Complete South Campus photos/videos released (Schembecler, new arena, Walk of Champions etc)
Back awhile ago, this nifty site was set up for donations to Michigan's massive facility upgrades. Before it just had a couple of crappy, low resolution photos for each project. Now there are high quality renderings and videos to go along with it.
To visit the full site and see all the videos, there is an interactive map. When you click on one of the dots, a video will pop up with the pictures next to it. Narrated by Dave Brandon: http://support.mgoblue.com/south-campus/explore/
Couple of notes-
- M/W Lacrosse will not have its own stadium apparently. They will "just" get lockerrooms and offices. They will continue to play in Michigan Stadium as their primary facility with Oosterbaan for the February games.
- The new sports arena will be home to Volleyball, Wrestling, Men's Gymnastics, Cheerleading and Dance. How many other schools have facilities for cheer and dance teams?
- Ferry Field and the U-M Indoor Track Bulding will be demolished after the 2014-15 season per the ADept budget pdf
- The sports arena will be the last thing to be built at the end of the decade. Cliff Keen will be demolished at some point then.
- Ferry & Keen being torn down gives a lot more parking options for the surrounding sports.
- There will be TWO High Performance Centers. One out by the Soccer/Track/Rowing/Lacrosse facilities and one over by the heart of South campus (I assume). These are universal Strength & Conditioning facilities for all varsity athletes.
Walk of Champions-
New M/W Soccer locker rooms, coaches offices
New M/W Soccer locker rooms, coaches offices
New M/W Soccer locker rooms, coaches offices
New M/W Soccer locker rooms, coaches offices
Schembechler Hall museum
Schembechler Hall renovations
Schembechler Hall museum
Schembechler Hall museum
Donald R. Shepherd Softball Center
Donald R. Shepherd Softball Center
Indoor Rowing Facility
Indoor Rowing facility
Indoor Rowing facility
Ross Academic Center expansion
Ross Academic Center expansion
Field Hockey facility
Field Hockey facility
Field Hockey facility
New multi-purpose arena
New multi-purpose arena
New multi-purpose arena
New multi-purpose arena
Lacrosse facilities
Lacrosse facilities
Lacrosse facilities
New Indoor Track & Field Building
New Indoor Track & Field Building
New Indoor Track & Field Building
New Indoor Track & Field Building
Weidenbach Hall expansion & renovations
Weidenbach Hall expansion & renovations
High Performance Centers
High Performance Centers
High Performance Centers
High Performance Centers
High Performance Centers
U-M Golf Course Club House renovations & expansion
U-M Golf Course Club House renovations & expansion
U-M Golf Course Club House renovations & expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
Canham Natatorium renovations and expansion
August 15th, 2013 at 1:13 PM ^
... is one of the handful of most historic icons I can think of on campus.
But it isn't original to that location. It was taken down, moved and reinstalled there. A quiet act of careful architectural preservation, well done.
August 16th, 2013 at 12:04 AM ^
I only drive down there for tennis. I guess it depends on the sports you want to watch and different facilities become hallowed ground to you.
August 14th, 2013 at 7:38 PM ^
I'm confused by the banked track...
August 14th, 2013 at 8:05 PM ^
Good job DB.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^
Is there going to be a hyperloop train system installed along with this? I lived in Couzens as a frosh & am guessing it would take about 90 minutes to walk from there to the indoor rowing facility, without stopping for lunch.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
until I see plans for the 75,000 seat Velodrome.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:24 PM ^
Ok, this is a bit much.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^
Is this real... Soccer, lax, etc.. It's enough that we have the sports but spending (wasting) that much money. I really hope it's all donations. We don't need this.
August 14th, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^
I'm sick of people degrading sports other than football and basketball.
August 14th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
August 15th, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^
Is that a sport?!? Are we getting Title IX extra-credit for Dance?
August 14th, 2013 at 9:18 PM ^
We are one of the ~10% of all athletic departments that run in the black. Rejoice and be thankful for the means that we have to do this stuff.
August 14th, 2013 at 9:26 PM ^
- Lacrosse has no permanent home as of this moment. They need a home.
