A $10M renovation of NAU's 33-year old Walkup Skydome from December, 2010 until August, 2011 may include suite-level seating:
A selection of seats from varying vendors sit in a section of the Walkup Skydome.
The renovation of the athletic facility involves replacing all of the seating.
(photo: Jake Bacon)
Dome makeover
by DANIEL BERK
Arizona Daily Sun
April 18, 2010
Sitting in his office, which in less than a year won't exist, NAU athletic director Jim Fallis leans forward on his desk and explains the building that houses him on a daily basis, the Walkup Skydome. "The Dome is like a 90-year-old guy with a great muscular system, but all of his arteries are clogged," Fallis described. Soon, those arteries will be cleaned out. NAU will shut down the Skydome, which first opened in 1977, for at least six months starting in December of this year for numerous renovations. The Dome will close following the 2010 football season and fall commencement and won't re-open until August 2011.
The focus of the renovations will be on fire and life safety deficiencies such as handrails, wheelchair spaces, fire suppression and seating, in addition to electrical, mechanical and water issues. In order to accommodate those areas, NAU will tear down its existing press box, which hangs from the ceiling of the Dome, and replace it with a supported press box, which will have an elevator up to it to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act. The bathrooms will also be torn out and newer, bigger bathrooms will replace the older ones and will also be ADA compliant. The entrances and exits in and out of the Dome will also be renovated and the rest of the project will focus on cleaning those "arteries," replacing piping, and other electrical and mechanical issues. "I think there's always trepidation because there's an element of unknown," Fallis said about the upcoming renovations. "But, I've been a part of enough renovation projects. It's tough, but you know in the end, you're going to have something that's clearly enhanced from the way it was before. "I think when the construction dust settles on all of this, we'll be able to look at it and say 'wow...this is how you accommodate spectators.' It's going to enhance things greatly."
THE PLANS
The project is part of the Stimulus Plan for Economic and Educational Development, or SPEED, which is designed to provide funding for deferred maintenance projects. It will be funded 80 percent by the Arizona Lottery and 20 percent by NAU. Currently, the concourse level at the Dome features offices for nearly every head coach in the athletic department, other than football coach Jerome Souers, whose office is on the mezzanine level of the Dome. All of those coaches, along with the athletic department offices that are also on the concourses, will have to be totally evacuated and emptied before the renovation starts. Where those offices will be relocated during the renovations is still unknown at this point. "It's entirely possible some of us will be off campus," Fallis said. "There's certain locations that can house us on a temporary basis. We may have a lot of satellite locations and we'll be running around on a daily basis. There will be some challenges, but we can work through them."
When the renovations are complete and the coaches and athletic department personnel return to the Dome, their offices won't be in the same locations. The mezzanine level, which currently houses the football offices, will be expanded on both sides and hold more offices, with the concourses being dedicated for walkways, bathrooms and concession stands. On top of the mezzanine level will be the press box level. Fallis recently viewed drawings of the renovations, which are not yet available to the public, and was impressed with what he saw. "We just got a sneak preview of all of those things last week and they've shown us what they've drawn and designed and what it would look like," Fallis said. "It looked very nice. I would say there were very few things that the architects and university planners didn't take into consideration. It's certainly going to be a wonderful enhancement to the Dome."
PRESS BOX DETAILS AND POSSIBLE SUITES
Currently, the press box at the Dome isn't ADA compliant and requires not only climbing stairs to reach the top of the seats, but then also climbing up a narrow set of stairs to the structure. The new press box will be a more traditional one and will have multiple uses. On top of the uses by the media, the press box will include "multiple usable spaces," which will serve as meeting rooms, but can also be converted into club level seating for football games. That will create a more fan-friendly experience, especially for donors and alumni of the athletic department. That equals a newer, better facility for the football team, which has Souers excited. "When you look at the plans that are being made in the stadium, the seating and the offices, it is going to be a complete face lift," Souers said. "I think the Skydome is a wonderful facility. To have that kind of enhancement is going to be wonderful. It will make a difference in recruiting. It will make a difference in the viewing experience for the fans that are inside the Dome. It is going to be great."
There's also a chance that the Dome could add new suite-level seating on the other side of the press box if the athletic department can raise enough money.
Fallis said he'd like to add suite level, but there's no way that could be funded with the SPEED money. Instead, the athletic department is trying to raise $1 million to build the suites, but it won't be an easy task because of the time frame of the renovations. "Clearly, if we do anything in the way of suites or boxes, it's going to be external money," Fallis said. "We got a figure from the architects that it would cost about $1 million to add another level to the other side of the Dome. Now, we're trying to see when the date would be that we would have to have the money raised by. We know it's going to be extremely tight because this project is going to move pretty quick."
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE TEAMS
With the Dome under renovation, the university's teams will have to make backup plans while the Dome is shut down. The men's and women's basketball teams will play all of their games for the 2010-11 season at the Rolle Activity Center, where they currently play all of their pre-conference home games. The team that could be in the toughest spot is in the Lumberjacks' indoor track and field team. Fallis said it hasn't been decided yet whether the track and field team will be able to use the Dome at all while the renovations are taking place. "The only thing that is still under discussion is, would it be possible for track to practice in the evenings on the track during the indoor season?" Fallis said. "And, that hasn't been decided. Because, if that has any impact on the renovation of the Dome, then we will have to take a serious look at how we deal with that issue. But, we are already looking at what alternatives there are for our track team to go to indoor meets elsewhere."
If the team isn't able to practice at the Dome, Fallis said track and field coach Eric Heins has already started looking at empty warehouses and such throughout Flagstaff where the team could practice sprints, at the very least. Of course, all of the NAU teams will be affected because NAU will have to find a temporary home for the program's weight room and training facility, both located on the bottom floor of the Skydome. "We're looking at what we're going to do from December to August," Fallis said. "When things become finalized and we get a handle on what needs to be moved and how much space we need, we'll look at what type of space is available. Everybody knows to start looking. Everyone has their thinking hats on."
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