Indoor Practice Facility

[upprdeck]

the big issue is 2 fold, firs,t the money needs to be donated.  second, the location, of which the only real places is the facility off game farm.. this is the thing that might happen when the baseball field finally moves out there in 5-10 yrs.

[CU2007]

the big issue is 2 fold, firs,t the money needs to be donated.  second, the location, of which the only real places is the facility off game farm.. this is the thing that might happen when the baseball field finally moves out there in 5-10 yrs.

Should have already happened. The field looks really nice but the fact is it's absolutely massive, takes up prime real estate that could benefit many more people, and no one really cares about Cornell baseball.

[dag14]

Speak for yourself.  I care about Cornell baseball and have since before I cared about Cornell hockey or lacrosse.  

The debate about athletics v. academics occupying central campus real estate doesn't really center on any particular sport.  It is just easier to move a field than a building to somewhere else.  You are living in a dream world if you think an enclosed practice facility will ever be built on central campus.

[upprdeck]

enough people care about baseball to fund it

[billhoward]

Cornell needs two new facilities:

• Field-length practice field, enclosed / domed.
• Better M/W lacrosse-soccer field seating 3,500-6,000

Lower and Upper Alumni Fields that were said to be forever greeen (for sports) got taken instead for academics, starting mid-1979s, possibly in violation of the old West Rule ["Village Council just passed an ordinance. House of ill repute and place of worship can't be within 100 yards of each other." "Oh, yeah? Where's the church moving?"]

We're seeing right-sized fields for non-football. Princeton has the best in Class of '52 Field, about 4,000 seats, steeply pitched for good sightlines, dressing facilities for men / women / visitors. Yale has Stevenson Reece Field near Yale Bowl although its 3,000 seats were barely enough for Yale-Cornell lax. Now Dartmouth, now Brown. Also more Ivies are creating permanent indoor field houses for length-of-field practices. If not now, soon all the Ivies will need them to be competitive with non-Ivy opponents.

Below I marked up a view of Cornell on-campus playing fields and the academic buildings that took away playing fields.

There are just 4 upper alumni fields left. Two are grass surfaces. (I overlaid the boundaries of the Schoellkopf football field playing surface on one for reference). The third is Dodson Field, only for wonen's field hockey because it has AstroTurf which makes a ball roller straighter and is also more abrasive if you fall and slide. (It has portable bleachers, no permanent stands.) The fourth is the Bob Kane '34 complex / Berman Field pitch, a cost-conscious effort at a field for soccer and track with lights and modest 1000-seat stands that are low to the field. It always reminds me of something a high school would do.

If Cornell is to build a better lacrosse-maybe soccer field (with no track, for better viewing by fans), it could go:

• In place of one of the two grass fields (there for practice for the occasional grass-field football game)
• Replace (move to the west) the field hockey field, possibly create a mutual press box / stands / enclosed spectator area between that and Berman Field. For many events, even for M-Lax early-season, 1,000 seats are all you need, but for Cornell-Princeton in late April, you might want 5,000 seats.
• Replace Hoy Field and move baseball farther from campus. Moving baseball only impacts one sport.So would moving field hockey off-campus, for that matter.
• Maybe it's possible to wedge an interesting facility on the hillside between the Crescent Lot and the Oxley Lot if you drive enough pilings.

I hope Cornell keeps as many sports on campus as possible, so students without cars can go see the games. Maybe that's wishful thinking giving how low the attendance is, how few midweek afternoon games there are anymore, but it seems odd that the Ivy's second most rural campus has to push activities off campus because there isn't room on-campus.

Perhaps the Cornell 2050 plan should envision a Schoellkopf Field II more in scale with today's crowds. It sells out twice a year: graduation, and the Homecoming Friday fireworks if it's not cold/rainy. Maybe with the West Stands gone and the track gone (unused for competition), the field can be moved closer to the stands. My rough measurements find that from the edge of the lacrosse surface (~60 yards wide), there's 10-11 yards to the edge of the Crescent stands, and 26-28 yards to the edge of the parking deck / pressbox.

FYI the largest playing surface is soccer at 110-120 yards long by 70-80 yards wide (Berman is 118 x 74).

