Indoor sports facility announced

marty

Ken711

upprdeck
I don't recall the outrage Moravia just installed a field turf field this year just down the road?

Trying to get the courts to override the Ithaca City Planning Board who did their job in reviewing the application is a lost cause and waste of taxpayer money. Beyond the fact that a natural grass indoor field is both impractical and not even an option...but oh well.

Don't forget the appeals process when the court dismisses their suit.

After the appeal their cousins can sue and appeal.

Not likely to be the case. In NYS, an appeal of a determination made by a municipal body is called an Article 78 proceeding, and it must be filed within 4 months of the agency determination triggering the challenge. So, unless the “cousins” file their petition within that 4 month window, they are time barred.

marty

Ken711

upprdeck
I don't recall the outrage Moravia just installed a field turf field this year just down the road?

Trying to get the courts to override the Ithaca City Planning Board who did their job in reviewing the application is a lost cause and waste of taxpayer money. Beyond the fact that a natural grass indoor field is both impractical and not even an option...but oh well.

Don't forget the appeals process when the court dismisses their suit.

After the appeal their cousins can sue and appeal.

Exactly, only the lawyers win $$$ in attorney fees in these situations. Overriding the planning board is such a slippery slope in that every single developer would try and appeal the planning board's decisions going forward.

Anyone drive by the site of the Meinig Fieldhouse recently? I'm wondering if they are staging any construction equipment or trailers to prepare for the start of construction.

Ken711
Anyone drive by the site of the Meinig Fieldhouse recently? I'm wondering if they are staging any construction equipment or trailers to prepare for the start of construction.

They were stripping the field hockey field and the grass field next to it and had blocked off part of the parking lot for construction vehicles last I remember.

chimpfood

Ken711
Anyone drive by the site of the Meinig Fieldhouse recently? I'm wondering if they are staging any construction equipment or trailers to prepare for the start of construction.

They were stripping the field hockey field and the grass field next to it and had blocked off part of the parking lot for construction vehicles last I remember.

Thanks for the update.

Any new updates on the construction site?

Related to the indoor facility, Nicki Moore said in an email today that approval delays for the new field hockey field at Game Farm Road mean that the team won’t have a home venue ready for the fall and likely will have to play its home games in Syracuse. She takes responsibility for the situation and says she should have been more forthcoming about what was happening.

Weder
Related to the indoor facility, Nicki Moore said in an email today that approval delays for the new field hockey field at Game Farm Road mean that the team won’t have a home venue ready for the fall and likely will have to play its home games in Syracuse. She takes responsibility for the situation and says she should have been more forthcoming about what was happening.

Nice she takes responsibility but that seems like a pretty significant mistake. You’d think all approvals could be in place before breaking ground. Also, why Syracuse? Excuse my ignorance but isn’t a field hockey field just - a field with some goals? There’s nothing else available? I imagine even the local high schools have turf fields?

CU2007

Weder
Related to the indoor facility, Nicki Moore said in an email today that approval delays for the new field hockey field at Game Farm Road mean that the team won’t have a home venue ready for the fall and likely will have to play its home games in Syracuse. She takes responsibility for the situation and says she should have been more forthcoming about what was happening.

Nice she takes responsibility but that seems like a pretty significant mistake. You’d think all approvals could be in place before breaking ground. Also, why Syracuse? Excuse my ignorance but isn’t a field hockey field just - a field with some goals? There’s nothing else available? I imagine even the local high schools have turf fields?

High schools in Tompkins County don't really play field hockey, as far as I know, and it sounds like IC's field doesn't meet what Cornell is looking for. From Moore's email:

Nicki Moore
None of us hoped things would play out in this manner, and we're continuing to seek a better local solution. However, the sport played at the level of this team (in 2023, they reached a #16 national ranking) requires a flat, synthetic, non-in-filled, watered surface. The closest existing field of this kind is in Syracuse.

Weder

CU2007

Weder
Related to the indoor facility, Nicki Moore said in an email today that approval delays for the new field hockey field at Game Farm Road mean that the team won’t have a home venue ready for the fall and likely will have to play its home games in Syracuse. She takes responsibility for the situation and says she should have been more forthcoming about what was happening.

Nice she takes responsibility but that seems like a pretty significant mistake. You’d think all approvals could be in place before breaking ground. Also, why Syracuse? Excuse my ignorance but isn’t a field hockey field just - a field with some goals? There’s nothing else available? I imagine even the local high schools have turf fields?

