Status on stunning new facilities at BU, Fordham needs to think about response -- FORDHAM RAMS FOOTBALL FORUM

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Subject: Status on stunning new facilities at BU, Fordham needs to think about response

Author:
DamnRam
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Date Posted: 10:38:58 12/20/04 Mon

BU's new Agannis basketball and hockey arena opened last night. Here's a link to their website with info on coming events, and most importantly the computer-generated images of various facilities and amenities.
http://www.bu.edu/agganis/

Here's a link to the BU website which describes this fitness and recreation facility (and all accompanying services), and shows some computer-generated images
http://www.bu.edu/fitrec/index.html

If there is anyone out there who is not yet convinced of the need for a new fitness and recreational facility, to say nothing of a new basketball facility/Convocation center, you should really check out both of those facilities.

BU has most certainly set a new standard for all other colleges to meet in regards to student amenities. Fordham needs to have some sort of response.

I believe Fordham should make up a very long-range plan (10-20 years) to totally rebuild the entire north part of our campus. In other words, everything north of Constitution Row (except the Prep of course) would be demolished and an entirely new Student Activity/Conference and Classroom/Fitness & Recreational/Athletic complex be built in its place.

This would be very expensive and will take at least ten years or more to raise the funds. By then even the incremental upgrades Fordham has already made (FieldTurf, lights, lockerrooms, dugouts, etc.) will have been paid off, dated and replaceable. I think whatever Fordham builds will have to be very vertical as well, as much as zoning and the Gardens will allow.

BU had a lot of land (which they acquired over the years, ahem is anyone at Fordham listening?) to build these facilities (they had a huge parking lot and the old Armory which they tore down). Fordham doesn't have any "spare" land and therefore would be forced to make some very strategic decisions about what sports to keep on campus, what to move off campus, and what to discontinue. In an ideal world (land grant or Ivy League) we would already have all the land we need but that just isn't the case.

Whoever is working on the strategic plan for completion in 2005 should really head up to BU, MIT, and Northeastern to see what we are competing against.

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Thanks for posting this, it's very helpful. But I have a correction. It will NOT take 10 years to raise the funds for a Convocation Center and Recreation Complex. A new Campus Center is a given because that's been discussed already. But what's most critical to consider is that these buildings can be built BEFORE the funds are fully raised. Rarely are college facilities built only after all funds for their construction are raised. (NT) Rambacker 15:48:44 12/20/04 Mon

You are correct that it doesn't have to take 10 years to raise the funds, but this is Fordham - land of the 13% alumni giving rate. If the center can be used as a focus for a new drive then that rate could increase, but then again we're talking about an administration that misses every easy opportunity that comes their way. You are correct that the funds don't have to be all raised in advance - BU has only raised 25% of what they need to cover the costs of the fitness and rec center - but for a project on the scale I was proposing we would need to have a large part of it upfront. (NT) -- DamnRam, 16:20:47 12/20/04 Mon

Incorrect. We will need 20-30% of the funds necessary to build such a complex upfront to begin construction, which is the norm. Construction can begin in 3-5 years after approval of this project. (NT) -- Rambacker, 23:06:16 12/20/04 Mon

Amazing fitness center: �lazy river� for jogging against a water current, climbing wall, elevated 1/8-mile jogging track, etc. Boston University is one of Fordham�s direct competitors for students. In fact, its listed by the Princeton Review as one of the schools Fordham students �also apply to�. With the construction of the new fitness center, as well as the arena, the competition has just gotten a lot stiffer. Here�s link to the fitness center�s �features� page -- Click here. (NT) ramMan 16:31:33 12/20/04 Mon

Is this a change of thinking on your part? Aren't you the poster who used to tell us that the administration had all sorts of "mission critical" proposals that took priority over athletic and recreational facilities? Didn't you advise us to stop fantasizing about a new basketball arena or football stadium until we consistently have overflow crowds in the current ones? Have you found the faith? Or am I thinking of someone else? (NT) JCC 20:12:43 12/20/04 Mon

