Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:13 PM CDT
Without Fieldhouse, LLC finds new summer digs
By RICK DAWSON, Staff Writer
rdawson@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — With Laker Fieldhouse undergoing significant renovations, Lake Land’s men’s basketball team has been practicing with Eastern Illinois this summer. By the time it returns, it should be greeted by cozier surroundings.
“It’s a major project, there’s no doubt about that,” Lake Land athletics director Denny Throneburg said. “It will look different. I think it’s a great facility now. It’s just time to be updated like everything else.”
One of the key additions is the installation of geothermal heat pumps throughout the Fieldhouse. The building has a notorious reputation for being too hot, as anyone sitting through commencement proceedings at graduation can attest.
“Our biggest thing is probably stabilizing the heating and air conditioning,” Throneburg said. “I think it’s sometimes brutal in the fall for volleyball. I know people have been in there when it’s 85 degrees.”
The Fieldhouse has been off limits since the start of the summer while new lighting, carpeting, a freshly painted interior and remodeled restrooms are completed. Ceilings that originally contained encapsulated asbestos in the classrooms have been removed. Part of a larger, ongoing campus project spearheaded by Lake Land Vice President of Business Services Ray Rieck, the deadline for this segment (Aug. 1) arrives before the start of the 2008-09 academic year.
“The bathrooms, by and large, needed a lot of help, so we went ahead and took advantage of this down time for the Fieldhouse and gutted them,” said Michael Kasdorf, the director of facilities planning at the college. “They’ll be brand, spanking new when everyone comes back.
“The biggest differences will be in the offices and classrooms. Over the past 15 years we’ve done a lot of nice jobs to make the campus look pretty. Now we’re actually building up the infrastructure so we make sure the campus functions nicely as well. And efficiently.”
In the meantime, athletics personnel at the college have shuffled their offices to either the campus library or Northeast building. Lake Land’s volleyball team has moved its summer camps to several high schools, including Effingham St. Anthony, Kansas and Oakland. Men’s basketball coach Cedric Brown conducted youth camps at Mattoon schools.
The project isn’t expected to cause a disruption in the volleyball team’s fall home schedule, though.
“Their camps in the summer are crucial for fund-raisers,” Throneburg said. “We’re appreciative of the area schools that have allowed us to use their facilities. We’re developing good rapport with Mattoon High School and (Mattoon) Middle School. We’ve had really good cooperation with Ken Baker and the people in Eastern’s rec center too.
“We’re trying to make the best of the situation because we know it’s going to be a great facility in the long run.”
Contact Rick Dawson at rdawson@jg-tc.com or 238-6855.
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