Concerns Raised about 3 Million Dollar Football Renovation
ITHACA, NY.- In 1989, the Ithaca Track and Field team traveled from South Hill to East Hill to use Cornell University’s outdoor track while Ithaca’s was under construction. Beginning in the spring 2023, this will once again become a reality for current Ithaca Track and Field athletes.
On November 29, 2022, Ithaca College announced a significant gift from 1981 Ithaca graduate Monica Bertino Wooden. The donation was for a three million dollar renovation that will convert Butterfield Stadium from grass to turf.
With this new renovation, the outdoor track, which currently surrounds the field, is planned to be relocated to a different location in the spring of 2023, when reconstruction begins.
“This new renovation is genuinely exciting as a football player,” says Daniel Hutchinson, senior football and track and field athlete at Ithaca College.
Several students and faculty have expressed their excitement for this new renovation. In contrast, others have some concerns regarding health and player safety, and the inconvenience of losing the outdoor track until further notice.
According to injury data collected from 2014-2021 by the National Football League Player Association (NFLPA), artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than grass.
“NFL teams tend to stay on grass rather than turf because they are aware of the injuries that can arise from turf,” says student athletic trainer Nani Velasquez.
Additionally, this NFLPA study concluded that players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf than natural surfaces.
Contrarily, Butterfield Stadium has been in need of a renovation for quite some time due to the indented grass and slippery standards.
Velasquez noted that numerous ankle injuries throughout the 2022 football season surfaced because of poor field conditions.
“I believe the turf will be safer than the grass we were playing on,” says Hutchinson. “We had a crown in the middle of the field, which meant the surface was an uneven playing ground.”
In addition to the concerns raised about player safety, the Ithaca Track and Field athletes have publicly expressed disappointment in losing their outdoor track for the time being.
On November 29, @Bomber_Sports Instagram posted a photo of the new renovation that does not include the outdoor track. With this came a very adverse reaction in the comment section.
Students, former athletes, and alums have expressed concerns about losing the outdoor track right before they embark on their outdoor season.
“I just don’t think it’s fair,” says current track and field athlete Kaelyn Haggerty. “The fact that a nationally ranked track team had to receive the news this way feels disappointing and unsettling.”
Head Coach of the track and field team, Coach Potter, advised the team not to take certain classes early in the morning, such as 8:00 and 9:00 am, due to the early morning travel they will endure when using Cornell’s track.
In response, Haggerty has expressed her frustrations with scheduling classes for spring 2023.
“As a junior physical therapy student and a member of the track team, there’s a certain amount of pressure that adds to your schedule when you need to take certain classes, but you also want to succeed with your teammates,” says Haggerty. “This is just an extreme inconvenience.”
Events such as 400-meter hurdles and steeplechase cannot be practiced on an indoor 200-meter track due to injuries that can appear, according to Velasquez. Therefore, these athletes must travel to Cornell University to use their outdoor track.
In the Ithacan article posted about the new renovation it was stated that there will be a fundraiser campaign to support the move of the 400-meter track, however, track and field athletes will have to compensate for the lack of track for the time being.
This fundraiser campaign has no set date or plan yet, it was only voiced in the article that it will occur.
Jumper and sprinter Daniel Hutchinson will be adjusting to the new protocols as well. “When it comes to outdoor sprinting events such as the 100 meter, it makes training a lot more difficult,” Hutchinson says. “It takes away from some of the training I could be doing.”
In response to the distress, Deputy Director of Athletics, Erienne Roberts shed some light on the matter.
According to Roberts, the transition from grass to turf was approved to take place in 2019. Due to the circumstances of the pandemic, this plan was placed on hold.
Upon receiving this generous donation, the athletics department felt it necessary to begin this transformation immediately.
“Transitioning to a turf field really provides a lot of freedom for our teams that operate outside of the Athletic and Events Center,” says Roberts.
Teams such as soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and intramural sports each utilize the same turf fields working on diligent schedules to share them fairly. Adding another turf field can only open up more opportunities for these teams.
“It will allow our student athletes a different type of experience. For example, field hockey won’t have to worry about football coming on after, and men and women’s lacrosse can have an easier time scheduling,” says Roberts.
With regards to losing the outdoor track, the athletics department sees this as an opportunity to continue renovating and to open more doors for alumni to participate and stay engaged.
“We need to invest in capital planning. That means residential halls and infrastructure around campus,” says Roberts. “What happens in business and collegiate athletics is they’ll tell you if you’re not building you’re not growing.”
Roberts concluded that she understands change can be difficult, although she hopes students can see this as something more significant. She believes this new renovation can bring Ithaca College Athletics to the next level.
In the meantime, she urges patience from the student body.
“From our perspective as an athletics department, we have amazing student athletes,” says Roberts. “From a short term lens, it might look as if we have taken a step back, but it’s always a big picture of how we can elevate their experience as best as we possibly can.”
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