by J.P. Pelzman
Seton Hall recently opened its Pirates Refueling Station, a place in the Richie Regan Athletic and Recreation Center where student-athletes can replenish themselves with nutritious snacks and beverages. Perhaps The Hall’s athletic department should open a similar space for its administrators, because they also seem to always be on the go in terms of planning and executing upgrades to the university’s athletic facilities. And they don’t appear ready to stop anytime soon.
Under the leadership of athletic director Pat Lyons, Seton Hall has been making a lot of improvements to its facilities, and that initiative is continuing.
In an interview with Rivals.com, Seton Hall senior associate athletic director for facilities & operations Kevin Sponzo said the next project will be to upgrade the amenities at Owen T. Carroll Field, the longtime home of the Pirates’ baseball and men’s and women’s soccer squads.
Sponzo stated the plan is to replace the current artificial turf surface with a new artificial surface, and added, “We’re looking to enhance the seating, with chair back seating behind home plate (for baseball) and at midfield (for soccer).”
Seton Hall also wants to install permanent press boxes with canopies and “also upgrade all the digital aspects,” Sponzo said, “so we can broadcast games appropriately and have camera locations.”
The school also intends to install bathrooms that are not portable ones.
The area in front of the field also will get a facelift so that “it doesn’t just look like a couple of stands and some seats".
”The turf last was redone in 2010, and according to Sponzo the university hasn’t yet determined what the new artificial surface will be.
“There are a couple of vendors we’re talking to and we’re waiting on some numbers to come in. We should be breaking ground sometime this winter,” Sponzo said. “That will be our focal point over the next year and as soon as that completes we’ll jump right in to (renovating) Walsh Gymnasium”, Seton Hall's venerable home court first established in 1941.
As Sponzo alludes to, the department also has plans for the historic gym which was the home court for many great Pirates teams of the past and also hosted current Big East coaches Chris Mullin (St. John’s) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) during their legendary playing days at their respective Alma maters. As has become the custom under men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard, the Pirates will play one regular-season home game at Walsh this season. That contest will be the opener against Wagner on Nov. 6. (Wagner for those looking back was the Pirate's legendary coach P.J. Carlesimo's initial head position before coming to South Orange.)
“It’s great to be able to do that in historic Walsh Gym,” Sponzo said of holding a game there, “and have people come and say ‘I saw games here in the ’50s and ’60s. (It’s) a lot of energy in a very small space and that’s ideal for us.”
Sponzo noted the proposed Walsh upgrades are in the planning stages, but indicated the intention is to have “new video scoreboards, new seating--chair back seating instead of bleachers. We will look to re-do the floor, too, just a complete upgrade of that facility to make it what it needs to be in this day and age".
“Obviously,” he added, “with any project fund-raising is going to drive that and we’re working on those efforts right now.”
Sponzo said that private donations for such projects are “very important” and credited Lyons for being able to successfully reach out to the Pirates community and the university.
“He’s been incredible, his vision to grow the programs is there and he’s gotten the university to buy in on that as well, and that’s an important part.”
Seton Hall is at a disadvantage in terms of space, in that there isn’t nearby land that the university can purchase in order to keep building. Sponzo, who has been in the department since 1998, knows how challenging it can be.
In terms of athletic facilities, he said, “I think we’re right on par with everybody else. Space sometimes is an issue for us. We try to maximize our space and maximize our efforts on what we have. Everybody here understands some of the limitations we have based upon space. When it comes to the vision and upgrading facilities, we’re all on the same page.”
And that makes it even more rewarding when visiting teams come to South Orange and compliment the upgrades, as Sponzo notes, “I do think we’re at the top of the conference in terms of what we offer our student athletes from a facilities standpoint. … We also want to continue to do more than everybody else within our limits to be able to do that.”
The Pirates Refueling Station is an example of using existing space in a different way. "At various times", Sponzo adds, "that space previously had been a cafeteria, a wrestling room and a classroom".
"The first thing we look at,” he said, “is what we can do to better the experience for our student-athletes and what can we do to better them as individuals. We also look at the growing trends and what other universities are doing so we can stay on par with them.”
The idea behind the station was “getting them to eat healthier and getting them prepared to play,” he said, adding that “we analyzed what we had. We figured out what the best spot would be.”
Sponzo said the main goal is, “to make sure we’re not just taking care of one program, we’re taking care of them all. … It’s a lot of work at times, but it’s fun to be able to do this and know as soon as you’re finishing one (project), you’re jumping on to the next. To see the satisfaction of the student-athletes, then you know you’re doing the right thing.”
