them.
Selke may even be transformed into a softball complex using only a ballpoint pen and a paperclip. Not even MacGyver would throw his old knives away.
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