McGuirk Upgrade

[TruBluMaroon]

While checking the construction procurement site to see if there was anything new listed about an IPF, I noticed that the Men's Soccer, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, and Women's Field Hockey are all getting new millwork lockers. 116 lockers in total. That's probably about $175,000, but I could be off since I'm used to NYC prices. haha.

?? You've bought 116 lockers before??? lol

[photoman]

Interesting to see the different barriers schools have to overcome to get sports facilities built. Temple is trying to move forward with an on-campus stadium but is facing serious opposition from the surrounding community while they seem to have the financial part taken care of. On the other hand, UMass has plenty of space in an isolated location away from residential neighborhoods but the finances appear to be quite a ways off.

The Temple proposal actually looks pretty nice; not an easy feat squeezing a stadium into such a congested area: https://sway.com/cZvJU3FggQspJHzs

After checking out that proposal I can see why there'd be opposition from neighbors.

[McKinney]

Further news on Temple's stadium proposal. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/templ ... 80329.html

[InnervisionsUMASS]

NIMBY is top 5 worst things in the world.

[Crank]

The most annoying part of it is that the adjacent neighbors are pretty much all students at this point. All of those old rowhouses have been converted to student housing over the years. The vocal neighborhood opposition is comprised of people who live a number of blocks away. Apparently they went through this same stuff when the Liacouras Center was built.

[sloves90_611]

Can anyone go into a little more detail on these lockers? Are they going to be in Boyden?

[McKinney]

BUBBLE BUILDING — Bamford said UMass is in the early stages of soliciting donations for an indoor practice facility. It’s primary tenant would be football, but all outdoor teams could benefit from it.

The project ranges from a temporary bubble, which can be inflated and deflated based on weather, or a permanent facility.

Costs range from $5 million for a temporary bubble to $35 million for a higher-end permanent structure. How much money UMass is able to fundraise will likely determine the caliber of structure.

“If I had to guess, we’ll be somewhere in the mid-$20s,” Bamford said. “If we can’t get the funding right, we’re not opposed to a season bubble like BC and Harvard have, but I’d like to build something fixed if we could.”

Bamford said there’s preliminary interest among donors.

“We have a couple of soft (donation) commitments on it that we feel pretty good about,” he said. “We’re going to go through a quiet phase over the next three or four months and figure out who’s in. That’ll dictate what we do with the indoor facility and the stadium.”

ACADEMIC SPACE — The athletic department is completing a $750,000 overhaul of its academic support center in Boyden.

http://www.gazettenet.com/Contract-exte ... g-16754878

[MajBugman]

^
Nice. Both LAX teams would benefit from the bubble too.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

They need something, so if it ends up just being a bubble, that's fine with me. It you properly take care of it, there won't be any problems. Yes, I realize that is stating the obvious, but I've seen far too many people poo-poo the bubble idea because it's supposedly going to collapse.

A permanent facility is ideal, but they need a few big donations to make that happen. We shall see!

[Steve81]

Have concerns about a bubble and what it says about McGuirk future upgrades. Wasn't BC's bubble married to the stadium.

[Crank]

Hmmmm..."That’ll dictate what we do with the indoor facility and the stadium.”"

[Berkman]

I am sure that it will not be connected to the stadium like the press box is so they won't have to do any renovations to the stadium at this time.

[Steve81]

Was thinking about more in the lines of anchoring the bubble to the stadium verses a free standing bubble like those kids fun houses. Asking here as IDK.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

They can be freestanding without issue:

[dennisdent]

BUBBLE BUILDING — Bamford said UMass is in the early stages of soliciting donations for an indoor practice facility. It’s primary tenant would be football, but all outdoor teams could benefit from it.

The project ranges from a temporary bubble, which can be inflated and deflated based on weather, or a permanent facility.

Costs range from $5 million for a temporary bubble to $35 million for a higher-end permanent structure. How much money UMass is able to fundraise will likely determine the caliber of structure.

“If I had to guess, we’ll be somewhere in the mid-$20s,” Bamford said. “If we can’t get the funding right, we’re not opposed to a season bubble like BC and Harvard have, but I’d like to build something fixed if we could.”

Bamford said there’s preliminary interest among donors.

“We have a couple of soft (donation) commitments on it that we feel pretty good about,” he said. “We’re going to go through a quiet phase over the next three or four months and figure out who’s in. That’ll dictate what we do with the indoor facility and the stadium.”

ACADEMIC SPACE — The athletic department is completing a $750,000 overhaul of its academic support center in Boyden.

http://www.gazettenet.com/Contract-exte ... g-16754878

I told you I had a very good source for this info about the IPF that I posted in February : )