PantherNOW Editorial Board
We had to spend a few minutes puzzling at a map of the Modesto Maidique Campus before we wrote this one – we may have even flipped it upside down at a few points.
On Thursday, PantherNOW reported on developments from the Board of Trustees in developing a new aquatic facility at MMC. And frankly, we’re a little baffled with the selected locations.
Still no track in sight, first of all.
How long will FIU’s track athletes have to suffer until something is done? Promises to do right by them remain broken. When will serious conversations about approving and building a track be had?
We could spend a lot of time on that, given promises that the development of an on-campus track was “high-priority” for athletics.
And while we absolutely respect and support every athlete at FIU, the swimming and diving team already has a facility at the Biscayne Bay Campus.
(Plus the recreational pool for students who live on campus already at MMC).
Granted, it may be a trek to get over there for students who take classes and live at MMC. However, they already have a home at FIU and perhaps most crucially, unlike the runners, they can depend on having that space for themselves when they need it.
But with the most important point out of the way, the choice of location at MMC is just utterly bizarre.
Door number one: putting the pool “in front” of the Blue Garage. Based on renderings, this would be in Lot Four. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to get parking close to the Graham Center.
Aerial view for potential Aquatics Center building in front of Blue Garage. | Photo from presentation given by John Cal.
Door number two: between Academic Health Center One and the Graham Center. We hope this option is accompanied by some extra cash allocated for raincoats to protect students from any particularly unruly cannonballs as they walk to class.
Aerial view for potential Aquatics Center building in between GC and AHC. | Photo from presentation given by John Cal.
But what about near the athletic facilities on the west side of campus? Where all the athletes already train? Where we, the PantherNOW editorial board, believe there’s at least a decent amount of space to put a pool? (See site 24 at the image below to see what we’re talking about).
That option, according to trustee and SGA president Alexander Sutton, was outright turned down during the March 7 Board of Trustees ad hoc meeting.
Summary of each prospective location for Aquatics Center. | Photo from presentation given by John Cal.
Huh.
We understand that costs, construction and more are important to consider here, and that the best option location-wise may not be the most ideal option overall.
However, location holds a lot of weight in this case. A pool is, hopefully, a long-term investment – a facility that is going to stay in the same place for as long as is reasonably possible.
Whatever short-term costs or inconveniences with construction are probably worth it to make sure the pool is in a logical place for athletes and the university as a whole.
(Not to mention that site 24 is cheaper than site 11).
Sutton explained some of the reasoning behind the two primary locations to our reporter, saying it was so it could be a place where there are already lots of students — the trustees want to make sure the recreational part of the facilities get used.
On paper that might not be a bad reason, but practically it doesn’t make sense. The MMC Wellness and Recreation Center is on the west side of campus, close to proposed construction site 24.
According to Nicolas Ruiz, a supervisor at the MMC WRC, the gym serves an estimated 3,000 students per day on weekdays.
If students want to use a facility, they’ll get there. Putting a pool in a “central location” isn’t convenient for the people who want to use it — it’s inconvenient for pretty much everyone and just looks bizarre.
Maybe it’s still not too late to put it on the third floor of the Graham Center?
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