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NEWS
| april 29, 2004
Facilities
Facility should be near UTA
Some say an arena would best benefit
students if it were built on campus.
By Mindy
Hutchison
Contributor to The Shorthorn
Off-campus is off the mark, say some students and faculty about
the possibility of building a special events center four to five
miles from campus.
The university is in the exploratory phase of a possible partnership
with the city to bring such a venue to the entertainment district
near The Ballpark in Arlington.
Texas Hall is the home of UTA’s basketball teams and is used
for large events, and many agree that the building is inadequate
to serve the needs of the campus. President James Spaniolo said
Tuesday that an events center is the most pressing facility need.
On Tuesday, he said he saw no way the university could fund such
a project on its own. City officials would like to locate the arena
centrally in the hope that it could help attract business from conventions
and city visitors.
“I would say it’s a missed opportunity to really market
the university if it’s off campus instead of on campus,”
Athletic Director Pete Carlon said. “We can put more of our
brand on it if it’s on or near campus.”
Having an off-campus arena would cause difficulty for practices,
he said. Problems would include getting athletes to games and practices.
“You like to be able to practice at your home court to have
home-court advantage,” he said.
Carlon said having a new arena would enhance the success of volleyball
and basketball. Including an indoor track in the plans would also
benefit the university, as there only two indoor arenas suitable
for competition in the state — one at Texas Tech and one at
the University of Houston.
Student Congress President Casey Townsend also saw potential in
a new facility and said having a new sports arena was one of the
items on his campaign platform.
“I’m happy our president has realized that we have an
obvious need for the facility. But I have reservations about the
site on Collins [near The Ballpark in Arlington],” he said.
Townsend said having the facility on campus would have several benefits
as a recruiting tool and a venue for events that would seat 7,000
to 10,000 people rather than the 2,500 seats in Texas Hall. With
4,200 to 5,000 possible on-campus residents next year, he said it
would be easier for them to attend sports events on campus.
The initiative to improve downtown Arlington is another aspect of
an arena on campus, Townsend said. It would improve the appeal of
campus and attract more businesses and shoppers downtown.
“If Arlington is serious about building up downtown for recreation
and shopping, then some traffic would come from the arena,”
Townsend said.
Public relations junior Patrick Harmon said he would prefer to have
the facility on campus.
“What’s better than going to class, eating dinner here
and then going to an event?” he asked.
Harmon said it may be better to wait and plan for an on-campus arena
to make sure officials know the benefits and disadvantages of each
option. Just because city groups are ready to fund a project does
not mean UTA has to participate, he said.
“UTA needs to be looking out for what’s best for UTA
and its students,” he said.
Harmon said an arena visible from the highway at an off-campus location
would not help people associate the arena with UTA.
But Carlon said he is also realistic about what he calls the big
issue: the cost of the facillity.
“If our only option to get one is by partnering with other
entities, then you have to take a look at that,” he said.
“Ideally, I’d like to see it built on or near campus,
but any option is better than what we have now.”
CORRECTION
In this story, the comments of Athletic Director
Pete Carlon should have reflected his unequivocal support of any
new arena plan.
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