Controversy over Stan Laub center continues
The largest freestanding indoor collegiate training facility in the Intermountain West isn’t just something for Utah State University to brag about, but also something to disagree about.
Communication between the Athletics department and the recreation department has been unclear about the user conditions of the Stan Laub Center.
“In The Statesman they announced it was a multi-use facility that the campus would use,” Deanne Williams director of campus recreation said. “Few and far between actually get into the stadium and if they do they have to pay a fee.”
The facility opened in October of 1998, and only university sanctioned sports teams have been allowed to use it without paying a fee since the opening.
“The intention of the building was never as a multi-use facility,” Rance Pugmire Athletics director said.
The Athletics director during the time the stadium began construction was Chuck Bell. Pugmire was on the Athletics staff at the time.
The USU Athletics department privately raised about half of the money used in building the facility, Pugmire said. Jim Laub’s family donated the other half; the building was named in memory of Jim’s brother, Stan. The total cost of the building was $4.5 million.
“Chuck Bell and his staff spent a great deal of time going to contributors,” Pugmire said. “The contributors donated cash and labor and set up times for the staff to meet with other possible contributors.”
Inside the stadium there are 100 yards of artificial grass, a weight room and other sporting event facilities. The facilities in the Stan Laub Center allow Aggie athletes to practice year-round.
“In the winter the facility is used all day long by the university’s 15 sports teams,” Pugmire said.
If clubs or other campus organizations want to use the center they are charged a fee of $100 per hour or $500 per day.
“I don’t like that club teams are charged,” Jason Clark, club baseball team captain, said. “I know we aren’t sponsored by the university, but we should be able to use it just because we are a sports team.”
Club teams can’t afford to pay for use of the stadium with the tight budgeting they are on, Williams said.
“We get $44,000 out of student fees and that has to be divided between 16 clubs,” Williams said. “How the teams use the funds is up to them.”
Few clubs are able to charge spectators for watching their athletic events because it is too hard to monitor who gets into the games, Williams said. Therefore, student players bring in dues and the teams have fund raising, otherwise they wouldn’t make it with the amount of money they are given.
“A [baseball] player pays $250 in dues and about another $500 for trips,” Clark said.
The university does not pay for club teams to travel and compete as they do for varsity teams.
Staying in a hotel has to come out of the club player’s pocket, Clark said.
The fee clubs have to pay in order to use the stadium is placed to help maintain the facility and repair any damage that might occur during use of it, Williams said.
“During one of the first football practices held there, two lights were broken by the team,” Williams said.
Pugmire said part of the money the athletic teams bring in goes toward paying for and maintaining the building.
“I have full support and respect for club teams,” said Holly Anderson, sophomore varsity women’s tennis player. “The players have just as much ability as the varsity players. I think they [clubs] should be able to use it but not when varsity teams are using it. But I don’t think they should be charged to use it if no one else is using it.”
Williams said because the building sits on land owned by the state and university, students of the university should be allowed to use it.
Alison Nickle, a sophomore majoring in business, thinks the building should be used by university-sponsored athletes only.
“If the building would have been made with student money and tax dollars I don’t think it would be fair that only the Athletics department gets to use it,” Nickle said. “Since the Athletics department raised the money I understand why they don’t let anyone else us it. The athletes at USU have learned how to treat and respect the equipment. If any student had access to it, it might be handled inappropriately.”
Nickle also mentioned the campus needs a new recreation center for club sports, intramural and any student who wants to use it. Her idea was that funding for a new building should come out of taxes and student money.
About two years after the Laub Center was opened, the student body leaders conducted a professional vote to find out if students would be willing to pay more money so the university could build a new recreation center.
An increase of student fees was voted in favor of by 63 percent of the students so the university could build the recreation center, Williams said.
“The students, President [Kermit L.] Hall and the Board of Trustees all approved the issue,” Williams said. “The Board of Regents nixed it.”
The chance of Utah State getting a recreation center in the next five years is nearly impossible, Williams said.
“A rec center isn’t in the near future,” Williams said. “I would like to see one in 10 years, but I don’t know if that will happen.”