Code Select Expand

Sport       Length (yd) Width
Soccer       110-120 70-80
Berman Field 118         74
Lacrosse M/W 110       53-1/3 - 60
Football 120             53-1/3
Field hockey 100           60

I also wish Cornell had one field with a rolling slope on one side so spectators could picnic, catch sun, check Tinder, and maybe watch the game. Those are probably going away because of the desire to insulate players from fans, and probably liability issues.

[upprdeck]

not sure you can build anything like that in that location with what is underground right there. you certainly have an issue disturbing the research.

[TimV]

We're seeing right-sized fields for non-football. Princeton has the best in Class of '52 Field, about 4,000 seats, steeply pitched for good sightlines, dressing facilities for men / women / visitors. Yale has Stevenson Field near Yale Bowl although its 3,000 seats were barely enough for Yale-Cornell lax.

I think Stevenson Field is Brown's current lacrosse-soccer facility.  Yale's is Reece Stadium and according to their website has 1250 permanent seats.  I've seen bleachers in the end zone and along the Cox Cage wall on the far side.  It's a great facility because the stands are mounted above the team rooms so they are both close to the field but still have elevated sight lines.  

Yale Reece Stadium

[billhoward]

I've also seen Yale's Reese Stadium capacity as 1,766 permanent seats plus standing room, and 3,000. The Cornell-Yale lax match drew 2,716 according to the box score, with a lot of people along the sidelines and well back on the ends. According to the https://centerbrook.com/project/yale_university_reese_stadium, Reese's "barrel vaults and arches found on the facades of the nearby Yale Bowl and Yale Baseball Stadium, along with similar stucco, ... unite Yale's athletic village." I'm trying to recall the architectural details that unite Lynah, Schoellkopf and Berman.

Centerbrook has expanded and renovated Reese Stadium, raising the profile of the home for Yale University's men and women's varsity soccer and lacrosse teams. In addition to upgrading the 1981 facility with new seating, turf, lighting, and amenities for players, fans and alumni, the design employs the same barrel vaults and arches found on the facades of the nearby Yale Bowl and Yale Baseball Stadium, along with similar stucco, to unite Yale's athletic village.

"The new Reese Stadium will draw excellent coaches and students and proudly host tournaments and NCAA games – events that will bring new prestige to the teams and to Yale Athletics," according to the dedication day program.

Centerbrook previously developed a Master Plan for the university's Derby Avenue athletic campus, and designed the Kenney Center and adjacent Jensen Plaza as the formal entry to the historic Yale Bowl. Several years ago, the firm also expanded and renovated the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.

The new facility replaces old bleachers with an entirely new building that also houses team rooms, concessions, ticket booths, a press box, and two alumni terraces at the top of the grandstand. It hosted its first soccer games in 2010. The new stadium now seats 1,766 spectators along with additional areas for standing room viewing.

The thing I would add to a small stadium is a canopy or roof over some of the stands. We saw lacrosse games this spring that drew under 500. Then you'd at least be out of the weather if you're a spectator.

[TimV]

I'm trying to recall the architectural details that unit Lynah, Schoellkopf and Berman.

Flat bench seats that haven't changed form since 1929?

[CU77]

testing, sorry, please ignore

[Ken711]

I heard Cornell has received approval to begin design work on a permanent indoor practice facility, with approximately 50% of the project cost already raised through gifts and fundraising.  No other details on site location.

[Swampy]

I heard Cornell has received approval to begin design work on a permanent indoor practice facility, with approximately 50% of the project cost already raised through gifts and fundraising.  No other details on site location.

Woo hoo! ::banana::

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I heard Cornell has received approval to begin design work on a permanent indoor practice facility, with approximately 50% of the project cost already raised through gifts and fundraising.  No other details on site location.

Woo boo! ::banana::

No offense to Ken711, but I'll wait for an official announcement before my banana starts dancing.

[Ken711]

I heard Cornell has received approval to begin design work on a permanent indoor practice facility, with approximately 50% of the project cost already raised through gifts and fundraising.  No other details on site location.

Woo boo! ::banana::

No offense to Ken711, but I'll wait for an official announcement before my banana starts dancing.

No offense taken.

[billhoward]

I heard Cornell has received approval to begin design work on a permanent indoor practice facility, with approximately 50% of the project cost already raised through gifts and fundraising.  No other details on site location.

Woo boo! ::banana::

No offense to Ken711, but I'll wait for an official announcement before my banana starts dancing.

A Harvey Weinstein joke lurks.