Grand Valley Billiken Athletics Complex

[bk18]

I'd like to see SLU make a statement that they want the university to have a high caliber athletic department with competitive teams by turning some of the dilapidated buildings in between the Frost and Doisey Campus (IE just South of 64-40 and West of Grand Ave.) The Grand Bridge will undergo reconstruction this July and the Metro Station will be improved to be one of the finest on the Metro link line. 27 million dollar project in total. This is the perfect opportunity for SLU to buy up a couple of the big old dilapidated warehouses in the valley underneath bridge (preferably right along the freeway just SW of Reinert Hall)

and develop the land into an athletic complex.

A high quality Billiken Blue track, tennis courts, and field hockey fields are a must. Some additional options are another soccer field so that the soccer team has a bigger practice field (the current one is quite small and also shared with club soccer teams), laCrosse fields, and a practice football field for intramural teams and maybe a future D3 team.

The football Stadium is not practical any time soon, but SLU has some football history - first forward pass. And I think it is an option for the future - 10-20 years. It would be nice if we could at least start a D3 program before all the former players are deceased. I bet they would be willing to donate a lot to preserve that lost tradition.

[billikenfan05]

I'd like to see SLU make a statement that they want the university to have a high caliber athletic department with competitive teams by turning some of the dilapidated buildings in between the Frost and Doisey Campus (IE just South of 64-40 and West of Grand Ave.) The Grand Bridge will undergo reconstruction this July and the Metro Station will be improved to be one of the finest on the Metro link line. 27 million dollar project in total. This is the perfect opportunity for SLU to buy up a couple of the big old dilapidated warehouses in the valley underneath bridge (preferably right along the freeway just SW of Reinert Hall)

and develop the land into an athletic complex.

A high quality Billiken Blue track, tennis courts, and field hockey fields are a must. Some additional options are another soccer field so that the soccer team has a bigger practice field (the current one is quite small and also shared with club soccer teams), laCrosse fields, and a practice football field for intramural teams and maybe a future D3 team.

This is a joke right? What is your hard on over conference reallignment? This would be cool if it wouldn't cost a ridiculous sum of money!!!

[billikenfan05]

This is a joke right? What is your hard on over conference reallignment? This would be cool if it wouldn't cost a ridiculous sum of money!!!

The U needs tennis courts and field hockey fields. Period.

[bk18]

A perfect example of how this can help a program sell itself into a good conference is Marquette. Marquette just like SLU is located right along the freeway and on the other side of the freeway there is an industrial valley (called the Menomonee Valley in Milwaukee - you may have gambled at the Potowatomi Casino right next to it). Marquette bought up some lots in the industrial valley and turned it into their "Valley Fields". They are used for Big East Athletic competitions (M,W soccer, track) as well as for club sports and intramural events. SLU does have Hermann Stadium for soccer games, but the current practice field is shared by Men's Varsity, Women's Varsity, and the Club team. Not to mention it's kind of small.

After their investment in this facility, they left C-USA and got invited to the Big-East. SLU on the other hand, left C-USA for the A-10. Not bad, but the revenue difference and national media attention does not compare. When they joined the Big East, Marquette's application numbers skyrocketed. They soon passed SLU in US News and World Report University rankings. Marquette now can afford to be as selective as 67% acceptance rate and SLU still accepts 80% of students.

Not to mention, with the location JUST next to the 64-40 freeway (especially the East-bound lanes on the ground), SLU would be able to advertise itself in ways that words cannot describe. Maybe with the 300+ yards of advertising length, SLU wouldn't have to lease so many billboards in the area.

This is a big investment, but it will be money well spent. I hope someone with a fat wallet can get this going. Marquette's website said their complex only cost $8 million. Buying up the land might make the cost for SLU to be more like $50-70 million, but I think it would pay itself off when looking at the big picture for the University. And land that big near campus isn't going to be available much longer.

