So, now that we've dominated outdoor 2 years in a row, we can discuss the possibilities for a new outdoor facilities. Anyone know what the progress is on this? There's gotta be some donor catching interest on this. Getting your name on a facility that's host to the best program in it's sport in the country is a great way to make your name world-famous, even if it's only within a niche market.

The other question is, do we even need one? Is the indoor facility enough to continue luring the top recruits? And if we do need one (ok, we probably need one) how much should we spend on it (besides as much as we can get)? Is a facility capable of holding an annual invite enough, or do we need something that can host National Championship meets?

Just thought we could get a unified thread going, instead of smatterings of opinions here and there on all of the different threads...

We need a new world class facility!

We'll take one of these:



Oregon's Hayward field. Very nice!

We are now on the "track map" so to speak, and in future Olympics, the World's largest sports stage, we will see more and more Aggies trying to bring home the glory for themselves and their countries.

I think this has been discussed before. The problem with where the track currently is, is that there is a ton of wind that goes through the area. We would either have to build the track in a different place, or put up some sort of berm that would block the wind or at least divert it around the field.

My two cents is with us having the national champions two years in a row (and hopefully three, four, etc), we would want track teams to come here more and make our presence known on the track world. In order for that to happen, we need to improve our outdoor track.

It needs to have some spectator cover and the wind that was mentioned earlier needs to be reduced.

Ok, Ags let us pass the hat.

When we get a new facility, and we will eventually, there will be considerable design planning that will result in a stadium that can easily accommodate any type of collegiate meet, such as the NCAA Regional and Championship meets.

At a minimum we need quality practice facilities. They can add the rest later, but it's a shame these quality athletes have to train in what we have.

BANA Class of '86 ('89)

Bana, I think many of our athletes train inside our world class indoor facility

"...a ton of wind..."

Maybe being a little smart- assed, but a ton of wind? Maybe like "a ton of feathers vs a ton of bricks"

'Splain.

"Get your licks in while you can..."

Hey guys, figured I would weigh in on this discussion since I am an insider. First things first, at least the foundation for the overall design of the outdoor facility was completed back in 2005. There is actually a rendering of the design on the wall in Coach Henry's office. Sure there have probably been modifications and tweaks since then, but the basic design will be very similar to that of LSU. This means that the only thing that will take place outside of the actual oval will be the discus and javelin. There will be a 100m straight away in the middle of the oval for the 100m, and 110m hurdles.

Can't speak for how the seating will be set-up, but in 2005 the idea was to build a very nice weight facility on the home stretch, and have seating built above it.

This is LSU's Outdoor Facility that ours will be modeled after:



It's no Hayward Field, but I don't think ours will be quite that nice either.

[This message has been edited by aggievaulter07 (edited 6/28/2010 12:09p).]

Very nice. What's your best estimate ballpark on the cost of a facility like that? Anything that doesn't have to be put inside greatly slashes the price...

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What's your best estimate ballpark on the cost of a facility like that?

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I have no idea. I'm not a good source for how the dollars and cents fit into the equation.

I just know that Henry showed us the design years ago and as far as I know, it still hangs above his office door today. He also designed the track at LSU that this will be modeled after, and obviously the current A&M Indoor facility.

We all know that Track isn't a great spectator sport, and he firmly believes in facilities that can accommodate as much as possible within the oval, as well as short, and very efficiently run meets that can be watched in their entirety in about the same amount of time as going to a football game.

I wish we'd hurry up and get the outdoor facility built so we can start winning some indoor titles.

Seriously, I understand that the athletes train indoor, but why hasn't the lack of a good outdoor track hurt us in terms of recruiting and performance? Ironically, we have done better outdoor and indoor. True?


not drunk... Gamedrunk!!!

quote:

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Seriously, I understand that the athletes train indoor, but why hasn't the lack of a good outdoor track hurt us in terms of recruiting and performance? Ironically, we have done better outdoor and indoor. True?

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Are you saying that you think that the team trains indoors most of the time?

Not so my friend. Henry only allows practice indoors when the weather absolutely requires it, ie: hail, lightning, snow, HEAVY rain. Heat isn't really even a factor unless you are talking about the summer track camps for young kids. All of those take place indoors.

Practicing indoor was my assumption. I am even more surprise of our accomplishments.

Even during the indoor season, if weather permits, the team trains outside.

Very informative. We need a T/F FAQ sticky.

Lucas was the gold standard for the last few years here. Who will take her place? What happened to Curis at the US Championships? It showed he DNS.

not drunk... Gamedrunk!!!

Porscha has been great. She was a freshman my senior year, and I didn't know her well then, but I've watched her career and gotten to know her a bit more over the years. She is a tremendous competitor, and a very great person. She has a bright pro career ahead of her. That said, I'm not sure there will be one person replace her, but Henry is bringing in loads of talent every year. It may be a group that picks up where she left off including Gabby Mayo, Jeneba Tarmoh, Dominique Duncan, and a few more will probably be able to collectively pick up her point scoring moving forward. I don't eat, sleep, and breathe track, so I don't keep up with the recruiting side, but you can bet there is some good talent coming in too.

Have no idea why Curtis Mitchell got a DNS at US Champs.

Hey aggievaulter07 - do you know what happened to Khrystal Carter and Sandy Wooten? Neither of them seemed to be anywhere during the outdoor season.

I asked this question before but nobody seemed to have an answer - thought perhaps you might know.

Khrystal Carter and Sandy Wooten?

both hurt for most of the year

Thanks - that's all I wanted to know.

But if they build a new track, I lose bragging rights of winning the first ever final on the A&M Track.

PatentMike '90