Cole Field House renovations impact students and athletes

By: Emily Kader March 9, 2017

Cole Field House in 1955 (Credit: University of Maryland Archives)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. What do Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, President John F. Kennedy, and
Texas Western, the first team to have five African American starting players, have in common?
They all have been to the University of Maryland Cole Field House.

In the Fall of 2016, Cole Field House renovations began. The $3

million project is scheduled to end in early 2019, which will result in
new resources for students and athletes.

The building originally opened in 1955 and was used to host sporting
events, musicians and speakers. The building was used as an active
field house from 1955 until 2002.

The Student Activities Building was named after William P. Cole, a

Elvis Presley performance in Cole
Field House in 1975. (Credit:
University of Maryland Archives, The
Terrapin)
university alumni. Cole was a student athlete and graduated with a
B.S. in civil engineering. Cole served in World War I and was a
congressman, who was later appointed to a U.S. Customs Court
judgeship.
However, the current renovations of Cole Field House have had an
impact on the students and athletes at the university.

Rachel Feidelman, a junior journalism and economics major, has been personally impacted by
the renovations. Feidelman is a member of the Field Hockey Club. Since the renovations began,
her team has not been able to use the building for practice.

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We used to practice there like 3 times a week and its been really hard not having it because
now we have to practice outside on the turf fields by the Comcast center like year round, said
Feidelman. So when its really cold out that's our only option, and we usually get late time slots
because every field sport has to practice there.

The current plans do not involve providing sports clubs access to the practice fields once the
field house reopens.

While there is excitement for the future, the building cannot be used until 2019. For now, the
university has to explain the building to potential new students.

Pamela Kekst, a sophomore psychology major, is a member of the Maryland Images tour guide
group. She has received updates about the renovations and how students will be able to use the
new building.

Maryland is always improving. The university is

always trying to grow, always trying to provide
the best place for all of their students, so thats
what theyre investing in, said Kekst. [Cole is]
going to be a really cool state of the art sports
medicine/kinesiology center and there is going to
be a lot of cool training and different offices or
departments based there that will be able to
expand the offerings.

Some potential students have asked Kekst about

what the renovations mean for life on campus. Maryland released a series of new photos for the project's future.
(Credit: The Washington Post)

If a prospective student were to ask me about it I

usually just say its fine, dont worry, get excited that itll be ready by the time youre here, said
Kekst. [Cole is] not by any residence halls, so you dont hear [any of the construction].

Cole Field House has a special place in the heart of many alumni. For over 50 years it has served
as an attraction for students. Seats from the stadium are being sold up to $400, along with lockers
and signs, since so many people felt a personal connection to the building. The profits from the
seats will go toward the renovation costs.

Beth Van Wye, a 1983 Maryland alumni, has fond memories of the Field House. She attended
about 25 games and events as a student at the university.

First of all, we used to have to go pick up the tickets...You had to wait in line for tickets and we
would all take turns. I remember actually sleeping over night to get them; once or twiceIt was
much smaller and intimate. [Cole] was old even then but it was still great to be there because
there was so much tradition, said Van Wye.

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Even thought the building was
old when she was a student,
Van Wye was upset to hear
about the renovations.

I was kind of sad [when I

heard Cole was getting
renovated] I think it
probably needed to be
renovated even then. But I
loved it because it was just part
of the atmosphere, even if it
needed renovation, it was just
part of the whole appeal, said
Van Wye. University of Maryland photo for plan with Cole Field House (Credit: The Washington Post)

The new Field House will include an indoor football facility, a sports medicine center and
entrepreneurial lab. The new medical facility will be for researchers from the University of
Maryland, College Park and Baltimore, will have an orthopedic center and has received funding
from the MPowering the State initiative.

To learn more about the renovations, please click here.

If you would like to receive updates about the renovations, please click here.

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