Tough financial times have pushed back progress on upgrading Winthrop's athletic facilities
The Winthrop Coliseum was built back in 1982. It was, and still is, the cornerstone for the school's athletics programs. A slew of construction projects have enhanced the athletics landscape. In the last 12 years, baseball, soccer, softball, tennis and track facilities have dramatically changed the Winthrop Lake area.
Those were good times for Winthrop. If economic times were better, the university would be moving forward with other plans, some on a grand scale. Three projects that involve new buildings and amenities affecting at least six sports programs are in the offing.
Plans have been drawn, but the school is contending with the economic slowdown. The timetable on the projects has been pushed back.
One project involves making improvements to the softball complex. In better economic times, the improvements would have already been done.
Two other projects -- construction of a basketball/volleyball practice facility; and the creation of new Winthrop Golf Course and facilities for the golf program -- were already long-range projects depending on funding.
For Winthrop athletics, the poor economy means new construction will happen later rather than sooner.
The construction boon started in 1997, when the men's soccer team received Eagle Field. Upgrades to the facility, and there have been many, occurred in 2001, 2003, 2005 and last year. The field is scheduled to get new lighting sometime in the future.
In 2001, the school opened Terry Field for softball. The softball complex was upgraded in 2003. Some safety measures will be installed in the coming months, but larger-scale improvements are awaiting better times.
The Winthrop Ballpark also opened in 2001 for baseball, and upgrades were completed in 2007.
Winthrop Memorial Courts were added in 2003. The tennis courts had been on campus beside the Peabody Physical Education building. The courts were relocated as plans were readied to raze Peabody to build the new West Center.
In 2005, the latest piece of the athletic facility windfall was completed. The addition of the Irwin Belk Track gave Winthrop a state-of-the-art facility.
Of course football is still on the table at Winthrop. Athletics director Tom Hickman made it very clear a stadium would not be built and a program would not be started until private money becomes available up front and on an ongoing basis.
A release from the athletics department states, "Recent estimates indicate starting an intercollegiate football team at Winthrop would be a multi-million dollar proposition -- over $18 million, much of it in facilities costs, just to get to the first kick-off -- with over $2.4 million in annual operating and scholarship costs after that."
The school's athletics Web site, winthropeagles.com, has an icon labeled "Is football in Winthrop's future?" with information on the status of the proposition.
For now, though, football remains just an idea.
"The other three projects are more important than football is, given the state of the economy," Hickman said. "Would I like to put private money together to start football? Long-term, yes."
Right now, Winthrop is dealing with the reality of tight budgets. Money from the state is hard to come by.
Here's a closer look at the three projects the school has planned, what they entail and how they will benefit the school and its athletes:
• SOFTBALL COMPLEX: This project, at least the safety measures, will likely take place sometime this spring. Plans are to install protective netting around Terry Tower to cover spectator walkways. The design work is done. Hickman said some aesthetic improvements could also be made to the walkways.
The stadium was built in 2001. It is home for Winthrop softball coach Mark Cooke's highly successful team. Cooke has taken his teams to the NCAA regionals the last two years.
Now on the back burner are thoughts to build a team room behind the home dugout on the third-base side that connects with the locker room. On the first-base side, plans were to enlarge a visiting team room and create an umpire room to give them a place to change clothes.
"We hoped to do it this academic year, but it is pretty obvious it won't happen with the way things are," Hickman said.
The stadium is used in the offseason to host tournaments for all levels of play. To that end, Winthrop has put in removable temporary fencing. The move allows for shorter outfield walls for teams with younger players. That eliminated the need to borrow fencing from the city.
The team rooms and umpire room are also considered a need. The rooms would better equip the complex not only for Winthrop's use, but also for offseason tournaments.
"Currently there is no training room here. Visiting teams now have to change in the bathroom or at the hotel before they get here. There is no place for umpires to change or get away from the general public between games," Cooke explained.
