Bulls' complex springs to life

Ken Eriksen won't open the 2011 softball season in his team's new stadium, but that's just fine. The University of South Florida head coach has waited for a facility upgrade for as long as he can remember, so waiting a couple of weeks longer certainly won't kill him.

"I just hope to see it completed before I die," Eriksen joked last week.

According to USF officials, the construction on both the new softball and baseball stadiums - part of the $33.5 million athletics facilities upgrades that began in June 2010 - should be completed by the end of the month.

The softball team, which opens its season Friday in the USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, has targeted Feb. 24 for the first game in its new home. Should nothing unexpected arise, the baseball team is likely to play its scheduled home opener against Elon on Feb. 25 in its new digs.

But even if Lelo Prado's squad isn't able to take the field in its new stadium then, the Bulls' baseball coach won't be lodging any complaints. It's only a matter of time.

"You know it's there," Prado said. "It's not something that you're seeing in a book, or some sketches or anything. You see it driving off every day, you see it driving in every day."

USF executive associate athletics director Bill McGillis said construction on the athletics district, which includes new practice facilities for football and men's and women's basketball and a new soccer stadium in addition to baseball and softball stadiums, has moved "at a lightning pace," on schedule and as well as could have been envisioned.

"We've been very fortunate," McGillis said. "Any time you do a development like this, you run into minor surprises at a minimum and a lot of times major surprises, and there really haven't been major surprises here."

USF recently signed off on the completed Morsani Football Practice Facility, which includes three full-sized fields (two natural grass, one artificial), another artificial surface workout area and a 2,500-square-foot storage building, among other amenities. Skip Holtz's squad held its first workout in the new venue Monday.

Construction on the soccer stadium is well under way, and all of the exterior walls are up on the 50,000-square foot Pam and Les Muma Basketball Center, which is being built adjacent to the south face of the Sun Dome. Both are expected to be completed in late spring.

This phase of construction is essentially the second wave of upgrades, following the remodeling of the USF tennis courts and renovations at the track and field facility that included the installation of a new $3 million track.

USF athletics director Doug Woolard can't help but smile when he walks into his corner office in the main athletics building, which offers a pristine view of the daily work being done. He believes each facility meets the needs of USF's teams in terms of recruiting and player development, and also feels the three new stadiums will help enhance the fan experience because of unique design elements for each venue. Among the highlights are the bowl-type designs of the soccer and softball stadiums and the shared 30-foot-high hospitality deck between the baseball and softball stadiums.

"These facilities are first class, and certainly on par with or above any in the country," Woolard said.

There will be plenty of eyes on the work in the near future, allowing people to form their own opinions.

Woolard previously expressed his desire to lure as many championship events as possible to USF. That includes Big East Conference championship events as well as NCAA tournament events - such as the men's and women's soccer championships - and multiple Florida state high school tournaments.

On Wednesday, the Big East Conference announced its host sites for Olympic sport championship events in 2012 and 2013 and USF was awarded the men's and women's outdoor track and field and men's and women's tennis championships in 2012, and the softball championships in 2013. USF also will co-host the Big East men's and women's golf championships both years at Reunion Resort in Orlando.

While the completion of this wave of upgrades is on the horizon, it isn't the last one planned. A $35 million renovation of the Sun Dome is in the works and although that project still has some hurdles to clear before it gets the green light, Woolard said "we're planning full speed ahead."

And there could be other projects down the road.

"We'll continue to take a look to see if there is anything that would be beneficial for the university," Woolard said. "But this is going to be such a great improvement."

(813) 259-7616