If you’re comfortable with the way things are around campus this year, just wait until the transformations to the school are completed by the end of 2012.
In addition to the new dormitory in the plot of land south of North A, north of Kennedy, UT plans to erect a new intramural field.
“The field is planned to be artificial turf,” UT President Vaughn said in a March 26 global email. “[The] new facility would be consistent with UT’s design and use standards that have already taken place on campus and on Kennedy Boulevard, and would provide an appealing entry into Tampa’s downtown.”
For every student that’s been here for more than a semester or two, this is going to be a rather large change. Two years ago, UT bought the land and removed an old Italian restaurant, Valencia Garden. The following fall, they built the MacKechnie building for foreign language speaking students. And last fall, they removed the old student commuter parking lot. Now, scheduled to be completed in December, is the new field.
It’s a big transformation for the school, and having an intramural field right on Kennedy certainly will make the school appear more attractive. In addition to hosting intramural sports, the field will also be the new home for the men’s lacrosse team as they enter their second season.
“We’re excited to get out there on the field when it gets done,” men’s lacrosse coach Rory Whipple said. The lacrosse team already seems excited about the new field. Soccer will still be played at Pepin/Rood Stadium, so the field will be all lacrosse next season.
“It will help everyone out, and it’s convenient that we’re the only ones on it,” Coach Whipple said. “I don’t think we’ll have a hard time adjusting to the artificial turf at all.”
But just because the field will only be for lacrosse, doesn’t mean the men lacrosse players will be the only ones occupying it. Coming in the fall of 2013, the University of Tampa will be hiring a women’s lacrosse coach. They will be playing on the field in the 2013-2014 school year, too.
The field itself will be state of the art. In addition to an artificial turf field, the whole planned complex will house almost 1,500 fans. There will be two spectator platforms, restrooms and all the necessary accoutrements for a college sports field.
In addition to the lacrosse teams, students that participate currently in intramural sports like flag football and soccer will have a new place to play. Most find it to already be a significant development for their time on the field, and see it as a new and inclusive way for the University to move forward.
“Some of the guys that play intramural soccer get pushed out from time to time,” junior Laith Luay Al Obaidani said. “There are so many different students looking to play on the [current] field. Then there are practices for the teams. It gets territorial.”
UT has undergone some spectacular changes over the past few years and it seems to have not gone unnoticed by the student body. “I’ve been here three years now,” Laith said. “The changes that have happened since then are amazing. There is so much different. The field will be a great way to add to our campus.”
Greg Spracklin can be reached at gspracklin@spartans.ut.edu.