Renovation on the Dairy Road Recreation Field, one of two fields on the west side of campus used mainly for intramural sporting events, is drawing to a close. Located across the street from the Hutchison Field, next to the UC Davis Dairy, the field is a common area for sport practices and informal games.
The renovation is estimated to cost about $4.5 million.
John Campbell, executive director for the department of Campus Recreation and Unions (CRU), said that despite some complications with overseas shipping meeting delivery dates, the overall project is expected to be completed by its scheduled date at the end of fall 2012 and it will be fully operational for the start of winter 2013. The initial estimated date of completion was October 2012.
The new field will incorporate a synthetic play-surface that will allow activity during the raining season.
Because the field enjoys frequent use, both students and faculty involved in the project are eager for its completion.
Students living in the Tercero residence halls often need to bike around the construction site on their route to central campus. However, according to Stephanie Saiz, a first-year civil engineering major, she and many other students are not bothered by the short-term inconveniences of the project.
“No one seems to have a problem with it,” she said.
Campbell explained that the funding from each campus-based fee reserve is distributed as such: $298,431 from Campus Enhancement Initiative (CEI) Fees, $250,000 from the Student Activities and Services Initiative (SASI), $1,192,569 from the Facilities and Campus Enhancement Initiative (FACE), $2,500,000 from CRU Income Reserves and $750,000 from Student Service Fees through the Student Affairs Divisional Reserves. This comprises a total budget of $4,991,000.00.
The new field will allow for up to six teams to play at a time. The renovations to the field will also mean less fuel usage, exhaust and noise from lawn mowers.
“The project will benefit student activity and community events with the ability of the synthetic turf to accommodate high use and lack of downtime required by traditional natural turf fields. [It] will complement department and campus initiatives to reduce staff hours for maintenance of outdoor facilities,” the Student Affairs website states.
The new field will also include lights on the field, restrooms, a walking trailer on the perimeter and a perimeter fence.
JESSICA GRILLI can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