- The Track & Field program has not been competitive in years and I have a hunch that the subpar facilities play a factor in it. As much as I love Ferry Field and wish it could be kept and cherished forever, it is a joke by the standards of today. The Indoor building has been around since 1974 and is decaying.
- Cliff Keen has been around since 1956 and the last time it was touched was when they ripped the pool out in 1988 and turned it into an arena. Time for a change.
- Canham is starting to decay and needs a facelift. Doesn't even look like the same place in the renderings. Not that the 2013 National Champion Men's Swim program needs the help though but they deserve better.
Michigan doesn't have all these sports just to have them. They want to win championships and put Michigan at the top in each and every sport where the block M belongs.
When you invest in something and show commitment, you will see results. See: Crisler Center, Yost Ice Arena, Alumni FIeld
August 14th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
Cliff Keen hasn't been touched since 1988? Have you been to Cliff Keen?
Also, define this "decay" you keep talking about.
August 14th, 2013 at 11:40 PM ^
Yes I have. I can't remember the last major renovation that place has had.
And by decay, I usually mean outdated and needing to be replaced. Not very visually pleasing too.
Which looks more appealing?
This-
Or this-
August 15th, 2013 at 1:17 AM ^
Well, there's this:
"Cliff Keen Arena received improvements in the summer of 2002, including an expansion and renovation of the volleyball locker room. The locker room is outfitted with the latest in digital video filming and editing equipment. Volleyball also received a team room that gives the squad a place to call its own and includes a large study area."
Just because you "don't remember" doesn't mean it hasn't happened. There were also new scoreboards installed ~2005-6. And I can tell you those locker rooms are pretty swanky. More than on par with what the other sports have.
As for Canham Natatorium, the building was never built correctly to begin with. The original plans had a clear glass roof, the only problem being once they put water in the pool, it started growing algae. The air didn't circulate properly, which combined with the algae, caused respiratory problems for people. There were even more structural issues and other problems that needed fixing beyond that, so it took a very long time to get the building to where it is now. The Natatorium has long been Athletics' money pit. So, yes, a renovation isn't a bad idea there. Whether or not it needs to look like a spaceship on the inside is a stylistic, not functional choice.
August 15th, 2013 at 1:39 AM ^
The track team sucks because the former coach decided to focus the majority of scholarships on distance runners in an effort to be an X-C competitor at the expense of having a well-rounded track team.
It's not because of the facilities, and hopefully will be addressed with the Jerry Clayton hire, which generally is regarded as a positive one.
I should point out this is for the men. The women were actually alright.
August 15th, 2013 at 7:45 AM ^
I have a picture somewhere. My son (who plays both football and LAX) and I thought it was a humorous statement of priorities at Michigan. Schembechler (large functional if ugly building under renovation), Oosterbahn, Glick and surrounding turf and grass fields for football, a doublewide construction trailer for LAX.
Agreed with other posters above: this is a keep up with the Jones' Tajmahal makeover for South Campus - totally separated from Central Campus for only 900 students use. That said - we have to keep up with the Jones' don't we?
August 14th, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^
This classifies as Exhibit A for "why today's college football athletes should be compensated in some way beyond a scholarship".
August 14th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
As well as Exhibit A for "what today's athletes already get beyond a scholarship that people love to forget"
August 14th, 2013 at 9:33 PM ^
I hope Michigan adds women's hockey and fencing some day.
Hockey because it's hockey and who doesn't love hockey at this school? And fencing because it is one of the most underrated sports evah.
August 14th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^
Women's hockey is a non-starter. There have been several good-faith attempts to get it off the ground, including a few games held at Yost right after the men's games, with great promotion and ballyhoo. I stayed for one of them sometime around 1999 or 2000. It just doesn't have the appeal or growth potential when weighed against the cost at a school like Michigan, as good as our men's team is.
Bottom line is when you consider that men's hockey is a difficult enough proposition to break even at most schools, to make women's hockey a varsity sport requires a lot of initiative, risk, and willingness to lose a great deal of money that just isn't all that appealing when you already have a lot of other money-drains on the budget.
August 15th, 2013 at 1:01 AM ^
Why not just have one hockey team? Women are allowed to try out for it as well. Best players make the team.