"We were hoping to get it worked out because the economy is bad. We think we can bring more tournaments in here," he added.
Cooke believes the complex could be used nearly every weekend in the summer to host softball tournaments.
The softball complex improvements would be paid for by a joint-use agreement with the city of Rock Hill and university funds. The joint-use agreement calls for the city to use the facility for events during the off-season. Winthrop, in turn, uses the fields only for camps.
But the question remains, when will construction begin?
"It is hard for me to know when because I don't know all the politics," Cooke admitted.
Hickman said the state has placed an informal moratorium on new buildings.
• PRACTICE FACILITY: Plans have been drawn and redrawn for a practice facility to be used for men's and women's basketball and volleyball. Two factors have slowed the progress on the project: The economy and the completion of the Lois Rhames West Center on campus.
The money is just not available, and the West Center has given coaches and athletes enough scheduling wiggle room that they can get by under the current setup.
The original idea was to build a facility to serve dual purposes of practice space and a home court for volleyball. The first time the plans were drawn, the facility was designed for play and was to include seating for spectators. There are no longer plans for seating. Volleyball will continue to play home games in the coliseum.
A weight room was also in the mix, but has since been scratched since other upgrades in the Coliseum have alleviated the need.
So why build a practice facility?
All three teams need the coliseum floor for practice time, especially when the seasons overlap in October and November. The coaches' priorities are easily understood. Academics come first, then practice time. The teams have been able to use the West Center on campus when conflicts arise, but that was never the intention when that facility was built.
Oftentimes, the women's basketball or volleyball teams practice as early as 6 a.m. to avoid conflicts with class or floor availability.
"Right now, it is so difficult to find two hours in the day to practice because of the academic schedule. Then when we do find it, we have to find two hours the men don't already have. The men have the same issue," Winthrop women's basketball coach Bud Childers said.
"Compound that with the first two months of the season with volleyball. So we have three teams fighting for the same practice space. The biggest benefit for basketball, men or women, is it would give us greater flexibility for practice time," Childers added.
The project has become less urgent with the opening of the West Center on campus. Basketball and volleyball have use the West Center as needed to ease scheduling in the coliseum for practices.
The West Center is primarily intended for student and faculty use, but has proven to be a valuable resource for basketball and volleyball. Sporadically, all three teams have use one of the four courts on campus for practice. Most recently, practices were held there while the coliseum was being prepped for graduation ceremonies.
A new structure would primarily be a practice facility. It would be built off the south wall of the existing coliseum, toward the softball complex. The building will include locker rooms, office space and maybe enough room for two volleyball courts, according to Hickman.
"It might lend itself to indoor soccer camps or leagues, as well as another place for basketball and volleyball camps to use," Hickman said.
No roads or parking lots would be relocated. The architectural firm Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern did the preliminary drawings. The same firm did work on the softball and track drawings.
• GOLF FACILITY: There is an idea to expand the Winthrop Golf Course. The existing course was a gift from J.P. Stevens and Company in 1963. The nine-hole course marked by rolling hills, tree-lined fairways and wooded areas has been largely unaltered over the last 46 years.
The future of the Winthrop Golf Course would feature a clubhouse with coaches offices, locker rooms and hitting bays for the Eagles golf team. A pair of par-4 holes, bunkers, greens and indoor and outdoor practice tees are part of the plan.
The remainder of the facility would be open to the general public and will feature an executive, 9-hole, par-3 course and a public range.
For years, Winthrop's men's and women's golf teams have practiced on area courses free of charge. That is changing. The teams are now finding they have to pay to practice.
Kevin Pendley is a former golfer at Winthrop and now is in his third season as men's golf coach.
"The economy has strapped the university, to say the least. The golf-course plans are still in the process and we are going about our fundraising," Pendley said.
"I have full confidence (the golf course) will be coming. I tell our recruits it is coming. I don't give a deadline, though," women's golf coach Jodi Wendt said.
