A dorm is still three to five years away, but the move fits into a UT trend toward on-campus housing.
By ANNE ARSENAULT
Published July 15, 2005
Baseball at the University of Tampa has a new home and a new stadium . . . sort of. The Sam Bailey baseball field at North Boulevard and Cass Street was recently moved 80 feet from its former location. Construction crews reinstalled the lights and poles two weeks ago and worked on the field last week.
The relocation fits into a long-term plan for expanding UT residence halls. The university is not yet detailing any specifics for a new dorm, but spokesman Grant Donaldson confirmed that there is a "vague plan way out there on our master plan."
The cost for the move fell under site preparation in the university's annual budget, but Donaldson estimated that the construction of a dorm was still three to five years off. The baseball field was moved because of "an idea in our mind about what we might need in the future," Donaldson said.
He added that the eventual plan, years from now, is to move the baseball field next to the softball field on North B Street behind the Martinez Sports Center.
The possibility of a new dorm is part of the trend at UT toward on-campus housing. Of the university's 4,800 students, about 83 percent live on campus, Donaldson said.
Since 1998, the university has opened four residence halls, all with amenities such as broadband Internet, cable and phone. The university broke ground last month on its newest dorm, the 11-story, 152-unit Kennedy Place, which is expected to be finished for the 2006 fall term.
The new dorms are "certainly a pleasant turnaround from about 10 years ago," Donaldson said.
Practices will begin on the new baseball field in November, and the first games will be played in January, said Bill Neyland, project manager for design and construction at UT.
Donaldson said the university will release information about a new dorm as plans firm up.
Anne Arsenault can be reached at 226-3434 or aarsenault@sptimes.com[Last modified July 14, 2005, 09:06:06]
