UW-L wants to build $12M stadium

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 04, 2004 | by Hoskin, Ed

Plans are in the works for a new $12 million stadium at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse in a bid to improve facilities and increase spectator capacity.

Though still in its early stages, the proposal calls for replacing Veterans Memorial Stadium with a 10,000-seat football and track stadium that would be financed mostly through private donations, UW-L Director of University Relations Cary Heyer said Thursday.

If the project gets state approval, the earliest construction could begin is 2006, he said.

The name of the stadium would remain the same, he said.

A new stadium would help UW-L attract new events, as well as boost spectator capacity for the annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Track and Field Championships, which start today.

"This is a conversation we've been having for several months now," Heyer said. "We've hosted the track meet here for 15 years, we've seen the increases in attendance, and we know we need to keep ahead of it. It (also) gives us the leg up if there are other organizations considering hosting an event."

Just last week, the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh began a $5.5 million renovation to its 10,000-seat Titan Stadium, and officials there last year approached the WIAA about hosting the state track meet in the future.

The stadium proposal is not a direct reaction to those renovations, Heyer said.

"We understand full well that Oshkosh is trying to lure this thing away," Heyer said. "We know we want it here, we don't take it for granted, it's very important for the community, and it's also a great showcase for UW-L.

"Really, it gives us a chance to showcase our university to a very desirable group, and that is parents and students who are considering where they want to attend school in the future."

The state track meet infuses the local economy with an estimated $1.5 million annually, Heyer was recently told by Jim Brown of the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The plan

The new stadium plan still is in its early stages and would have to be approved by the state as part of "standard operating procedure," Heyer said.

"We're putting together a campus master plan now, and this has been a process taking place over the last several months," Heyer said. "The (stadium) feasibility study has pretty much been done. It's more how are we going to finance it, and how we're going to position it to the community.

"The community understands the importance, and that's the first key," he said. "Selling the concept won't be difficult to communicate."

Attendance at the track and field championships has grown considerably since UW-L first hosted it in 1990, and last year saw the stadium filled to capacity at times with more than 15,000 spectators over three days.

The existing stadium holds 4,400, and the plan is to more than double that with a higher grandstand and increased eastside seating. The plan also includes expanding locker room, restroom, concession and training facilities, Heyer said. its grass field would be replaced with a synthetic surface that would be "a lot easier to maintain, and if you're going to have other events there, it gives you a lot more flexibility," Heyer said.

Larry Terry, UW-L football coach and on-site coordinator for the state track meet, said he was excited by the stadium plans.

"We need more seating. We need to update our facility," Terry said. "I think the word ,urgent' is appropriate, and I think we're going to move that way.

"It's not just about (the) state track meet," he said. "If we upgrade our facility, we can attract other events - gridiron classics in football and a number of other events."

UW-L has the state track meet at least until 2006, Terry said. "It's always like a threeyear rolling horizon, meaning we get a fresh three (years) every year until they tell us they don't want to come anymore," Terry said.

"The bottom line is we don't want to be complacent," he said. "We don't want to be comfortable thinking we've got it made in the shade. We've done a lot of things since the meet started in upgrading in the competition facility, but we need to improve our stadium, we need to improve our visitor seating, we need to get a synthetic surface, and we have an exciting external plan."

Prior to 1990, the state track meet was held in Madison.

"We went aggressively after it, and at that time Madison was not doing anything to upgrade their facility," Terry said. "Plus, we had an extra lane."

Oshkosh

The stadium renovation at UW-Oshkosh is set to be completed next summer, Oshkosh Athletic Director A] Ackerman said.

"It's going to be a Cadillac," Ackerman said. "There are lots of different events we'd like to attract.

"LaCrosse the city, and university, does a bang up job, (so) it's certainly not a foregone conclusion (Oshkosh would be awarded the state track meet)," he said, "At least (we'd) have a fighting chance."

WIAA Executive Director Doug Chickering confirmed Oshkosh had inquired about hosting the state track meet, but he said it won't be considered until the Oshkosh stadium renovation is completed.