A fisheye view of the Stadium Woods
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Rising behind the East stands of Lane Stadium is a crowd that has seen every Virginia Tech football game. The crowd witnessed every battle in the history of the Hokies and the Fighting Gobblers. In fact, the crowd stood tall during every battle of America's Revolutionary War. Now, the crowd of white oaks is watching the fight for its life.
Over the last year, controversy regarding the Stadium Woods and a new athletic facility has caused heated discussion among students, faculty and just about everyone in the area. A proposed facility would offer Tech's athletic department a boost, but result in the loss of some of the old trees.
The athletic department is definitely building a new indoor practice facility that will cost between $15 million and $20 million — that much is known. However, the questions of when and where it will be built remain topics of interest. Two dueling petitions are trying to sway public opinion against building the new facility on top of certain campus grounds. One hopes to keep the Stadium Woods intact. The other dislikes the alternative — building over the tennis courts and roller rink on Washington Street.
A building that has been in the planning stages since 1998 will continue to languish in committee meetings and on the drawing board until the multi-faceted debate is settled.
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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 10 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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there's plenty of parking lots in the area that could be used for the building
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Is it really a good idea to get rid of a parking lot at a school with not enough parking to begin with.
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They want to cut down trees that are 350 years old to put in a fieldhouse for the athletic programs at Va Tech, so they won't have to take a 10 minute walk and cut into their practice time. I say, let's make a deal. Win a national championship in one of the major sports and then we'll talk. Who knows, maybe the longer walk will help. Jim Weaver needs to come up with a better line than that. Oh and btw, how is that new basketball facility working out.
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It is only 1 minute further. Mr. Weaver continues to exaggerate the distance.
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How is it even a question?!?!?!?!?!?!? Save the freaking woods. These lard-arses can cross the street and walk a block to be a worked-out. Lazy, stupid or both?!!
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they should sprint from one practice facility to another. Isn't one goal of football practice to workout?
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The petition to save the woods can be found here -http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/vtstadiumwoods/
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Why can't they build it on top of the existing outdoor practice field behind Cassell and Merryman? The stadium can be used for outdoor practice, and the existing practice field will just be made into an indoor one? Isn't that the most obvious solution? Otherwise we end up with three fields for one team (Worshap, indoor practice, outdoor practice)
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There's really no excuse for this ecosystem destruction. Virginia Tech already over-prioritizes athletics and spending on athletic facilities; the existing ones are more than adequate. Save the woods!
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If you would like to save the tennis courts and new roller hockey rink please sign this petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-virginia-tech-roller-hockey-rink-and-tennis/
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You do realize that these courts and the rink are gone no matter what happens? I respect that you want to keep those facilities there fore a lot of reasons, but those sites are up for development in the master plan regardless of what happens to this specific football facility. The real estate is simply way, way too valuable to take up with a bunch of concrete slabs.
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Yes, I do realize that in the long term plans they will be torn down eventually. That's why we ask for replacement facilities to be built before any demolition. If the football facility isn't placed there then we can keep playing at our current location for 5-10 years. During that time we can find a suitable permanent location. One possibility is moving into War Memorial Gym once a new gym is built in Oak Lane. But that new gym is 5-10 years away. We simply cannot make it through another 3 and a half years without a place to play. Our clubs wouldn't survive.
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Replying to Cory:
That's definitely a valid point, but I guess from my perspective I think it's unfortunate that your petition is being presented as one opposing Stadium Woods. Tech owes it to the students to provide accessible recreational facilities and preserve treasures like these woods. When it becomes a battle between the "save our trees" students and the "save our tennis courts" students, Athletics can just sit back and watch.
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If you would like to save the tennis courts and new roller hockey rink please sign this petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-virginia-tech-roller-hockey-rink-and-tennis/
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Using a competition surface for practice isn't an obvious solution. It's a non-starter. A lot goes into keeping Worsham Field in the condition it is for an entire season. Outside of scrimmages, it isn't used that often for practice. The outdoor practice field isn't the size of a single field and allows different teams (positions, offense, defense, special teams) to practice at once. Also, as was stated in the article, the football team would not be the sole tenant in a new field house. It would used by most of the athletic department.
As for using parking lots in the area, most of those areas have plans per the Campus Master Plan.
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If you would like to save the tennis courts and new roller hockey rink please sign this petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-virginia-tech-roller-hockey-rink-and-tennis/
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Sorry for the multiple posts. My initial ones weren't showing up.
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WHy don't they add on to the fieldhouse across the street where the practice field used to be? That would be a short walk when weather changes. Leave the woods alone and leave the tennis courts and hockey rink alone.
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Let's make a few things clear.
1. The tennis courts are slotted for either student services or athletic development as shown in the VT 2009 Master Plan amendment. The woods are slotted to stay as greenway http://www.facilities.vt.edu/documents/oup/masterplan/2009_land_use.pdf
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Let's make a few things clear:
1. The tennis courts are slotted for development as shown in the 2009 Master Plan amendment. http://www.facilities.vt.edu/documents/oup/masterplan/2009_land_use.pdf It will be either an athletic building or student services. The athletic indoor facility was slotted to go here before they decided the woods are more "convenient."
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2. The woods are 11.3 acres and if 5 acres are developed, 44% of the woods are GONE. This doesn't include ecosystem destruction past the building due to root death and soil compaction.
