Athletic department raising money to complete Larson Complex in 2011

Augustana has one athletic complex to finish before football, track and field, baseball, tennis, basketball and soccer have received improvements to their facilities.

Since 2006, the athletic improvements have included the Hall Football Complex and Sanford Gymnasium, worth $4 million, Kirkeby-Over Stadium, a cost of $11 million, the $300,00 campus soccer field and $400,000 toward the new Huether Tennis Centre.

''We are in a dramatic period of athletic facility improvements at the college,'' Athletic Director Bill Gross said.

The only complex missing improvements is the track and field team, whose $1.5 million stadium is in the works.

''At this time we have raised $540,000 of the $1.5 million we need to begin construction on the new Larson Track and Field Complex,'' Gross said.

With more than half of the cost yet to be raised, the college is kicking off a fundraising campaign to raise the remaining cost. According to Gross, the goal is to finish the campaign before Dec. 31, 2010.

The Larson Track and Field Complex is set to be finished by fall of 2011. This date is much later than originally planned, but as Gross puts it, the project had unseen issues when it was announced.

''A good share of the money we raised for the athletic projects already completed occurred before the economic downtown in Oct. 2008,'' Gross said. ''As a result, we have found it more challenging to raise the funds needed to construct the track.

''With the recent improvement in the economy, however, we are confident we will raise the $1 million we need by Dec. 31 so that we can meet the goal of beginning construction on the track in spring 2011,'' Gross said.

President Rob Oliver agreed with Gross' thoughts, and mentioned that there has been a growth in the fundraising as of late.

''Because the economy is starting to improve, we have been able to get back on track for our goals,'' Oliver said. ''We are on hold until we raise the money, but I feel good about where we are. I wish we were building it now, but the economic issues really hurt us.''

With the delays, there have risen some conflicts with the recreational activities department, mostly due to the loss of space that occurred when the intramural fields were destroyed in 2007.

Rachel Amble, intramural coordinator for Augustana, knew the fields would have to go, but didn't think it would take this long for the complex to be built.

''It would have been a lot better to have more time in figuring out a place to locate some of our league play,'' Amble said.

As of now, the college has worked with recreation services to have most sports played on the grass between the Gilbert Science Center and Bergsaker Hall.

''Discussions at the college for a priority space for outdoor recreation and intramurals have centered on a more permanent use of the 'green area' between Bergsaker and Gilbert Science Center for this purpose,'' Gross said. ''Personally, I believe an investment needs to made in underground water, new seeding and lights so that this space can serve the recreation and intramural needs of Augustana students well into the future.''

Although Director of Recreational Services Mark Hecht agrees this area has potential for recreational uses, he is cautious to support the future of outdoor intramurals being hosted in that location permanently.

''Unfortunately, even with improvements to the 'green area' between [Bergsaker Hall] and [the Gilbert Science Center], that space is just not big enough to allow us to play softball,'' Hecht said. ''At this point, we are at a loss in regard to on-campus field space for softball.''