kleverCLEvr

Hi All, Longtime lurker, first time poster. Geez, I'm nervous. I feel like Tom Watson standing over yesterday's putt on eighteen. Here's hoping I don't end up with one of those 'this topic has been pruned...' deals. Anyway, caught this in the Cleveland Stater and thought you all might like to read. Some really good stuff happening down at CSU. Don't care for the FieldTurf playing surface, but sounds promising otherwise. http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%2011/Issue%202/sports1.html New baseball field highlights CSU expansion plan BY NICK CAMINO What began as a simple exploratory discussion of campus expansion in 2003 is becoming viable at Cleveland State University, and construction of a brand-new varsity baseball field is the central focus of the project’s development. The entire project, which also included improved campus housing, along with new parking lots, went out for public bids and received five different proposals, according to Vice President for Business Affairs and Finance Jack Boyle. “We are currently in the process of evaluating all the proposals,” Boyle said. “If there is a viable bidder, the board could award a contract this summer and construction could start in 2010 with completion in 2011.” A new field in downtown Cleveland would not only benefit the Cleveland State Vikings baseball team, but a number of other prominent components to the city as well, Boyle explained. “The Cleveland Indians have expressed interest in using the field for their summer instructional program and St. Ignatius High School has expressed interest in using the field for its games,” Boyle said. “It would be an artificial turf field, so it could also be used for concerts and other campus outdoor activities.” Building a new field is a very realistic goal, but there are a number of hurdles to go over, said third-year Cleveland State head baseball coach Kevin Kocks. The largest single hurdle is simple, the price. The stadium itself could cost $5 million to $8 million, but that has not hindered the board of trustees or the athletic department from going forward with the discussions about the construction of a new baseball field, Boyle said. To say that Cleveland State needs this type of facility is an understatement, Kocks said. “Our baseball program is struggling right now,” Kocks said, referring to his Vikings’ underwhelming win-loss record over the past few seasons. “But if you give us a $5 million to $8 million facility in downtown Cleveland right on campus, it will give us an above-average recruiting edge and will help us compete consistently with Mid-American Conference and Big Ten schools.” The Pipe Yard, Cleveland State’s current home stadium, is located 40 minutes away from campus in Lorain, Ohio. Despite the beautiful facility in Lorain, the ultimate goal is to be downtown, Kocks said. “We coaches teach our players to respect great facilities, and if we had one in downtown Cleveland, that is exactly what we would do,” Kocks said. “Anything we can get closer to campus would be a blessing,” he added. Players on the team simply enjoy playing the game of baseball, but a stadium downtown would be ideal, senior first baseman John Brown said. “Being downtown would give the student body, as well as more faculty, an opportunity to support the team,” Brown explained. “It would create a good atmosphere.” After six years of discussion and preparation, it is exciting to finally see these plans in the works, Boyle said. “[What is] particularly exciting is the enthusiasm of the developers who spend a lot of time and money to put together extremely exciting proposals for the campus,” Boyle said. “Right now there are so many great things going on here at Cleveland State with the new president of the university and this impressive new expansion plan,” Kocks said. “This is the closest we have ever been to getting a new stadium on campus,” he added. “That fact, coupled with other elements of the newly proposed campus transformation, makes this an exciting place to be and, hopefully, a place where we can begin to win some championships.”