Wow. State of the art stuff. Most surveys from students say that recreation facilities are one of the highest priorities they look at when picking a school. As for funding it, if the project is part of an overall capital campaign, 25% of the overall goal would be met during the quiet phase of the campaign and donors can often be prodded to support the president's highest priorities. Most buildings are also financed with some bond money so once the building plans are set and the campaign is underway, a building like this could realistically go up in 3-4 years, barring logistical issues. (NT) -- An Old Coach, 10:18:47 12/21/04 Tue

How do you bar logistical issues on a very compact campus where every space is so heavily utilized? (more inside) -- DamnRam, 11:36:44 12/21/04 Tue

Big time planning. It can be done. I saw the whole UConn campus be rebuilt in 4 years. Needs comitment and once the plan is set, you move forward, no looking back. I;m no expert but i think the good news is that the terraine on campus would yield few delays. (NT) -- An Old Coach, 18:56:54 12/21/04 Tue

Re: Big time planning. It can be done. I saw the whole UConn campus be rebuilt in 4 years. Needs comitment and once the plan is set, you move forward, no looking back. I'm no expert but I think the good news is that the terrain on campus would yield few surprises causing delays. The rest is planning. (NT) -- An Old Coach, 19:02:56 12/21/04 Tue

My position on the matter -- DamnRam, 10:57:56 12/21/04 Tue

St. Joe's is having internal discussions about a new convocations center. That would leave Fordham and LaSalle in the dust. (NT) -- Rambacker, 11:15:48 12/21/04 Tue

St. Joe's had capacity and sellout crowds all of last year. Their athletic supporters now have the undeniable credibility to say that they have "earned" and "need" such a facility, that they now have the opportunity to solidify their gains. Our decade-long losing streak and the silence coming from our persistently empty seats in a very small gym, on the other hand, is deafening. Right now leading with basketball's needs is not a winning argument. Better to open the discussion with the fitness/rec center. (NT) -- DamnRam, 11:34:00 12/21/04 Tue

On the contrary, that would be detrimental to our athletic program. What if a recreation center were built and not a convocations center? That would be a disaster. Fr. McShane is doing his homework and is becoming aware of the need for and benefits of a multi-purpose convocations center. A convocations center with 10-12 different functions and benefits to the Fordham community is a much easier sell than a recreation complex. It complements a new Campus Center perfectly, but I feel this is all moot as the three facilities will be planned and constructed as a single entity. (NT) -- Rambacker, 18:00:00 12/21/04 Tue

RB, I agree that it would be a disaster for athletics to have one part built but not the other two. I do think they should all be planned to be part of one fully integrated entity so in one sense your point about "moot" is correct. Logistically however I don't see any realistic way to construct the entire thing at once without essentially shutting the school down or causing massive inconvenience to the student body (aka the paying customers) over a two year period. A phased approach over a longer period of time is I think the only realistic way to tackle that problem. (NT) -- DamnRam, 18:44:41 12/21/04 Tue
I'd hope to do both. As matter of priority though, student's needs hav to come first. (NT) -- An Old Coach, 19:11:24 12/21/04 Tue

That would be very detrimental to the program. If e can't spent what is needed to be like the big boys, we shouldn't try to play with them. (NT) -- An Old Coach, 19:14:29 12/21/04 Tue

If the past is any indication, Fordham won�t be constructing new athletic buildings anytime soon. In the last two decades, the University has added approximately 1.1 million square feet of academic and residential space. In that time, the only new construction devoted to athletics was the 3,200-square-foot Walsh Athletic Training Center, which was completely funded by alumni donations ($500,000 from Bill Walsh �51 which was matched dollar for dollar by members of the Gridiron Club). More below� (NT) ramMan 18:20:41 12/21/04 Tue

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in the last two decades on new construction on both campuses, but only $1 million of it was for an athletic building. Below is a list of all new construction on the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses in the last 20 years:
O�Hare Hall (2000)
Walsh Library (1997)
Walsh Athletic Training Center (1997)
Lowenstein Building expansion (1994)
McMahon Hall (1993)
McGinley Center expansion (1988)
Alumni Court North (1987)
Alumni Court South (1987)
Tierney Hall (1986)
Law School additions (1984 and 1987) (NT) -- ramMan, 18:23:22 12/21/04 Tue