Construction of the $5 million lacrosse stadium for the men and women’s teams will begin this summer and the facility is scheduled to open in February 2005.
The stadium will accommodate about 2,000 spectators and will be located where the current lacrosse field stands.
The stadium will be named for Peter Barton, a former president of Liberty Media Corp. Laura Barton, Peter Barton’s widow, donated $2.5 million to the stadium.
Smaller donations account for another $1.5 million already committed to the facility. The remaining $1 million will be raised through a funding campaign this spring.
Men’s lacrosse Head Coach Jamie Munro is excited about the new stadium.
“This facility will make a big difference in our recruiting which is arguably the most important part of any program,” Munro said.
He hopes the extra seating will increase attendance. The current stands seating has not always been sufficient for the number of fans who come to watch.
“It will be nice to be able to provide a seat when someone pays for one,” Munro added.
The new stadium will face north and will have stone walls and pre-cast concrete bench seating. Locker rooms for men and women, public restrooms, a concession area and a viewing pavilion/conference room are amenities that currently do not exist. A two-directional press box will also be built to serve the adjacent soccer field.
During construction, the lacrosse teams will need to find a venue for practice.
“As for where we will practice, I have yet to think about that,” Munro said, “but hopefully near campus.”
See related lacrosse story page 12.
The lacrosse stadium was the dominant topic at last week’s meeting of the AUSA Senate.
In other business, the AUSA senators voted to require one representative from each student organization to attend this year’s Student Leadership Conference May 14. The conference is designed to teach student leaders about procedures such as budgeting and financial aid, and also to inform organizations about on-campus resources. Conference workshops will be designed to promote interaction and cooperation among groups. The conference is also intended to help the new senators establish personal connections with the leaders of student organizations.
“It would be fabulous just to get everyone there this year,” said Sen. Benjamin Burke, “and they would get a nice dinner.”
Burke also reported that the club ski team applied for $2,160 in extra funds. The Board of Contingency voted to deny the request. “We felt that the money should come from club sports and because the team already received a large sum of money compared to the other club teams,” Burke said.
He added that funding for the engineering club would be discussed at the next Senate meeting.
Bryan Vilano, chairman of the recently created Traditions Committee, shared a few old DU traditions that he discovered through research at Penrose Library. Some of these traditions include Adam and Eve Day that dates back to 1914-1919. During the event, the university’s chancellor read a poem to students and then distributed apples.
Construction of the $5 million lacrosse stadium for the men and women’s teams will begin this summer and the facility is scheduled to open in February 2005.
In the early days, when the surrounding community was rural, students made a tradition of kidnapping a professor’s cow and putting it in Mary Reed Hall, On one occasion the animal was left for three days in the building. One of the more symbolic traditions was Lantern Night during which female students would gather and the seniors would pass a lantern to the juniors and down the classes to freshmen to symbolize knowledge.