Satelite map of Marquette's campus (top) and nearby Valley Fields in the industrial Menomonee Valley (bottom)

[bk18]

This is a joke right? What is your hard on over conference reallignment? This would be cool if it wouldn't cost a ridiculous sum of money!!!

The football stadium was a joke, but I think the track and athletic fields are reasonable. This kind of land isn't going to be available for anything close to as reasonable the price it is right now.

And the "hard-on for conference realignment" is because I think we all know that the A-10 isn't permanent and I would kill myself if we settled into the MVC with Illinois St. et al. I have more respect for SLU and we need to make some moves soon or else those fears will become a reality. How much money do we spend on traveling 2,000 miles for every single away athletic competition. That's got to add up! We can't even have home track events because they would be at a high school on a terrible track! There's also other revenue opportunities for these facilities besides SLU athletic events. State track meet could be there, etc.

There was talk about building a track near the med-campus. Why? That would be a waste of rubber! You can't be stingy and expect big results at the same time. It's time SLU stops building "sculpture parks for non-students to let their dogs play" (NE corner Lindell+Grand) and make some real moves. Recession = invest/spend money (wisely). This opportunity is GOLDEN!

[GOSLU68]

The football stadium was a joke, but I think the track and athletic fields are reasonable. This kind of land isn't going to be available for anything close to as reasonable the price it is right now.

And the hard-on for conference realignment is because I think we all know that the A-10 isn't permanent and I would kill myself if we settled into the MVC with Illinois St. et al. I have more respect for SLU and we need to make some moves soon or else those fears will become a reality. How much money do we spend on traveling 2,000 miles for every single away athletic competition. That's got to add up! We can't even have home track events because they would be at a high school on a terrible track! There's also other revenue opportunities for these facilities besides SLU athletic events. State track meet could be there, etc.

There was talk about building a track near the med-campus. Why? That would be a waste of rubber! You can't be stingy and expect big results at the same time. It's time SLU stops building "sculpture parks for non-students to let their dogs play" (NE corner Lindell+Grand) and make some real moves. Recession = invest/spend money (wisely). This opportunity is GOLDEN!

The track at Wash U is one fo the few green spaces you can drive by and feel University atmosphere; they should have done something with Cardinal

Ritter 10 years ago as lots of high schools compete on their track just North and quite a few blocks East of SLU

[bk18]

The track at Wash U is one fo the few green spaces you can drive by and feel University atmosphere; they should have done something with Cardinal

Ritter 10 years ago as lots of high schools compete on their track just North and quite a few blocks East of SLU

Having your track at a high school is making a statement - a sad one. SLU is sitting on 700 million or so. Saving money is important, but build the facility THEN save. SLU's campus is great, but this would make it COMPLETE. Then SLU can sit back and let the money come back and save it.

[Hawk]

The football stadium was a joke, but I think the track and athletic fields are reasonable. This kind of land isn't going to be available for anything close to as reasonable the price it is right now.

And the hard-on for conference realignment is because I think we all know that the A-10 isn't permanent and I would kill myself if we settled into the MVC with Illinois St. et al. I have more respect for SLU and we need to make some moves soon or else those fears will become a reality. How much money do we spend on traveling 2,000 miles for every single away athletic competition. That's got to add up! We can't even have home track events because they would be at a high school on a terrible track! There's also other revenue opportunities for these facilities besides SLU athletic events. State track meet could be there, etc.

There was talk about building a track near the med-campus. Why? That would be a waste of rubber! You can't be stingy and expect big results at the same time. It's time SLU stops building "sculpture parks for non-students to let their dogs play" (NE corner Lindell+Grand) and make some real moves. Recession = invest/spend money (wisely). This opportunity is GOLDEN!

I'd love to see SLU invest in some quality sports facilities for some of the other sports. It would be a good investment on SLUs part. The track is a joke. I don't know you can actually call that a track... The other sports deserve some on campus facilities. If SLU is serious about athletics, and positioning itself favorably if/when conference realignment happens, they need to act on this soon. On the other hand, SLU also needs to either invest in new housing since they won't reduce the amount of students admitted.

