(04-15-2015 12:53 PM)brock20 Wrote:  I have heard on here a few times about Summers-Taylor, Thomas Stadium and Bassler Field not being completed. What is still left to do at those places? Are there plans for the JC Cardinals to make Thomas Stadium their home?

I can say, with certainty, there is no way the Cardinals will make Thomas Stadium a permanent home. They will play a few games there every year, but FieldTurf all season is unappealing to a pro team unless it's necessary because of climate (like in Oregon, where turf is almost vital in the summer). Not to mention there is no on-site clubhouse, workout, or laundry facility, things the Cards all have on Legion Street.

On top of that, as others have said, the press box was built in the wrong spot. At Tusculum, they built it right up behind (and above) the seats so they wouldn't have to cordon off a portion of the concourse. It's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's pretty inefficient.

Basler Field is okay. It, too, lacks a clubhouse, and the "press box" is a tent with no place for a broadcast crew. Other than that, the facility is more than sufficient for softball, and the scenery looking out beyond the outfield wall is unbeatable.

Summers-Taylor is a good facility. Fans are right on top of the sidelines, and the place seems built to hold in sound: I was there for some of the bigger crowds a few years back (UNC, Wake, Clemson), and the place got pretty loud. It could stand to have permanent seating on the east side, maybe with a dedicated entrance, but the berm seems to be pretty popular and lets people bring pets or allows school organizations to paint messages in the grass. There's really no space for dressing rooms out there unless a new field house gets built as a hub for football, track, soccer, tennis, and softball, with a clubhouse on-site at Thomas Stadium for baseball. I'm not sure there's even space for that, or if it makes economic sense at all when the Dome seems to be serving that purpose pretty well at the moment. That's probably a $4-5 million project - money that should be put toward a football stadium.

Overall, there are ways they could be better, and money should be spent to improve them at some point, but I don't think ETSU will lose recruits in these sports because of facilities. The athletic department can afford to punt on upgrades for now with other, bigger investments on the horizon.