UC softball field expected to be ready on time
UC president expects softball field to be ready on time:
Usage agreement between school, city remains unsigned
By Tommy R. Atkinson
Staff writer
July 28, 2007
Before the summer is over, the University of Charleston will begin a $1 million renovation to the Watt Powell Annex softball field.
Charleston City Council approved the shared-use agreement between the city and UC on July 2, but the two sides still have yet to sign the contract. Once signed, the agreement will be in place for 20 years.
“We’ve been in further conversation with [the city],’’ said University of Charleston President Ed Welch. “There’s no barrier there. There’s no great obstacle to be overcome. We’re trying to finalize the costs on our side so we know what we’re getting into so there won’t be any surprises.
“We’re talking $1 million, [but] we think it’ll be more than a million. We don’t expect anything to happen but sign the agreement soon so we can begin the construction work. It’s going to be done certainly before the end of the summer.’’
Under the shared-use agreement at the Annex field, UC will install artificial turf and build new bleachers, dugouts and restrooms. After the upgrades, the city will provide general maintenance for the field and pay all utilities while UC will be responsible for personnel and security at its softball games.
The city will retain ownership of the field with UC sharing the facility with the Kanawha City Colts, a youth football team, in the fall and the Charleston Church Recreation Association, which runs a softball league each spring and summer.
UC will have priority in scheduling its games and practices at the field.
The Charleston Church Recreation Association had expressed concerns over scheduling in the initial shared-use agreement, but those have been laid to rest in a second draft.
“Some of the wording in the initial agreement was open-ended or vague,’’ said Welch. “The overlap with our team is a week or two weeks at the most. It’s not a long period of time.
“The agreement says when we have practice and games that we would have priority for those practices and games. We would leave the field then and others could have it. As soon as [our softball] season wrapped up, they could have it all the time.’’
“I think we’ve got everything worked out as far as the church league is concerned,’’ said Gary Sheff, president of the Charleston Church Recreation Association.
“Charleston just doesn’t have a lot of fields and we need to make sure they stay accessible to the community. I think it’s going to be a beautiful field. We’re very appreciative of the money the university is putting into it.’’
The shared-use agreement between the city and the university comes on the heels of a complaint filed last year with the federal Office for Civil Rights by a former UC softball player, saying the school violated its Title IX requirements by shortchanging the softball program.
Softball players at UC moved to the Annex field about five years after UC replaced Blackwell Field with a football practice facility.
“We were going to build a new field as a result of that,’’ said Kevin Carr, the university’s executive assistant to the president and general counsel. “It didn’t make much sense to have it disjointed from our campus. Instead, we wanted to pursue this.
“We went back to the complainant to make sure she was OK with this arrangement and it was acceptable to her. We explored utilization and renovation of this field in the past. We couldn’t get everybody coordinated and this time we could.’’
In a June 2006 Gazette article, Welch said it would be impractical to invest university money in a city-owned facility.
“We changed our tune,’’ Carr said. “We were a little skeptical of not owning the end product. We had such a marvelous experience so far with our shared use of Laidley Field that it convinced us that these kinds of projects are viable.’’
The Golden Eagles were the regular-season West Virginia Conference softball champions this past season and finished as the conference tournament runners-up.
The shared-use agreement between the city and UC states that, beginning the second week of September, UC will use the softball field for 24 practices during a period of 45 consecutive days. UC will have use of the field from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
Beginning the first week of February and continuing through May, the shared-use agreement reads, UC will be permitted to use the field from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday.
“It promises to be a very productive relationship both for the university and the community teams that use the field,’’ Welch said. “The play is going to be incredibly better for everybody.’’
To contact staff writer Tommy R. Atkinson, use e-mail or call 348-4811.
Usage agreement between school, city remains unsigned
By Tommy R. Atkinson
Staff writer
July 28, 2007
Before the summer is over, the University of Charleston will begin a $1 million renovation to the Watt Powell Annex softball field.
Charleston City Council approved the shared-use agreement between the city and UC on July 2, but the two sides still have yet to sign the contract. Once signed, the agreement will be in place for 20 years.
“We’ve been in further conversation with [the city],’’ said University of Charleston President Ed Welch. “There’s no barrier there. There’s no great obstacle to be overcome. We’re trying to finalize the costs on our side so we know what we’re getting into so there won’t be any surprises.
“We’re talking $1 million, [but] we think it’ll be more than a million. We don’t expect anything to happen but sign the agreement soon so we can begin the construction work. It’s going to be done certainly before the end of the summer.’’
Under the shared-use agreement at the Annex field, UC will install artificial turf and build new bleachers, dugouts and restrooms. After the upgrades, the city will provide general maintenance for the field and pay all utilities while UC will be responsible for personnel and security at its softball games.
The city will retain ownership of the field with UC sharing the facility with the Kanawha City Colts, a youth football team, in the fall and the Charleston Church Recreation Association, which runs a softball league each spring and summer.
UC will have priority in scheduling its games and practices at the field.
The Charleston Church Recreation Association had expressed concerns over scheduling in the initial shared-use agreement, but those have been laid to rest in a second draft.
“Some of the wording in the initial agreement was open-ended or vague,’’ said Welch. “The overlap with our team is a week or two weeks at the most. It’s not a long period of time.
“The agreement says when we have practice and games that we would have priority for those practices and games. We would leave the field then and others could have it. As soon as [our softball] season wrapped up, they could have it all the time.’’
“I think we’ve got everything worked out as far as the church league is concerned,’’ said Gary Sheff, president of the Charleston Church Recreation Association.
“Charleston just doesn’t have a lot of fields and we need to make sure they stay accessible to the community. I think it’s going to be a beautiful field. We’re very appreciative of the money the university is putting into it.’’
The shared-use agreement between the city and the university comes on the heels of a complaint filed last year with the federal Office for Civil Rights by a former UC softball player, saying the school violated its Title IX requirements by shortchanging the softball program.
Softball players at UC moved to the Annex field about five years after UC replaced Blackwell Field with a football practice facility.
“We were going to build a new field as a result of that,’’ said Kevin Carr, the university’s executive assistant to the president and general counsel. “It didn’t make much sense to have it disjointed from our campus. Instead, we wanted to pursue this.
“We went back to the complainant to make sure she was OK with this arrangement and it was acceptable to her. We explored utilization and renovation of this field in the past. We couldn’t get everybody coordinated and this time we could.’’
In a June 2006 Gazette article, Welch said it would be impractical to invest university money in a city-owned facility.
“We changed our tune,’’ Carr said. “We were a little skeptical of not owning the end product. We had such a marvelous experience so far with our shared use of Laidley Field that it convinced us that these kinds of projects are viable.’’
The Golden Eagles were the regular-season West Virginia Conference softball champions this past season and finished as the conference tournament runners-up.
The shared-use agreement between the city and UC states that, beginning the second week of September, UC will use the softball field for 24 practices during a period of 45 consecutive days. UC will have use of the field from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
Beginning the first week of February and continuing through May, the shared-use agreement reads, UC will be permitted to use the field from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday.
“It promises to be a very productive relationship both for the university and the community teams that use the field,’’ Welch said. “The play is going to be incredibly better for everybody.’’
To contact staff writer Tommy R. Atkinson, use e-mail or call 348-4811.