Tennessee Tech will break ground for phase one of a $150,000 activity field project next week.
Vice President for Facilities and Business Services Chuck Roberts said the 6.6 acres across from the Bryan Fine Arts Building will be leveled, sodded and have utilities installed. Roberts said with Sherlock Park becoming smaller due to future projects.
Roberts said this addition will replace some of that lost green space.
“We really want to get the band tower relocated here before school starts up in August,” Roberts said. “So we should have that band tower relocated out there in the June-July time frame. So they’ll be able to utilize that when they have camps starting to open up at the beginning of the school year.”
Roberts said the field is not specific to the band, students will be able to use the space for outdoor recreation. He said it will function similar to Sherlock Park.
“We definitely want to put some drainage out there to drain away from the field because right now it drains a little bit towards the middle,” Roberts said. “A little bit of lighting is going to go on out there too. Especially for the band practice area, it’s going to be associated with the tower so it wont get in the way of anything. Then we’re going to have some water stations out there and then you’re also going to have some areas for benches.”
He said an architect is working to design Tech’s vision for the field moving forward. He said phase one can be completed with funds already allocated.
“After we get the rendering, I think that’s when we’ll go back to campus leadership and ask them for additional funds to kind of finish that off,” Roberts said. “So really unsure when it will be final, finalized. But I see us working on that park over the next year to two years, to kind of get to where we want the vision and goal.”
Roberts said there have been discussions on an official name for the space, but nothing has been decided yet. Roberts said the new Engineering Building and Innovation Residence Hall will cut into the size of Sherlock Park.
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