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My proposal is to turn the old pool area in Quinn Coliseum into a recreation center with a Sport Court floor strictly for use by the students.  This recreation center would include a basketball court, with holes prepared for a volleyball net.

 

Background

            The pool at EOU was closed after the 2006-2007 school year due to financial problems.  Since that time the pool has just sat there as a make shift storage place for the last 3 years.  In Quinn Coliseum there is the main gym where the basketball teams play and practice on.  There is also a smaller gym that is more for student use, yet students are kicked out of there all the time to make room for various EOU teams to practice (such as the softball team and the dance team).  With the main gym being used by basketball teams during the winter, and the volleyball team in the fall, there is hardly any time for student use.  So when winter rolls around and the basketball teams are practicing, the only gym for use by the general student population is the small gym, which can be a gamble for use depending on softball and dance.

 

Benefits

            By creating another gymnasium area, it will open up an entirely new gym that will be strictly for student use, which will also help clear up the congestion that can happen in the little gym when there are 25+ students in there all trying to play basketball.  Another benefit of adding this recreation area will be that during the intramural seasons, it can be used as a volleyball court, and then a basketball court.  For the intramural volleyball and basketball season that would give the option to playing 4 games each time frame during the week, which would equal more games and a less rushed intramural season.  The added recreation area may also encourage more students to become active since it will open up another gym to play basketball or volleyball in.

Measurements

            After e-mail contact with Bill Benson, Interim Director of Facilities and Planning for Eastern Oregon University, I was able to get dimensions of the pool building and the pool itself.  The pool is housed in a building that is 72' x 100', with the pool itself being 42' x 73'.  Maximum depth of the pool is 13', and on average is 8' deep.  With those measurements we concluded that the pool takes up 908 cubic yards (B. Benson, personal communication, February 18th, 2010).

 

Costs

            In an interview with Athletic Director Rob Cashell (M. St. Louis, personal interview, February 11th, 2010), I was informed that the pool cost the university anywhere between $120,000-$140,000 a year due to heating costs, cleaning supplies and lifeguards.  My proposition would cost roughly around this price, but it is just a one year cost rather then a yearly cost to the University.  My proposition wouldn't include building a wood gym floor which would be much too expensive and unneeded, but one option entails filling in the pool area with gravel and then topping with concrete to make a solid concrete floor that would then be covered with Sport Court.  By contacting the Sport Court dealer for our are from Portland through phone, Mike Taylor (M. St. Louis, telephone interview, March 3, 2010), I was able to get some broad price estimates for this type of project.  Sport Court doesn't personally do the gravel and concrete work but would contract out to a local construction crew to perform the tasks while Sport Court would manage them.  For our pool that is 42' wide by 73' long and a maximum depth of 13', it would take 70 trucks of gravel to fill at $385 a truck would be $26,950.  Add in costs for labor and leveling the gravel, another $8,000. 

            With most pools the sides of a pool and the walkways around the pool are slightly slanted towards the pool so a level concrete slab would have to be poured in the whole room.  Costs of the whole concrete pouring would be $30,000.  For two better quality movable and adjustable basketball hoops would be $5,600.  Holes for a volleyball net and the whole system is around $2,000.  Add in the Sport Court at $6 per square foot, which would roughly be $43,000.  Then another added cost that would be important is a $5,000 miscellaneous fee to cover switching lighting fixtures to something that a ball wouldn't break when struck, padding on the walls in places its needed and the concealing of any pre-existing equipment.  Overall the total costs of this project would come out to $120,600.

            One other option for the project would be to within the University, hire a local construction company based on a bid for the project to truss and fill in the pool, thus saving costs potentially on gravel when using a truss to help support the concrete floor.  This could save money for the total project and would need to be investigate to see what local companies would bid on a project like that before total costs that way are known.

 

Funding

            To ensure funding for this project, the University could raise the building fee for all students for 3 terms.  Fall 2009 enrollment numbers were 3,957 students.  I propose increasing the building fee to each student by $12 for three terms.  3,957 students adding $12 for three terms comes out to $142,452.  This ensures for some fluctuation in the estimated cost to build and what we have to work with.

 

Sport Court

            Sport Court, also known as Premier Court, "is the culmination of the most expansive research and development program ever in the tennis court and sports surfacing industry.  Millions of dollars have been spent to develop the finest cushioned, crack proof, maintenance free playing surface available" ("Premier Court: Revolutionary Tennis Court Surfacing,"  n.d.). Sport Court is an all-weather cushioned sports surface made from a patented composite that is combined with an acrylic recreational coating.  It is designed to be over layed either an asphalt or concrete surface, and is guaranteed for 25 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Premier Court: Revolutionary Tennis Court Surfacing, (n.d.) What is Premier Court?, Retrieved from http://www.premiercourt.com/what_is.htm.