So which one will it be SLU? One, both, neither?

[bleedtheblue]

i have a friend on the cross country team and she informed me that slu is building a track and turf fields complex on some of the empty lots down by the allied health building. she was really excited about this and said that it should be finished no later than fall of '11

[milwaukeebill]

i have a friend on the cross country team and she informed me that slu is building a track and turf fields complex on some of the empty lots down by the allied health building. she was really excited about this and said that it should be finished no later than fall of '11

Is that the same as the Club sports fields?? I thought club sports are supposed to get a nice field on the med campus soon...

[bleedtheblue]

Is that the same as the Club sports fields?? I thought club sports are supposed to get a nice field on the med campus soon...

yea it is.. but around the fields are going to be a regulation track. not sure if there will be bleachers or anything though

[bk18]

yea it is.. but around the fields are going to be a regulation track. not sure if there will be bleachers or anything though

Is this track/inner field official? Any articles? I think its a mistake. They might as well just practice on some high school's track. Cardinal Ritter is probably closer too. I can see why the athletes are excited about it, but there's a much better solution. I wonder how the reconstruction of Grand Ave and the bridge will affect their access to the track. That could be around 3 miles travel from campus (there and back) if the bridge is down and they have to take a detour. Not ideal.

[Billiken Dude]

Is this track/inner field official? Any articles? I think its a mistake. They might as well just practice on some high school's track. Cardinal Ritter is probably closer too. I can see why the athletes are excited about it, but there's a much better solution. I wonder how the reconstruction of Grand Ave and the bridge will affect their access to the track. That could be around 3 miles travel from campus (there and back) if the bridge is down and they have to take a detour. Not ideal.

Trust me the track team very much needs its own track. Their usage of other tracks is a messy situation. Last year at one point they were kicked off the Ritter track and were going out to the Clayton track and the John Burroughs track. Its not ideal and better facilities will help not only with the track teams training but with recruiting as well

[bk18]

Trust me the track team very much needs its own track. Their usage of other tracks is a messy situation. Last year at one point they were kicked off the Ritter track and were going out to the Clayton track and the John Burroughs track. Its not ideal and better facilities will help not only with the track teams training but with recruiting as well

I do understand the need for a track for the purposes you mention, but I hope they don't envision this track to be a long-term facility. It could be a short term solution - a track only costs around $80,000 if you own the land. That's not much and I would imagine it would at least get some use even if Varsity track moved somewhere else.

I wish I knew more about the status on the old buildings under the bridge, but I just don't know how much longer we'll be able to buy up a plot of land that big. If any divided development happens down there, we'd have basically no options because when you have to buy from multiple owners at the same time, it's a lot harder and a lot more expensive. Those old buildings are begging to be bought by SLU and used for the proposed athletic complex. It couldn't get any easier for an urban campus.

[Zink]

I do understand the need for a track for the purposes you mention, but I hope they don't envision this track to be a long-term facility. It could be a short term solution - a track only costs around $80,000 if you own the land. That's not much and I would imagine it would at least get some use even if Varsity track moved somewhere else.

I wish I knew more about the status on the old buildings under the bridge, but I just don't know how much longer we'll be able to buy up a plot of land that big. If any divided development happens down there, we'd have basically no options because when you have to buy from multiple owners at the same time, it's a lot harder and a lot more expensive. Those old buildings are begging to be bought by SLU and used for the proposed athletic complex. It couldn't get any easier for an urban campus.

