Author: David Weightman
Occidental’s sports facilities are a story of the haves and the have-nots. Students and athletes can be proud of Patterson Field. It uses the same state-of-the-art FieldTurf as the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ Metrodome and more than a dozen Division I football programs. Installing the turf cost Occidental $1 million in 2005 and an additional $180,000 for an upgrade in 2010. Other sports facilities, especially Taylor Pool, have suffered in the meantime.
Though some may deem the use of such expensive turf excessive, FieldTurf offers a number of other benefits. “Installing a FieldTurf artificial grass system on an average-sized sports field can save millions of gallons of water per year,” FieldTurf’s website says. The turf makes maintenance crews, water, upkeep and lawn care chemicals obsolete. The design of the turf also prevents injuries because it is softer than natural grass. A study conducted by Texas A&M University also showed that fewer major injuries like ligament tears occur on turf.
Taylor Pool, on the other hand, has been known to cause injuries. Built in 1930, it is the oldest active competitive pool in the country and long overdue for an upgrade. “Players have been cut by gutters because of jagged edges,” water polo player Kirk Follette (sophomore) said.
The Athletics department acknowledges the issues. “Taylor Pool is an outdated facility for the needs of our varsity programs,” Director of Athletics Jaime Hoffman said. The swim team, men’s water polo and the nationally ranked women’s water polo team all struggle with Taylor’s mechanical issues and small size.
There are a number of other problems with the pool. “It’s pretty murky,” Follette said. “The heater breaks a lot, and in the fall it is typically freezing.” The Athletics Department plans to improve Taylor in the near future. “We have architectural concepts for the pool,” Hoffman said.
Along with Taylor Pool, the McKinnon Tennis Center is in serious need of expansion. The SCIAC requires six courts for competitive play, and McKinnon only has four. Consequently, the tennis teams currently play home matches at Scholl Canyon in Glendale. Hoffman asserted that plans are in the works to upgrade McKinnon. “We are actively seeking opportunities for upgrades to the facilities that do not currently meet NCAA and conference standards,” Hoffman said. “This is most apparent in aquatics and tennis.”
A number of other facilities have been upgraded in the last ten years ahead of the Taylor and McKinnon facilities. The school renovated the varsity weight room in 2004 for around $250,000, and Rush Gymnasium’s facelift in 2008 cost a little over $1 million. The upper soccer field, the primary venue for men’s and women’s soccer, added an electronic scoreboard in 2010. In 2008 and 2009, the school improved the foul poles and batting cages at Anderson Field, the baseball team’s home field. The following year, they turned the field house behind Anderson into a player’s lounge with “electronics suitable to video analysis,” according to the Occidental Athletics website. Though each sport brings in a different level of alumni support and money, it cannot be ignored that the second-ranked women’s water polo team in the country plays in an outdated, shoddy facility compared to Rush Gym, Patterson Field and Anderson Field.
In Division III athletics, especially at a school with high academic standards like Occidental, it is not easy to find the money to keep all the facilities at top standards. The Athletics Department and the administration must set their priorities when shelling out the funds needed for renovation. “College priorities, the administration, and to a lesser extent the interest of donors [determine which facilities get upgraded]. So it is our job to make sure we are marketing our priorities and needs to our biggest supporters,” Hoffman said.
There is an active effort to bring all the facilities up to par. “We, in athletics, recognize that the college has established its excellent reputation primarily because of its academic rigor,” Hoffman said. “And we also feel that athletic participation adds value to the total Occidental experience. Thus, we are actively seeking opportunities for upgrades to the facilities that do not currently meet NCAA and conference standards.” Despite this, the disparities between different sports facilities remain a point of conflict at Occidental.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