Now as school reopens in September the completion of the Refueling Station is in the rear view mirror and Kevin Sponzo prepares for his next project, all with the student athlete's well being and performance in mind as the college sports facilities arms race continues unabated across America.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Seton Hall recently opened its Pirates Refueling Station, a place in the Richie Regan Athletic and Recreation Center where student-athletes can replenish themselves with nutritious snacks and beverages. Perhaps The Hall’s athletic department should open a similar space for its administrators, because they also seem to always be on the go in terms of planning and executing upgrades to the university’s athletic facilities. And they don’t appear ready to stop anytime soon.
Under the leadership of athletic director Pat Lyons, Seton Hall has been making a lot of improvements to its facilities, and that initiative is continuing.
In an interview with Rivals.com, Seton Hall senior associate athletic director for facilities & operations Kevin Sponzo said the next project will be to upgrade the amenities at Owen T. Carroll Field, the longtime home of the Pirates’ baseball and men’s and women’s soccer squads.
Sponzo stated the plan is to replace the current artificial turf surface with a new artificial surface, and added, “We’re looking to enhance the seating, with chair back seating behind home plate (for baseball) and at midfield (for soccer).”
Seton Hall also wants to install permanent press boxes with canopies and “also upgrade all the digital aspects,” Sponzo said, “so we can broadcast games appropriately and have camera locations.”
The school also intends to install bathrooms that are not portable ones.
The area in front of the field also will get a facelift so that “it doesn’t just look like a couple of stands and some seats".
”The turf last was redone in 2010, and according to Sponzo the university hasn’t yet determined what the new artificial surface will be.
“There are a couple of vendors we’re talking to and we’re waiting on some numbers to come in. We should be breaking ground sometime this winter,” Sponzo said. “That will be our focal point over the next year and as soon as that completes we’ll jump right in to (renovating) Walsh Gymnasium”, Seton Hall's venerable home court first established in 1941.
As Sponzo alludes to, the department also has plans for the historic gym which was the home court for many great Pirates teams of the past and also hosted current Big East coaches Chris Mullin (St. John’s) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) during their legendary playing days at their respective Alma maters. As has become the custom under men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard, the Pirates will play one regular-season home game at Walsh this season. That contest will be the opener against Wagner on Nov. 6. (Wagner for those looking back was the Pirate's legendary coach P.J. Carlesimo's initial head position before coming to South Orange.)
“It’s great to be able to do that in historic Walsh Gym,” Sponzo said of holding a game there, “and have people come and say ‘I saw games here in the ’50s and ’60s. (It’s) a lot of energy in a very small space and that’s ideal for us.”
Sponzo noted the proposed Walsh upgrades are in the planning stages, but indicated the intention is to have “new video scoreboards, new seating--chair back seating instead of bleachers. We will look to re-do the floor, too, just a complete upgrade of that facility to make it what it needs to be in this day and age".
“Obviously,” he added, “with any project fund-raising is going to drive that and we’re working on those efforts right now.”
Sponzo said that private donations for such projects are “very important” and credited Lyons for being able to successfully reach out to the Pirates community and the university.
“He’s been incredible, his vision to grow the programs is there and he’s gotten the university to buy in on that as well, and that’s an important part.”
Seton Hall is at a disadvantage in terms of space, in that there isn’t nearby land that the university can purchase in order to keep building. Sponzo, who has been in the department since 1998, knows how challenging it can be.
In terms of athletic facilities, he said, “I think we’re right on par with everybody else. Space sometimes is an issue for us. We try to maximize our space and maximize our efforts on what we have. Everybody here understands some of the limitations we have based upon space. When it comes to the vision and upgrading facilities, we’re all on the same page.”
And that makes it even more rewarding when visiting teams come to South Orange and compliment the upgrades, as Sponzo notes, “I do think we’re at the top of the conference in terms of what we offer our student athletes from a facilities standpoint. … We also want to continue to do more than everybody else within our limits to be able to do that.”
The Pirates Refueling Station is an example of using existing space in a different way. "At various times", Sponzo adds, "that space previously had been a cafeteria, a wrestling room and a classroom".
"The first thing we look at,” he said, “is what we can do to better the experience for our student-athletes and what can we do to better them as individuals. We also look at the growing trends and what other universities are doing so we can stay on par with them.”
The idea behind the station was “getting them to eat healthier and getting them prepared to play,” he said, adding that “we analyzed what we had. We figured out what the best spot would be.”
Sponzo said the main goal is, “to make sure we’re not just taking care of one program, we’re taking care of them all. … It’s a lot of work at times, but it’s fun to be able to do this and know as soon as you’re finishing one (project), you’re jumping on to the next. To see the satisfaction of the student-athletes, then you know you’re doing the right thing.”
Now as school reopens in September the completion of the Refueling Station is in the rear view mirror and Kevin Sponzo prepares for his next project, all with the student athlete's well being and performance in mind as the college sports facilities arms race continues unabated across America.
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
