The Perry Field House was a very impressive facility. They had incorporated many trends in the field such as an indoor track and a court that was multipurpose. I have used both the courts and football field during my time here at school. I was always curious as to why they didn’t choose to switch over to Fieldturf as opposed to Astroturf but understood when they mentioned using that space for conventions. Fieldturf is much better for playing sports on but you don’t want a high volume of people in and out with different displays, tables, chairs, etc set up on the surface. The front entrance is not up to par with the size of the facility. Thus it prevents them from exceeding the 1000 person capacity. I feel that the storage areas are also too small. The equipment all over the playing surfaces inside is a hassle. It doesn’t so much get in the way as it is an eye sore. The parking however is great! The rec center parking situation is non-existant.
The BGSU Ice Arena was a nice facility but even after the amount of money in renovations still seemed very dated. The behind the scenes was where most of the money went and that all appeared to be very good. The only problem is what most guests see is an older building that is in need of a major shake up and renovation. The needs of the community are met for the most part but it would be nice to have a better concession stand and pro shop. The lobby also could use a refresh. The locker rooms were in a sense pathetic. I don’t know wht the main locker room looks like but judging by the others I’d have to say that it isn’t exactly the nicest and most comfortable place to be. For a college with so much pride and history in the hockey program they sure don’t provide a top notch facility for their team. The baseball team also uses the locker rooms which shows that it is used for more than just hockey and open skating. To me this shouldn’t happen. The Ice Arena should be used for only events held in the arena itself. The lodge or banquet room is something that I had no idea even existed. It could benefit from advertising it to different organizations on campus to hold events. To me they don’t take enough advantage of the local community.
Facility Reflection
The Olympic size swimming pool was unique in most universities do not have one of this size available to the students. It had a cooler water temperature than that of the recreational pool due to swimming times being faster in the cooler water. Another great feature was the underwater viewing windows which can be used by coaches during practice and photographers for a unique view of swimmers and divers. Unfortunately we did not go over the guidelines or specs of the pool itself pertaining to depth. Although from what it appeared the starting blocks were positioned by the fold out bleachers giving them plenty of depth to safely enter from a diving start off the blocks. I am able to assume this as the diving platforms are positioned off to the left hand side when starting at the blocks. I grew up swimming competitively in the summer and also for my junior high team. I am very familiar with pools and would have to say that this is one of the nicer pools I’ve seen aside from certain places where the competition is much higher. Ann Arbor is home to one of the top collegiate teams and also has trained such athletes as Michael Phelps. As for high school pools Keating Natatorium at St. Xavier of Cincinnati is by far nicer than the pool here. They have a long history of winning state just about every year. The Keating family has also made large donations to the University of Cincinnati and a few years back one of the Keatings attended BGSU and was on our swim team. One feature that I have seen used is a temporary bridge splitting the pool in half so that it is only 25M on each end. This allows for coached to walk across the middle and help instruct the swimmers. It is not necessary but can be a helpful tool during practice.
I had never been to a racquetball club back home and so the tour was the first time I’d ever seen any indoor courts. I was very impressed with the amount and the quality of them. The window up above to instruct players seemed like a very useful tool. I also like the glass walled courts. It would be very interesting to watch a game being played from just behind that glass. I like how they have tried to transform some of them to be used in various other ways. I liked the idea of archery in the one and also the spinning and dance/aerobics. It seems that sound proofing them a little to cut down on echoing would be very helpful in the future if they wanted to use them more frequently. Also encouraging students to try new sports such as Wally ball, Squash, and Racquetball would possibly create a bit of a comeback for these activities. I understand that it might be tough but stirring up interest with curious students couldn’t hurt. I know that I would like to at least give some of them a try. I understand that the book has certain dimensions and court requirements for these facilities but we weren’t told if they were all regulation or not so I am going to assume that they indeed are. I highly doubt 14 courts that weren’t regulation would be constructed. I would like to see the Rec Center get updated and a bit of a facelift. They need to be able to compete with other schools and their construction. The onslaught of varsity athletics is nice, but when you don’t field a strong contending team it can go to waste. Not many students who choose to come to BGSU because of their storied sports program. As of late it has been somewhat lackluster. As for recruiting students, they need new facilities to house, feed, and entertain/occupy them. They are building two very nice new dorms, one new dining center, and now need to fill the void of recreation. The facilities now are adequate and nice, but they don’t draw the attention that others do. That is why I believe updating the current facilities would be highly beneficial.
