Indoor sports facility announced

[CAS]

Happy that this important project is progressing...

[David Harding]

Ithaca City planning board advanced the Meinig Fieldhouse project after determining it had no negative CEQR affects.  The approval came after Cornell made the decision to use plant-based infill for the outside multi-purpose field.  The next step is submission of preliminary site plan in October, final site [lan approval in November, and construction to start in December/January.

Here's a report on the Planning Board meeting.  https://ithacavoice.org/2024/09/city-planning-board-greenlights-cornell-synthetic-turf-field-over-concerns-of-environmentalists/

[Local Motion]

I am not sure why environmental protesters have concerns about turf that is indoors, because unless you have a retractable roof grass is not even an option.  However, on the second outdoor field adjacent to the indoor facility as a former student-athlete they should plant grass and not install another turf field.   Afterall Cornell is the home of the Ag & Life Sciences and having another grass field with good drainage is all you need.   Some NFL teams that now use natural grass, line the field with gravel or sinders underneath the top soil, so the field drains easily.  Whether practicing football, soccer, lacrosse etc. nothing beats a well mowed and maintained grass athletic field.   One of the reasons why we practiced on Alumni Fields was to get off the turf as no doubt the grass prevented injuries.

[Ken711]

I am not sure why environmental protesters have concerns about turf that is indoors, because unless you have a retractable roof grass is not even an option.  However, on the second outdoor field adjacent to the indoor facility as a former student-athlete they should plant grass and not install another turf field.   Afterall Cornell is the home of the Ag & Life Sciences and having another grass field with good drainage is all you need.   Some NFL teams that now use natural grass, line the field with gravel or sinders underneath the top soil, so the field drains easily.  Whether practicing football, soccer, lacrosse etc. nothing beats a well mowed and maintained grass athletic field.   One of the reasons why we practiced on Alumni Fields was to get off the turf as no doubt the grass prevented injuries.

The grass field not hold up with the amount of year round usage.

[The Rancor]

I am not sure why environmental protesters have concerns about turf that is indoors, because unless you have a retractable roof grass is not even an option.  However, on the second outdoor field adjacent to the indoor facility as a former student-athlete they should plant grass and not install another turf field.   Afterall Cornell is the home of the Ag & Life Sciences and having another grass field with good drainage is all you need.   Some NFL teams that now use natural grass, line the field with gravel or sinders underneath the top soil, so the field drains easily.  Whether practicing football, soccer, lacrosse etc. nothing beats a well mowed and maintained grass athletic field.   One of the reasons why we practiced on Alumni Fields was to get off the turf as no doubt the grass prevented injuries.

The grass field not hold up with the amount of year round usage.

Sounds like an excellent problem for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to solve.

[Swampy]

I am not sure why environmental protesters have concerns about turf that is indoors, because unless you have a retractable roof grass is not even an option.  However, on the second outdoor field adjacent to the indoor facility as a former student-athlete they should plant grass and not install another turf field.   Afterall Cornell is the home of the Ag & Life Sciences and having another grass field with good drainage is all you need.   Some NFL teams that now use natural grass, line the field with gravel or sinders underneath the top soil, so the field drains easily.  Whether practicing football, soccer, lacrosse etc. nothing beats a well mowed and maintained grass athletic field.   One of the reasons why we practiced on Alumni Fields was to get off the turf as no doubt the grass prevented injuries.

The grass field not hold up with the amount of year round usage.

Sounds like an excellent problem for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to solve.

On Fox News tonight I noticed they were making fun of people who don't want to use toilet paper containing forever chemicals. This alone should be a good case for using natural grass.

As my mother used to say, "If a moron told you not to worry about forever chemicals, would you follow their advice?"

[Ken711]

I am not sure why environmental protesters have concerns about turf that is indoors, because unless you have a retractable roof grass is not even an option.  However, on the second outdoor field adjacent to the indoor facility as a former student-athlete they should plant grass and not install another turf field.   Afterall Cornell is the home of the Ag & Life Sciences and having another grass field with good drainage is all you need.   Some NFL teams that now use natural grass, line the field with gravel or sinders underneath the top soil, so the field drains easily.  Whether practicing football, soccer, lacrosse etc. nothing beats a well mowed and maintained grass athletic field.   One of the reasons why we practiced on Alumni Fields was to get off the turf as no doubt the grass prevented injuries.

The grass field not hold up with the amount of year round usage.

Sounds like an excellent problem for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to solve.

My uncle worked in the Plant Pathology department at Cornell, I'm confident no amount of science can solve this problem, and more importantly, you can't also control the winter climate in Ithaca . It doesn't matter in any case, as the artificial turf fields and the project have already been approved and are advancing towards the construction phase.

[mike1960]

Groundwater is a precious resource, and easily contaminated.

[Ken711]

The Ithaca City Planning Board gave preliminary and final site plan approval to the Meinig Fieldhouse.  Construction should begin in December/January.

[scoop85]

The Ithaca City Planning Board gave preliminary and final site plan approval to the Meinig Fieldhouse.  Construction should begin in December/January.

Bravo!

[Ken711]

The Ithaca City Planning Board gave preliminary and final site plan approval to the Meinig Fieldhouse.  Construction should begin in December/January.

Bravo!

Being able to take new recruits in all the varsity sport teams to the construction site is bound to be a big tool in attracting student/athletes to Cornell.

[billhoward]

Sounds like an excellent problem for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to solve.

If pigs had wings, they still wouldn't leave the runway. Some problems are solvable with time, talent, technology and money. I'm not sure you can make grass stand up to multiple hours of use daily in freezing weather.

Mid-1960s, artificial turf, the kind that led to lots of ankle and knee injuries, was cool, expensive, and only a top twenty school could afford it. Cornell got its first artificial turf for, I think it was fall 1971 allowing Ed Marinaro '72 to play his final season on it. Now many, many high schools have it as well as colleges because the cost over the ~10-year lifespan of the rug is less than 10 years maintaining the turf and then only for a handful of games.

I bet the 10-year surface in Meinig will last 5 years because it gets so much use that the turf is worn out.

[David Harding]

The Ithaca City Planning Board gave preliminary and final site plan approval to the Meinig Fieldhouse.  Construction should begin in December/January.

Here's a long report from The Ithaca Voice

[Ken711]

A proposed sports facility at Cornell has cleared another hurdle. On Tuesday, the Town of Ithaca's Planning Board gave its approval for the Meinig Fieldhouse. The 90-thousand-square-foot facility would come with outdoor practice areas.  Last approval needed is a zoning variance due to the the building height which will then clear the way for building permits and ultimately the start of construction

[CAS]

Cornell put out a release that they broke ground on the new fieldhouse project.  Bravo.