 

St. Louis, M. (2010). [Interview with Rob Cashell, Eastern Oregon University Athletic Director].

 

St. Louis, M (2010). [Telephone interview with Mike Taylor, Sport Court local area dealer].

 

 

Link to Proposal presentation:

My proposal is to turn the old pool area in Quinn Coliseum into a recreation center with a Sport Court floor strictly for use by the students.  This recreation center would include a basketball court, with holes prepared for a volleyball net.

 

Background

            The pool at EOU was closed after the 2006-2007 school year due to financial problems.  Since that time the pool has just sat there as a make shift storage place for the last 3 years.  In Quinn Coliseum there is the main gym where the basketball teams play and practice on.  There is also a smaller gym that is more for student use, yet students are kicked out of there all the time to make room for various EOU teams to practice (such as the softball team and the dance team).  With the main gym being used by basketball teams during the winter, and the volleyball team in the fall, there is hardly any time for student use.  So when winter rolls around and the basketball teams are practicing, the only gym for use by the general student population is the small gym, which can be a gamble for use depending on softball and dance.

 

Benefits

            By creating another gymnasium area, it will open up an entirely new gym that will be strictly for student use, which will also help clear up the congestion that can happen in the little gym when there are 25+ students in there all trying to play basketball.  Another benefit of adding this recreation area will be that during the intramural seasons, it can be used as a volleyball court, and then a basketball court.  For the intramural volleyball and basketball season that would give the option to playing 4 games each time frame during the week, which would equal more games and a less rushed intramural season.  The added recreation area may also encourage more students to become active since it will open up another gym to play basketball or volleyball in.

Measurements

            After e-mail contact with Bill Benson, Interim Director of Facilities and Planning for Eastern Oregon University, I was able to get dimensions of the pool building and the pool itself.  The pool is housed in a building that is 72' x 100', with the pool itself being 42' x 73'.  Maximum depth of the pool is 13', and on average is 8' deep.  With those measurements we concluded that the pool takes up 908 cubic yards (B. Benson, personal communication, February 18th, 2010).

 

Costs

            In an interview with Athletic Director Rob Cashell (M. St. Louis, personal interview, February 11th, 2010), I was informed that the pool cost the university anywhere between $120,000-$140,000 a year due to heating costs, cleaning supplies and lifeguards.  My proposition would cost roughly around this price, but it is just a one year cost rather then a yearly cost to the University.  My proposition wouldn't include building a wood gym floor which would be much too expensive and unneeded, but one option entails filling in the pool area with gravel and then topping with concrete to make a solid concrete floor that would then be covered with Sport Court.  By contacting the Sport Court dealer for our are from Portland through phone, Mike Taylor (M. St. Louis, telephone interview, March 3, 2010), I was able to get some broad price estimates for this type of project.  Sport Court doesn't personally do the gravel and concrete work but would contract out to a local construction crew to perform the tasks while Sport Court would manage them.  For our pool that is 42' wide by 73' long and a maximum depth of 13', it would take 70 trucks of gravel to fill at $385 a truck would be $26,950.  Add in costs for labor and leveling the gravel, another $8,000. 

            With most pools the sides of a pool and the walkways around the pool are slightly slanted towards the pool so a level concrete slab would have to be poured in the whole room.  Costs of the whole concrete pouring would be $30,000.  For two better quality movable and adjustable basketball hoops would be $5,600.  Holes for a volleyball net and the whole system is around $2,000.  Add in the Sport Court at $6 per square foot, which would roughly be $43,000.  Then another added cost that would be important is a $5,000 miscellaneous fee to cover switching lighting fixtures to something that a ball wouldn't break when struck, padding on the walls in places its needed and the concealing of any pre-existing equipment.  Overall the total costs of this project would come out to $120,600.

            One other option for the project would be to within the University, hire a local construction company based on a bid for the project to truss and fill in the pool, thus saving costs potentially on gravel when using a truss to help support the concrete floor.  This could save money for the total project and would need to be investigate to see what local companies would bid on a project like that before total costs that way are known.

 

Funding

            To ensure funding for this project, the University could raise the building fee for all students for 3 terms.  Fall 2009 enrollment numbers were 3,957 students.  I propose increasing the building fee to each student by $12 for three terms.  3,957 students adding $12 for three terms comes out to $142,452.  This ensures for some fluctuation in the estimated cost to build and what we have to work with.

 

Sport Court

            Sport Court, also known as Premier Court, "is the culmination of the most expansive research and development program ever in the tennis court and sports surfacing industry.  Millions of dollars have been spent to develop the finest cushioned, crack proof, maintenance free playing surface available" ("Premier Court: Revolutionary Tennis Court Surfacing,"  n.d.). Sport Court is an all-weather cushioned sports surface made from a patented composite that is combined with an acrylic recreational coating.  It is designed to be over layed either an asphalt or concrete surface, and is guaranteed for 25 years.

