Daily Egyptian
Kristina Dailing
After years of fielding a squad that could stand up to any other in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Salukis will finally have a field to match it.
Construction for the new stadium is scheduled to begin this week, and crews are already bringing in dirt to work on the new field.
Last week, crews began demolishing the dugouts and removing stands at the practice field to make room for the new facilities.
SIU Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk said the stadium should be ready by the end of the calendar year. The inaugural game at the new stadium will be a match-up against Big East member Syracuse on Feb. 28. The season for the Salukis starts with two road tournaments before breaking in the new field.
The stadium will be built over the old practice field near Brush Towers and located south of where the Salukis formerly played.
There will be seating for more than 500 people, with both chair-back seats and bench seats. There also will be lights, a concession stand, a pressroom, storage and a locker room with showering facilities.
"The girls are so excited because they are going to have a locker room," said SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock. "They're actually going to have a place they can change and that they can go maybe to sit and study before practice."
Plans for the new stadium began last fall when Kowalczyk and Blaylock started preliminary meetings with the architectural firm, Clark Engineering. They spent months giving input on how they wanted the field designed.
"It's going to be incredible for a lot of facets of our program," Blaylock said.
Blaylock hopes the new stadium will not only increase fan turnout, but will also be a factor in bringing in new players for the team.
"I think the effects on recruitment will be phenomenal, because to be able to have one of the better stadiums in the Midwest is going to help a lot," Blaylock said. "We were able to recruit pretty well to this stadium and we didn't even have bathrooms to go to. Imagine with all the things that are coming with this new stadium, it will be a big advantage."
Blaylock also thinks the new stadium will be a place where teams are eager to play and will bring in new competition.
"I think we will be able to attract better teams for our tournaments, too, because it's a great place to play and a great facility," Blaylock said.
The new stadium plans came about because of a Title IX complaint filed against SIU in September 2000. The complaint alleged that female student-athletes were discriminated against in regard to athletic facilities.
The comparison centered on the fact that the baseball team had a clubhouse, locker rooms and a restroom, and the softball team had none of these same facilities. The softball team and spectators had to use portable toilets near the right field wall or the facilities at the Recreation Center across the street.
The total project costs about $1.5 million, some of which has been provided by the Athletic Department's repair and replacement account.
Kowalczyk said that the athletic department is also in the process of raising money to help with some of the cost.
Blaylock is excited about the new addition to the SIU campus, and thinks the whole situation hasn't sunk in for many of the players.
"It's surreal to them until they walk and actually see it," Blaylock said. "It's to all of us a great thing."
Reporter Kristina Dailing at kdailing@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
