OUR VIEW: HPER rec field needs a makeover
We’ve always been told to never judge a book by its cover, but the truth is everyone does it anyway.
In this case, the book is Utah State University. We have a great campus, we really do. People love it here. We live in a gorgeous area, and campus has a rich history, which adds to its charm. However, there are some areas that are lacking. There are some facilities that are old and don’t necessarily have the same function they were intended to have. Some buildings don’t fulfill purposes with the same success they once did.
The HPER Field is a disaster. Even atrocious, if you will. Have you ever played a game of flag football or taken a P.E. class held there? The ground is hard, the grass is sparse and there are holes everywhere. The field was built over a parking lot, and you can tell whenever your feet hit the ground.
The solution? Artificial turf.
Campus Recreation is looking to provide students with better facilities and grounds, recreating what we have now to be something we can be proud of.
Of course, this turf will only become a reality through student approval. In the next student body election there will be a vote to charge students a one-time fee to lay 250,000-square-feet of turf on the fields between the HPER Building and the Spectrum. That much turf will cost the university roughly $2 million. One time. When you do the math, it’s not an overwhelming sum per person.
Turf is a beautiful thing. It has the exact same function as grass but requires so much less effort. There will be no need to water it, which saves money; no one will ever have to replant or weed it, which saves money; and it will make the fields accessible for longer periods of time. The better quality of a turfed field would make intramural and club sports easier and better, as well as P.E. classes.
Between this and the potential Aggie Recreation and Community Center, USU will have a better cover to be judged by.
When people decide where they’re going to go to college, a huge factor is the physical appearance of the campus. As they come around the corner of 700 North, turning onto Aggie Bull-evard, imagine how they’d feel if the first thing they saw was the state-of-the-art, new building with surrounding fields covered in turf. Instantly, they will be attracted to campus.
The nicer the campus, the more attention and credibility we receive as a university. When you look at the facilities and equipment on other campuses nationwide, or even just in Utah, we are behind. There are students who will choose another schools down South, solely because there are better recreational options. We don’t want that, now, do we?