OSU stresses near-term/long-term phases of athletic expansion

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Oklahoma State University System CEO and President David Schmidly emphasized to a group of Stillwater citizens Tuesday night that the expansion of OSU athletics will be done in two phases, delaying the impact on many residents for a number of years.  

“Our first priority is the area south of McElroy and east of Washington Street, which would meet our near-term needs to improve our women’s facilities, as well as build an indoor facility for football, baseball, track and other sports,” Schmidly said.

OSU has already negotiated to acquire about 40% of the property in that area, which is predominately rental property.

“The plan is long-range and will require time to lay the groundwork to move forward with implementation,” Schmidly said. “We have limited dollars to purchase property and while we may not need the land in the long-term area for a number of years, we certainly want to discuss a purchase with anyone in that area who is interested.”

Schmidly said the build-out for a new athletic village will occur in two phases — a near-term plan over the next three to five years and a long-term plan. The near-term plan encompasses the area north of Hall of Fame Avenue, south of McElroy Street, and between Duck and Washington Streets. 

The long-term area is north of McElroy to Eskridge Street and between Duck and Washington streets; as well as the area south of McElroy and between Washington and Monroe streets.

The athletic expansion is only a portion of the new construction for academic and athletic facilities expected to approach $500 million on the OSU campus over the next decade as part of the OSU master plan, which will be presented to the OSU/A&M Regents for approval in January.