Both coaches are excited about the project and eager to move forward. It is already a great recruiting tool.
"I can roll out blueprints. I'm encouraged, and recruits are excited," Pendley said.
But nothing is likely to happen until the economy turns around.
Hickman said the course, as it is currently configured, gets a fair amount of community play now. However, an executive golf course and driving range would fill a niché in Rock Hill. It would be the only executive course and public range in the Rock Hill city limits.
"We can get a lot of benefit out of the executive golf course. It will be a great thing for the community as well. It will be a benefit for everyone," Wendt said.
The executive course would be carved out of some of the existing holes while several new holes would be designed. The new course will wind around a lake, to be created, that will not only give the course some character, but also help irrigate other athletic fields.
Plans have been designed by Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern. The key is finding the funding. Hickman estimated the price tag at $3.5 million.
Athletic facilities timeline
Winthrop Coliseum
Year built: 1982
Seating capacity: 6,100
Other upgrades: Interior and exterior in 2003-04 and TBA
Other vitals: In addition to the playing arena, the coliseum contains a modern athletic training room, weight room, laundry room, eight dressing rooms, a booster-club meeting room, equipment room, media room, two classrooms, 30 offices, three conference rooms and a film review room. An academic services area, which includes a computer lab and study hall, is also located in the building.
A proposed, attached practice facility will be built, but no time frame has been set.
Winthrop Softball Complex
Year built: 2001
Seating capacity: 500
Refurbishing: 2003 and TBA
Other vitals: The softball complex is home to the Eagles softball team. The tower and home team playing field are named in honor of Vernon and Ann Terry, Winthrop athletics supporters whose capital campaign gift in 2000 paved the way for softball complex improvements. Terry Tower and the renovated Terry Field were dedicated in September 2001. An enclosed hitting facility and locker rooms were added in 2003.
Winthrop Golf Course
Year built: 1963
Seating capacity: none
Other upgrades: none
Other vitals: The existing course was a gift from J.P. Stevens and Company. The nine-hole course marked by rolling hills, tree-lined fairways and wooded areas, has been largely unaltered over the last 46 years. The original layout had the first tee box on the easternmost edge of the property. In the 1990s, a parking area was added near what was then the seventh green and the eighth tee box. At that time, the eighth hole became No. 1 and the track followed the same order as before.
• Year built: 2001
• Seating capacity: 500
• Refurbishing: 2003 and TBA
• Other vitals: The softball complex is home to the Eagles softball team. The tower and home team playing field are named in honor of Vernon and Ann Terry, Winthrop athletics supporters whose capital campaign gift in 2000 paved the way for softball complex improvements. Terry Tower and the renovated Terry Field were dedicated in September 2001. An enclosed hitting facility and locker rooms were added in 2003.
• Year built: 1982
• Seating capacity: 6,100
• Other upgrades: Interior and exterior in 2003-04 and TBA
• Other vitals: In addition to the playing arena, the coliseum contains a modern athletic training room, weight room, laundry room, eight dressing rooms, a booster-club meeting room, equipment room, media room, two classrooms, 30 offices, three conference rooms and a film review room. An academic services area, which includes a computer lab and study hall, is also located in the building.
A proposed, attached practice facility will be built, but no time frame has been set.
• Year built: 1963
• Seating capacity: none
• Other upgrades: none
• Other vitals: The existing course was a gift from J.P. Stevens and Company. The nine-hole course marked by rolling hills, tree-lined fairways and wooded areas, has been largely unaltered over the last 46 years. The original layout had the first tee box on the easternmost edge of the property. In the 1990s, a parking area was added near what was then the seventh green and the eighth tee box. At that time, the eighth hole became No. 1 and the track followed the same order as before.
This story was originally published January 25, 2009 at 12:21 AM with the headline "Tough financial times have pushed back progress on upgrading Winthrop's athletic facilities."