University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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mmmmmmmammmmm m mi mmm mm Facilities expand While sipping a Coke from your souvenir Texas cup and eating nachos, you sit in your steel-backed stadium seat. You are probably not aware of the first-class facilities maintained by the University of Texas athletic departments. From back in 1898, when land was first purchased for the football field, to the mid-1970s, when three of the finest athletic complexes were built, the University had been in- strumental in ensuring the Longhorns had the best facilities. Memorial Stadium was home for Texas football and track. Built in 1924, the stadium went through a number of changes over the years. In 1926, the stadium had a 40,000-seat capaci- ty and an addition in 1948 allowed 61,000 spectators to watch. The addition of Bellmont Hall in 1972, which provided an up- It ' s bulldozers away for the new 12-court Penick-Allison Tennis Center which is expected to be completed in late fall, 1985. Photo by Jim Sigmon per deck of seats and classrooms, increased the stadium capacity to 81, 000. The track which circles the field is the site of the annual Texas Relays, and hosted the 1985 NCAA Track and Field Championships. What had been called the finest collegiate ballpark in the nation, Disch-Falk Field was the home of the UT baseball team. The $2.5 million field, which seated 5,000, was built in 1975 and compared well to major league parks in lighting and dimension. The $6 million Texas Swim Center opened in 1977 and had been the site of Olympic trials and the NCAA finals. Across the street, the Longhorn basketball teams .played Seven million dollars were invested to construct the new athletic training facility, Neuhaus-Royal Athletic Center. The expected completion date was fall, 1986. Photo by Jim Sigmon tf v.- ft y . ,.:- mil II I.PJ 10 Opening

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; tic cento at r- Construction continues on Chemical and Petroleum Building as renovated Little Campus opens to serve University visitors by MICHAEL SUTTER uilding pr . We applied s. Another mplished a ' their aims remained ' Ike street for eh lane of the of improving teaching and service facilities. Work on the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Buil ding at 26th and Speedway, for example, managed to weave motorists into single lanes along busy 26th Street which switched sides of the street twice during the year. The $23 million facility was due for completion in November 1985 and was to contain primarily laboratory space. The renovation of two Little Campus buildings at the corner of MLK and IH 35 next to the Erwin Center accom- plished a note of nostalgia. The more quaint of the two the Arno Nowotny Building was built in 1862 and once housed Gen. George Custer. Upon its completion, the house would be a visitors ' information center. The project ' s cost was put at $4.3 million. A third project, the renovation of the Business-Economics Building and the Graduate School of Business Building, ac- complished the honor of having the most dusty and noisy project closest to the heart of campus and its thousands of dormitory residents at Jester Center and Men ' s Residence Halls. A section of the bland 1950s facade of the BEB came down and was replaced by a marble and smoked glass entrance to the graduate building. During construction, scheduled for completion in late 1985, one section of Speedway was alternately blocked and closed off to accommodate cranes. A fourth floor masonry and tile chute made of 55-gallon drums rolled like thunder as the insides of the building were remodeled. The furniture contracts alone totalled more than $1 million in a project costing $18.6 million. AECO technician Marty Sawyer does ceiling work under the grates in the new section of the Business Administration-Economics Building. The new wing features an antique New York Stock Exchange booth in its lobby. Photo by Jim Sigmon illttttttttlt Opening 9

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New athletic facilities increase recruiting potential of an already first-class physical complex, directors say by PAT VIRES on a portable floor in the multi-purpose Special Events Center. The 16,200-seat facility hosted the Women ' s NCAA Final Four in March. The Erwin Center is unrivaled by any other special events facility on a college campus, said Donna Lopiano, athletic director of Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletics. Yet, the determination for Longhorn athletes to have the very best playing facilities continued. A $3.3 million 12-court tennis facility was under construction, replacing the 25-year- old Penick-Allison courts. The center, seating 1,416, would have 12 lighted courts. Recreational sports, along with both athletic departments, were funding the project, which would be used by the varsity tennis teams, tennis classes and recrea- tional sports. With the building of the new structure, there would be a possibility of hosting NCAA events in the future said Deloss Dodds, director of Men ' s Intercollegiate Athletics. The Penick-Allison tennis courts, which were torn down during the fall of 1984, made room for the new football train- ing facility. The facility, named the V. F. (Doc) Neuhaus- Darrell K. Royal Athletic Center, had a $7 million total cost. The Center was to provide modern dressing and training faci lities. Atop the building, a 70-by 53-yard practice field featured an artificial surface. The project was being funded through auxiliary and designated fund balances, seat option funds and Men ' s Intercollegiate Athletic Department gift funds. Student athletes considered facilities an important factor, Dodds said. Lopiano agreed, saying, Recruiting is the primary contribution of the facilities. Student athletes are easily impressed with our first-class facilities. Impressive facilities, such as the soon to be completed Neuhaus-Royal Athletic Center, attract prospective UT athletes. Photo by Jim Sigmon Opening 11