 

 

References

Premier Court: Revolutionary Tennis Court Surfacing, (n.d.) What is Premier Court?, Retrieved from http://www.premiercourt.com/what_is.htm.

 

St. Louis, M. (2010). [Interview with Rob Cashell, Eastern Oregon University Athletic Director].

 

St. Louis, M (2010). [Telephone interview with Mike Taylor, Sport Court local area dealer].

 

Link to Proposal Presentation:http://www.unicommons.com/node/16871

 

 

 

Comments

This looks like a great idea to me. I have heard of a few plans for this area, but I think your idea could be the best. The EOU sports facilities are often very crowded and any extra space would be great for all students and athletes.

It appears that you have done a good job on your research. The idea is sound and it is a great idea for those students not affiliated with one of the sport teams to have an area specified for them.

I like your idea, however, I have one thought. As a volleyball coach and avid player I don't know whether the Sport Court surfacing is ideal for volleyball. Because the surface is tacky and textured it could be dangerous for playing volleyball and the body needs to be able to slide as well as the feet not stick to the floor. I see the floor may present potential injuries in both basketball and volleyball. Did you do any research on whether this type of floor has been used for indoor sports typically played on a varnished wood floor? Otherwise the project seems like a great use of a space at EOU and I agree we need more gym space available for students and other community groups.

Lasa, I didn't specifically research the use of the court for volleyball compared to a varnished wood floor and I can see your worries about the slide and stick issue with the sport court. From my research, I was able to find out from the Sport Court website that they do do indoor courts and have specific courts geared for volleyball, yet it is the same material surface. I have played basketball on a Sport Court before and I have noticed an issue with the floor being too sticky as opposed to a wood floor and I could see how this would be an issue for volleyball in regards to sliding and diving for a dig. This is an excellent point that I briefly thought about but didn't research properly for volleyball playing. In regards to injury for the two sports that would primarily be played on the court, for basketball Sport Court has shown to be more forgiving on joints due to the cushioning in it, yet there is still potential for injuries such as rolled ankles and torn ligaments in the knees. My thoughts on this aspect is playing on a Sport Court wouldn't be much different then playing on the asphalt hoops outside of Zabel hall. Both provide issues on being too "sticky" for footing, yet kids seem to understand this hazard and play anyways. Theres always a risk for whatever surface you play on, just understanding that risk and continuing to use the surface is at the risk of the participant. Great point you brought up about the volleyball though!

I like this proposal a lot. You did a good job using cost of the pool in operation and comparing that to the cost of conversion. Also showing the benifits of converting this area and specifics was good too.

This is a very good idea Matt! Right now the space is just going to waste and I think the addition of a sport court to our gym facility would be used very regularly. Good job with your research and finding out how much all aspects would cost, as well as devising a plan to pay for it.

It helps make your proposal more credible that you have personal experience playing basketball on a sport court. It may help to sell the idea. Thank you for addressing my concern of potential injuries due to the type of floor surface.

From my brief experiance of playing basketball on a Sport Court, I found the footing and traction somewhere between an asphalt court and a wood basketball court. It is very cushioned, so unlike asphalt, the repeated jumping didn't seem to wear on my torn up ankles or bad knees, yet the grip of the surface I would relate to a wood court that was just thouroghly cleaned and swept, like that 10 minute period where the traction is excellent before all the dust and dirt makes the court slick. Yet with a Sport Court the traction is like that all the time and requires no sweeping before a game.

Great job Matt! You wrote up a good proposal! Haha, in reading about all the different presentations' fundraising ideas to slightly increase student tuition...before we know it, our tuition will end up sky rocketing! :)

You quoted Rob Cashell in your Powerpoint, was he behind the idea? I know he has ideas of his own with what to do with that area.

You say that the sports court would be only for students, but also available for intramurals. I know that there is sometimes a conflict within the sports teams for gym space as it is with two. My concern is that this new sports court would be an additional practice area. As it is now, classes then sports are the first two priorities for gym use, students last, as you've found. Do you think it's realistic for the athletic administration to say, "Students have priority in this gym?" Regardless, having extra space will make an open gym more likely.

Great job on this proposal!!!

Yeah Rob does have some ideas of his own for the pool area, but no I came up with this idea just due to the fact that I'm not a fan of getting kicked out of the little gym when I'm playing basketball! One of Rob's ideas that he shared with me I really liked, and that is to move the athletic training room to the pool, make the pool area into a double story and put athletic offices on the 2nd floor in there. A great idea for the pool area since the athletic training room is abnormally small especially when 20+ football players need to get taped and treated every day before their practices. I think it would be realistic to give students the priority in this new gym for the reason that due to the difference in Sport Court and a wood gym floor would deter teams from practicing on a different court surface than what they are used to and what their games are played on. Thanks for the great feedback