High schools in Tompkins County don't really play field hockey, as far as I know, and it sounds like IC's field doesn't meet what Cornell is looking for. From Moore's email:

Nicki Moore
None of us hoped things would play out in this manner, and we're continuing to seek a better local solution. However, the sport played at the level of this team (in 2023, they reached a #16 national ranking) requires a flat, synthetic, non-in-filled, watered surface. The closest existing field of this kind is in Syracuse.

this is a great quote. more people responsible for the well-being of athletes should show this kind of concern for player health. there are nfl teams with nine-figure payroll investments that pinch pennies on the playing surface.

do they play on turf or field turf now?

Artificial fields in or near Ithaca include Ithaca College (2 I believe), Ithaca HS, Dryden HS, plus nearby Cortland State has a turf field.

Cornell has given up its Hoy Field artificial turf, the Upper Alumni Field field hockey AstroTurf was bulldozed, I believe there's a turf field on far North Campus. A football/soccer-size field takes up one acre, vs. 745 acres on the Cornell contiguous campus or 2200 acres total. Add an an artificial turf outdoor practice field next to the Meinig Field House, plus AstroTurf field for FH and Cornell's artificial turf coverage is 0.002 of overall Cornell.

Also, any school that wants to play halfway serious field hockey specifies AstroTurf versus, say, FieldTurf. Astroturf is said to be hard on ankles and knees, but a ball rolls straighter.

If Nicki Moore needs a mea culpa, it is: Well, excuse me, I didn't realize how much Ithaca planning / environmental / zoning boards have it in for artificial turf.

Companies such as FieldTurf say a start to finish installation of artificial turf takes 60 days. Cornell can't get approval done in four months, by June 1?

[edit add:] Cornell appears to have Chosen Syracuse, 52 miles away, because it has the nearest field hockey field, meaning covered with AstroTurf not other artificial turf surfaces.

billhoward
Artificial fields in or near Ithaca include Ithaca College (2 I believe), Ithaca HS, Dryden HS, plus nearby Cortland State has a turf field.

Cornell has given up its Hoy Field artificial turf, the Upper Alumni Field field hockey AstroTurf was bulldozed, I believe there's a turf field on far North Campus. A football/soccer-size field takes up one acre, vs. 745 acres on the Cornell contiguous campus or 2200 acres total. Add an an artificial turf outdoor practice field next to the Meinig Field House, plus AstroTurf field for FH and Cornell's artificial turf coverage is 0.002 of overall Cornell.

Also, any school that wants to play halfway serious field hockey specifies AstroTurf versus, say, FieldTurf. Astroturf is said to be hard on ankles and knees, but a ball rolls straighter.

If Nicki Moore needs a mea culpa, it is: Well, excuse me, I didn't realize how much Ithaca planning / environmental / zoning boards have it in for artificial turf.

Companies such as FieldTurf say a start to finish installation of artificial turf takes 60 days. Cornell can't get approval done in four months, by June 1?

There's "approval," and then there's how long afterwards it takes a company like FieldTurf to finish other projects already in its pipeline and then get started on Cornell's.

Getting back to the current state of construction, anyone drive by the site of the Meinig Fieldhouse recently? I'm wondering if they are staging any construction equipment or beginning any foundation work?

speaking from VERY limited knowledge... one of the field hockey specific requirements is the field should not be crowned
I think outdoor fieldturf fields are still crowned to encourage drainage, and this has obvious impact on the roll of the ball

so not only astroturf instead of fieldturf, but drainage and grading for a truly flat playing surface is desired
that said I am surprised that Ithaca or Cortland dont have a suitable field (maybe scheduling is more the challenge? )

Ithaca's Field hockey field, Higgins Stadium, is also used for lacrosse. Cortland State's White Field, it's field hockey field, is also used for lacrosse and various club sports teams. Maybe Cornell could get waiver to use those field?

Cortland State PR
The SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex, opened in the summer of 2002, features two artificial turf fields (A-Turf on the "Red" field and SprinTurf on the "White" field), both with lights for night contests. One field seats 6,500 spectators, the other 1,500. Among the teams using the facility are football, field hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's track and field.

The complex also is ideal for professional training and sports camps, intercollegiate and scholastic tournaments, and special events, such as drum and bugle corps competitions and commencements. In the summer of 2009, the Stadium Complex served as the focal point of the New York Jets summer training camp. [www2.cortland.edu]

Not clear if A-Turf = AstroTurf although that's on the non field-hockey field.