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3. NCAA timing standards can be modified for travel between practices. Besides, it's literally a one minute walk difference b/t the woods site and the tennis site.
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4. NO ONE is debating the need of the facility. That discussion doesn't belong in the CT article AT ALL. We all know football brings millions of dollars and it adds to our campus community. The issue here is that the University is willing to defend the football program despite a majority of people opposing the siting location.
5. Faculty Senate, which represents ALL faculty at VT, passed a resolution in December to preserve the woods no matter what. SGA just passed a similar resolution. The Commission on Student Affairs passed a resolution. NONE of this support to "save" the woods is mentioned in the CT. This is not just a forestry department issue.
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6. The ecology of the woods extends past old trees. 80 migratory birds travel to these woods. There are rare and unique understory trees (chokecherry, blackhaw). The storm flow management by a woods system CANNOT be replaced at all by an impervious building... expect Stroubles to remain one of the most impaired streams in the state (check the VA DEQ site for this info) if this building goes up.
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Kara, thank you for providing information that the author may not have known or cared to include.
I'd also like to point out the aesthetic value that the woods add to aerial shots of Lane Stadium during TV broadcasts of football games. It certainly pales in comparison to the ecological value of the area, but it improves the image of the university and the athletic department to have such a beautiful backdrop. Especially in the fall (ie football season) when the trees themselves are alive with Hokie Spirit and deck themselves out in their best orange and maroon.
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If this wasn't university property these trees would be listed under historic registry and made illegal to cut down or mess with the ecosystem. I say:
1.) Re-survey the land to see how many acres these woods are.
2.) Make the athletic department share their plans and blue prints in full. I can see all university plans online so why can't I see the ones for athletic facilities?
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This article is letting Athletics shift the debate from the need of the facility to the need of the location. If I were reading this as someone uninformed, I'd have very little knowledge about the greater conflict here.
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Really people? we are debating this? The Jefferson National Forest is five miles up the road with how many thousands of acres of undisturbed wilderness?, and yall are worried about a few acres in the middle of a city? Cut the trees down, build whatever you want in the middle of the city, just leave the developement contained to one area.
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For one Blacksburg is a town not a city. Two it is property owned by a land grant school specifically meant for education for the college of Agriculture and the college of Natural resources. You obviously have no respect for what Virginia Tech is all about if your feelings are tear down the past for your own pleasure and convenience.
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Well said.
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Virginia Tech obviously has no respect for what I am all about. They do not care about students or tradition, they simply want more money. That is very obvious if you have any hint of an idea of the policies that are being implemented on by the various boards in control. They do not care about students, simply their own bottom line.
Blacksburg is a city, if you compare it to where I come from, is there anywhere you can get away from buildings, or have any sense of privacy at all? Is there anywhere that you can be away from people without being behind a locked door? Nope. As long as that is the case, this is by my definition, a city.
And as for your argument about this college being meant for agricultural education, well that is as you said historically accurate; but this is no longer the case. Which colleges get the most funding? One guess, and its sure not agriculture. As I said earlier Tech's leaders don't care about tradition or students, simply what will make them the most money, and in this case it happens to be sports.
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"undisturbed" .... the oldest trees in some of those woods are 70-80 years old. Not the same scale as 350 years old.
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The issue isn't cutting down trees in general, the problem is that this forest is a truly unique area and of a place of enormous value to the school and greater community. Old growth forests are essentially nonexistent on the East Coast and we are lucky enough to have one at VT (Which by the way has a tremendous forestry program).
In its simplest terms, athletics wants to move the facility a few minutes walk closer at the cost of an irreplaceable area. Roller hockey rinks, tennis courts, and practice facilities can be replaced or moved but old growth forests cannot. Lets settle that these forest should be protected and agree that athletics owes it to roller hockey to replace the rink BEFORE demolition. Everyone is happy except athletics, which will be in the oh-so-terrible position of using its original site, walking an extra five minutes, and getting a new $15-20 million facility.
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I say chop em down...hardwood prices are up right now and these big oaks would bring good money to the project.
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Versus how much more it will cost us to clean up Stroubles Creek (required by federal and state law) or how much it will cost extra to bus hundreds of students out to the National Forest for weekly labs.
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Obvious troll is obvious.
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Meanwhile the College of Science administration is in a trailer. Priorities, VT?
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Why don't we win a national championship before we destroy a hundreds year old ecosystem?
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Where do you think the construction trailers, supplies, & equipment for this facility will be housed while it's being built?
If you think it'll still be in the field next to AJ, requiring regular trips across Washington Street, you're dreaming.
The tennis courts and hockey rink are lame ducks already. Your club should be pushing for permanent Rec Sports space for a rink elsewhere as it is.
If the Athletics Dept. fails to use the space, there are already discussions about a new Student Center or Dorm on that lot.
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I never said the staging area would be by AJ, that's absurd. There's a parking lot down the hill by the outdoor football practice fields that could be used. The university just spent approximately $100,000 to build the roller hockey rink space so I doubt they would destroy it immediately and use it as a staging area.
We have been pushing for a permanent space for years and continue to do so but our current location is the only spot they would give us. In 5-10 years we could move into War Memorial once a new gym is built in Oak Lane. But that gym is 5-10 years away so we have to preserve the rink as long as we can or else the clubs wouldn't survive. A student center or dorm is not in the immediate plans. If they agree to give us a facility elsewhere and build it before any demolition then everyone would be happy.
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