August 14th, 2013 at 9:41 PM ^
Impressive. I exercise many times per week in Wisconsin's indoor track facility. The venerable "Shell" is a complete sh#thole compared to the new UM indoor facility. Complete, utter sh#thole. Although Rod Woodson and Hershel Walker's insane sprint records do adorn the wall of the Shell.
August 15th, 2013 at 3:01 AM ^
Michigan needs a new ice arena. OK OK I know it's sacrilegious to even consider that idea but seriously Yost is starting to outlive its days. The University of Michigan is a top hockey program school. It prides itself in its hockey program next to its football and basketball team. An arena that only seats 5,000 plus is not going to cut it in the future. With more students coming to campus and the B10 hockey conference coming into play, the university needs to start looking ahead to the future at a plan to build a new arena that seats at least 10,000. I love Yost and its one of my favorite rinks in college hockey but Michigan needs more seating for hockey. Ill accept the neg bang.
August 15th, 2013 at 9:20 AM ^
has student demand exceeded supply recently?
have hockey tickets been sold on groupon recently?
10,000 is a nice round number, but there's no actual evidence to support the proposition that demand for a new building exists.
August 15th, 2013 at 10:57 AM ^
The last time student demand exceeded supply was the 97-98 season, I'm pretty sure. Even coming off the national title in '98, students buying for 1998-99 got full seasons. There haven't been split seasons anytime since then, even with the great teams in the 2000-02 time frame.
Yost should be preserved as the home of Michigan hockey at all costs. Its charm is easier to see with every change that is made to Crisler or Michigan Stadium that takes those venues into the future at the cost of ambiance and history. Yost has been transformed into a modern arena that feels like a throwback, which is what keeps some (albeit not all) of the fans coming back year after year.
August 15th, 2013 at 9:36 AM ^
This opinion is a stupid opinion. Yost is pretty much the ideal size for the demand college hockey has in this market. Period. The new conference has no impact on that whatsoever.
And why would Michigan build a 10,000+ seat hockey arena when it already has a 12,000+ seat basketball arena? Why keep two venues on the books that would have essentially the same layout and nearly the same capacity?
August 15th, 2013 at 11:18 AM ^
You're dead on in terms of size. Yost is only between eighty percent full (last season) and ninety percent full (most seasons) as is. Minnesota doesn't fill its 10k seat arena over the course of the season, and if they're not doing it there I highly doubt it happens in Ann Arbor. Looking at it another way, I'd bet 6,600 fans seated like they are at Yost are probably louder at ice level than finding another 5,000 to fill out attendance in a minor league configuration.
There might be some small marginal impact of seeing three Big Ten teams come on to the schedule more regularly, (as opposed to the less well known CCHA schools) but those aren't going to be the same people looking to buy season tickets or anything.
August 15th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
if anything it might supress attendence b/c the travel distances for all these opposing fans (save msu) will be greater than Ferris, BG, Miami, WMU, hell even NMU and LSSU. especially when you consider that PSU had no hockey fans before 2 years ago and they will be in Yost 2-4 times this year
August 15th, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^
I hadn't thought so much about opposing fans. OTOH for the first few seasons there might be a fair amount of curiosity from people in the area with PSU ties, and I have to imagine that "Big Ten conference game" is far more prestigious to the average sports fan in SE Michigan than "CCHA conference game". I'd also assume Minnesota and Wisconsin travel as well as anyone in the country.
August 15th, 2013 at 12:01 PM ^
As crazy as this sounds, I'm gonna have to agree with Bando.
Michigan is at the perfect amount right now. Anything more is too much.
Michigan is not going to be replacing Yost anytime soon. They just spent millions on it in renovations. That would make no sense at all and those who donated would be on Dave Brandon's front porch in a minute.
I give 15-20 more years and then it is time for a new one. But it has to be the same capacity or maybe even less. I don't want a 10K seat arena that is an empty cavernous pit of doom more times than not like minnesota, wisconsin and ohio have.
August 15th, 2013 at 6:12 AM ^
August 15th, 2013 at 7:59 AM ^
Bo had to hang up his jacket on a nail when he first got to town.
August 15th, 2013 at 9:15 AM ^
I have to believe Brandon will attempt to nab the Edwards Brothers' site. I mean, how could you NOT? That could make some interesting new facilities possible.