There is a 'for sale' sign on the warehouse right behind Reinert as you drive by on 64E. 9.5 acres I believe. Only worry would be that the gov't would want some of it with the Greenway project that is planned and we might get less than true market value on it if that ends up happening. Knowing Biondi though, i don't see how SLU doesn't end up buying it

[milwaukeebill]

I know the baseball team practices in the warehouse that is to the south of 64 right before the grand exit as you head east on it. Its called the Armory. Its a terrible facility. I bet the roof caves in within the next 5 years. From what i heard the Track/Field facility for club teams and the track team would be similar to Herrmann. Except the track would be regulation and there would be only one side of bleachers. I figure this would serve Our track team and field hockey team first. then it would serve as a place to practice and play for our club soccer, lacrosse and rugby teams.

[DirtyRican]

I know the baseball team practices in the warehouse that is to the south of 64 right before the grand exit as you head east on it. Its called the Armory. Its a terrible facility. I bet the roof caves in within the next 5 years. From what i heard the Track/Field facility for club teams and the track team would be similar to Herrmann. Except the track would be regulation and there would be only one side of bleachers. I figure this would serve Our track team and field hockey team first. then it would serve as a place to practice and play for our club soccer, lacrosse and rugby teams.

The Armory is a disaster, people got hurt in there every year. I am not sure they are still going in there or not.

[milwaukeebill]

They use it sparingly when the weather isnt right from what i heard. The Fontbonne D3 Lacrosse team and our club lacrosse team practice in there as well.

[DirtyRican]

They use it sparingly when the weather isnt right from what i heard. The Fontbonne D3 Lacrosse team and our club lacrosse team practice in there as well.

Gotcha, I thought it was condemned but I guess not. That place is a dump.

[For-DaLove]

I'd like to see SLU make a statement that they want the university to have a high caliber athletic department with competitive teams by turning some of the dilapidated buildings in between the Frost and Doisey Campus (IE just South of 64-40 and West of Grand Ave.) The Grand Bridge will undergo reconstruction this July and the Metro Station will be improved to be one of the finest on the Metro link line. 27 million dollar project in total. This is the perfect opportunity for SLU to buy up a couple of the big old dilapidated warehouses in the valley underneath bridge (preferably right along the freeway just SW of Reinert Hall)

and develop the land into an athletic complex.

A high quality Billiken Blue track, tennis courts, and field hockey fields are a must. Some additional options are another soccer field so that the soccer team has a bigger practice field (the current one is quite small and also shared with club soccer teams), laCrosse fields, and a practice football field for intramural teams and maybe a future D3 team.

The football Stadium is not practical any time soon, but SLU has some football history - first forward pass. And I think it is an option for the future - 10-20 years. It would be nice if we could at least start a D3 program before all the former players are deceased. I bet they would be willing to donate a lot to preserve that lost tradition.

If this were to happen, which it won't, it's not like at that instance the Big East or some other major conference is going to come begging us to join. Let's face it, it isn't ever going to happen because of a good track, tennis, or field hockey program, period. I'm not saying I'm against better facilities for these teams, I'm sure they deserve an upgrade, but it wouldn't be a huge revenue booster like you say. To be honest the Big East probably could care less about those sports.

Football would be great but I just don't see it happening any time soon.

[b.hayes]

SLU was offered the Armory for $1 and turned it down because it was such a disaster. Not worth fixing.

[bk18]

SLU was offered the Armory for $1 and turned it down because it was such a disaster. Not worth fixing.

It's called a recking ball, a bulldozer, and some dump trucks.

[b.hayes]

Obviously not to SLU. It's called monthly compounded interest.

[Pistol]

I would like to see all SLU sports teams be able to practice and play on campus.

I don't think football is worth pursuing in the near future, though. That would be a great way to lose a whole lot of money without any hope of regaining it, and a great way to ensure that a bunch of existing sports get cancelled.

I had never heard that story about SLU having the chance to buy the Armory for a buck and turning it down. Is it in that bad a shape? The outside is really cool and looks solid. It's a ton of bricks, and demolition would cost a fortune. But I guess rehabbing the guys would cost a fortune, too. You could probably almost fit an indoor track in there, as big as that place is.

[jimbofive]

i'm the klaus in this poll. i'm the lone "no". do it again, i misunderstood.