The University's Buildings and Grounds Committee approved at its Sept. 14 meeting a $7.6 million increase for construction of a new baseball stadium, which, because of extensive rock excavation required on the site, won't open until the 2009 season.

Construction on the new stadium is expected to begin shortly after a contract is awarded in early November. Next year's baseball season will be held at Sarge Frye Field.

The committee approved several other athletics projects, including:

• parking expansion at the Roost near the site of the Academic Enrichment Center, which will open in the 2009-10 academic year
• $2.4 million renovations to the training room in Williams-Brice Stadium
• $495,000 for preliminary architectural studies on expansion of the north end zone of the stadium
• the swap of 1.5 acres of University-owned land on Blossom Street beside the former Women's Club with the University's Development Foundation in exchange for the One Wood Farm property previously purchased by the foundation. The farm property in Blythewood is home of the University's equestrian team. The University land on Blossom Street houses the current women's tennis team courts; the team will continue to use the courts until new tennis facilities are built near the Roost.

The University has been advised by the state's General Services Division that the transfer of the State Farmers' Market property to the University will move forward. The 54.5 acres of land likely will be used for stadium parking when transfer of the property is complete.

The Buildings and Ground Committee also approved the designation of a 1.25 acre site for a proposed alumni center on the corner of Pendleton and College streets, just west of the Public Health Research Center. The Carolina Alumni Association is working with an architectural firm to plan space for the proposed project.

The proposed new home for the Alumni Association could also house other University offices as well as meeting and event space. Ample parking for the center would be located nearby in the new parking garage adjacent to Discovery I, one of the University's Innovista research buildings set to open in 2008.

The committee also heard a report from Student Government about the need for a feasibility study to construct a new student health center. The University's administration will propose a study that will focus not only on building needs but also the scope of services and potential service providers for the center.

Other projects approved by the committee include:

• renovation of two labs in Sumwalt College totaling nearly $1.5 million
• $4.2 million for asbestos abatement and seismic upgrades to Patterson Hall, a 600-bed women's freshman residence hall. Removal of the asbestos is necessary to install a fire sprinkler system; initial work will be conducted next summer.
• $1.2 million for replacement of a slate roof on Woodrow College
• replacement of 2,000 linear feet of steam piping on the Columbia campus
• a $3.2 million upfitting of the second floor of the Science Technology Building at USC Beaufort.

The committee also heard a report on a plan to locate an annex of USC Upstate's School of Business Administration at a downtown Spartanburg site. Preliminary plans call for locating upper level business courses at the site for third- and fourth-year students as well as offering the Moore School of Business' professional master's of business administration degree there. A plan outlining funding, academics, and other logistics will be presented to the committee at its next meeting.

The University's Development Foundation reported that 20 of its 40 foundation-owned lots would soon be for sale in the Wheeler Hill neighborhood. The Adesso condominium project, with which the Development Foundation is partnered, will be completed by late January or early February; 10 of the 110 units have been sold.

9/07