The Daily Campus

Issue date: 6/9/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Dan Gindraux The Sherman Family Sports Complex will be getting new turf and track this summer.

Gampel Pavilion and the Sherman Family Sports Complex are currently undergoing renovations that will not be completed until this August.

The Sherman Family Sports Complex, which is home to the field hockey, lacrosse, and track and field teams, will have new turf and a new track installed. Construction started shortly after graduation and will take the rest of the summer to complete, according to Athletic Facilities Director Vaughn Williams. Williams estimated the cost of the whole project to be $2.5 million.

"The surface was worn down from a lot of use over a long period of time," Williams said of the track, which was last renovated in 1995. "It's been through a lot of weather, and it lived its lifespan, so to speak. So we have to keep the track up, especially with the track programs that we have here at UConn."

The track will be replaced with the same type of surface that was created 13 years ago, but also will have a netting system to help keep the lacrosse and field hockey games separate from activity on the track. The long jump and pole vault pits have also been moved from the east to the west side of the track. In past years, there was one pole vault runway going from north to south, but another has been implemented to make two runways run towards the middle of the field.

In addition to the new track, the turf will contain an irrigation system that will enable the field to drain more quickly and improve the "playability" of the field, according to Williams.

Though many artificial turfs have been replaced with the new "grassy turf," the Sherman complex will still use the carpet turf that it has used since its inception.

Gampel Pavilion, home to the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the volleyball team, will undergo changes to the basketball court.

Due to a new rule that will move the men's three-point line back by two feet, a new three-point line will be drawn on the court, which will also still contain the women's three-point line, which in recent years had been the same distance as the men's. The court also went through a series of sandings to smooth it out, according to Williams.

Williams was not aware of the projected cost for renovations to Gampel.


Contact Kevin Duffy at Kevin.R.Duffy@UConn.edu.

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