NEWS
Help is on the way for some of MSU’s most important athletic facilities.The MSU Board of Trustees, during its meeting June 22, requested a design for a new outdoor running track and accepted a multimillion dollar proposal to renovate Jenison Field House - a decades-old building that houses several MSU teams.Both projects fall in line with 2020 Vision - the university’s long-range strategy for MSU to improve the quality and appearance of campus while utilizing existing land and facilities.The track, which carries no price tag yet, will be engineered by Kalamazoo firm O’Boyle, Cowell, Blalock, and Associates, and is expected to be operational by August 2002.The decision to build a new track comes on the heels of the university’s decision to transform Spartan Stadium’s surface from artificial turf to natural grass.Many teams and organizations still need turf, Provost Lou Anna Simon said.So the track, which will be built where the current one sits, southwest of the stadium, will feature the artificial surface inside the track for field competitions, women’s field hockey and the marching band.“The other sports that used the artificial turf need to have another place to practice and compete,” Trustee Dee Cook said.“And the track now is in terrible condition.”The new track will still be located at Ralph Young Field but will be moved slightly southward - to provide maximum space.
