BY MICHAEL RAWSON
PRIDE STAFF WRITER
Noah spent forty days waiting for the world to stop raining. But at least he knew it would be forty days.
Our baseball and softball teams are getting their own home on campus, but it looks like the agonizing cycle of waiting begins when the date of its arrival remains a mystery.
Cougar sports fans are used to being spectators away from school. The baseball and softball teams have spent their first few seasons playing at off-campus sites, like San Marcos High school. The women’s softball field opened in time for spring 2010 and the baseball team will open competition on their home field in 2011. Meanwhile, the multipurpose arena for basketball and volleyball will open at a date more mysterious, than an Agatha Christie novel.
The man who might hold the answer, CSUSM Athletic Director Tom Seitz, was unavailable for comment by the time The Pride went to print.
In an interview with the North County Times in January of this year, Seitz prophesized some things but also came off vague on the indoor arena, which the article explained construction will begin in 2010-11. In the interview, Seitz talked about his desire to start men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with a women’s volleyball team.
In April, students voted in favor of a $60 tuition increase devoted to athletic fees over the next two years in efforts to welcome the new sports. Now, those squads have coaches and scheduled games. Strangely, the new coaches seem to be completely uninformed about their future home court.
When the North County Times asked Seitz about the new sports facilities, Seitz quoted the total for the whole enchilada at an estimated $50 million. Seitz said, “We don’ t have time to wait for that much to be raised…getting the softball field done will show people that we are moving forward and are able to complete projects and get things done.”
Volleyball coach, Sarah Gustin, she had no idea when the arena might come to be. Women’s basketball coach, Sheri Jennum, said she did not think about the new facility because it “won’t be built, as we understand, for at least a year or two.” And men’s basketball coach, Jim Saia, offered the most curious testimony of all: “Hopefully, it’s a matter of when, and not if, the arena comes.”
In an email, Public Information Director for CSUSM, Margaret Lutz said that “[a]n arena would be a terrific addition to our campus and we are currently exploring the possibilities of building one. However, there are no formal plans nor a concrete timeline currently in place for construction.”
Could it be that the new home of basketball and volleyball might still be in doubt? According to Tom Seitz, it’s unlikely. Since taking over as athletic director in July 2009, he has sent the already thriving athletic program into overdrive. An affiliate minor league baseball club of the San Diego Padres had been considering CSUSM’s baseball home as a possible stadium, but after the team stalled, Seitz helped make the decision go forward with a much needed field for the Cougars. San Marcos sports seem destined to soon compete at the NCAA Division II level. The softball field is a successful operation. The new basketball and volleyball teams are in motion—they just don’t have a home.
How long will it be before they do? No one seems to know, and it will undoubtedly be more than forty days. But the Cougar arena seems unlikely to end up underwater.