Campus Connection

The UW System Board of Regents approved a new fieldhouse on the UW-La Crosse campus during the board’s regular meeting Friday in Madison. No state tax dollars will be used for the $32.98 million project. UW-L students gave the project a green light in an online referendum in October. A total of 3,656 students voted with 56.2 percent of those who voted in favor of the project. The project would allow UW-L to keep pace with the continued growth in the athletic and recreational programs on campus as well as growth in the Exercise and Sport Science Department. The facility would relieve congestion in Mitchell Hall and increase instructional space in the department, which has four undergraduate and four graduate programs, says Mark Gibson, chair of the Exercise and Sport Science department. “We have one of the fastest growing departments on campus — it’s grown at a 10 percent clip over the last three years compared to 5 percent growth of the campus overall,” says Gibson. Approval is still needed from the State Building Commission and the state legislature as part of the 2015-17 state biennial budget. The fieldhouse is planned to go up on the existing soccer field east of Roger Harring Stadium to the northeast of Mitchell Hall. The $32.98 million proposal includes construction of the 124,000-gross-square-foot fieldhouse, larger than UW-L’s Recreational Eagle Center. The fieldhouse would include a 200-meter, eight lane NCAA competition indoor track that is suitable for track meet field events, baseball and softball practice and intramural and club sporting activities. The second level will have a 10,300 gross-square-foot walking and jogging track and provide access for academic lab work in the Exercise and Sport Science Department. The fieldhouse would also include four indoor competition tennis courts that can also be used for recreational activities. The project also includes construction of a 2,500 gross-square-foot soccer support facility the includes press box, concessions area, restrooms, equipment storage and a sports medicine/training room. It would be located adjacent to the site of the relocated competition soccer field. Student fees would gradually increase to $66 a semester starting in fiscal year 2016 to help pay for the fieldhouse project. The university would contribute $13 million in program revenue funds and students would pay the remaining $20 million.