The winds of change are blowing through the Clark Center. Actually, if you take a look at all of the work being done to spiff up UMass Boston’s athletic facilities, you’d probably say it’s a tornado of change. Every team will be affected one way or another by construction this year, whether by having a new surface to play on, having a whole new building to play in, or having to relocate an entire operation because the gym is being worked on.

The team that gains the most from these changes is Coach Brendan Eygabroat’s baseball squad. The team will move into a beautiful new park for the upcoming spring season. The yard will have dimensions modeled after Fenway Park, and will be shared with BC High and the Walter Denney Youth Center. As you can imagine, the squad is beyond ecstatic, especially considering that they have had to play all of their home games in Waltham since the program began. The new park will help bring new energy to a team that has had some of the best success in its history over the last few years.

The same can be said about the men’s and women’s soccer teams. Last year, it looked as though they would not even have a home field to play on due to campus construction. In 2012, the clubs will have a great new surface to play on right outside the Clark Center. For two clubs that had fantastic seasons last year, this new field will help them as they try to conquer the LEC. 

But all of this work is having a negative impact on one Beacon squad. Our 16th-ranked volleyball team will be displaced for the entire season because of work being done in the gymnasium. The team will play all of their games on the road this year, and will be forced to practice in the ice rink when they are on campus (the ice will be removed of course). At this point there is no way of knowing how much the displacement will affect UMass Boston’s best team, but needless to say it will be a massive inconvenience. 

The payoff for all of this hassle, however, will be well worth it. The new floor in the Clark Center will be state of the art, and will finally provide a permanent solution to a lingering injury issue that Beacon athletes have faced for years. The new gym should be ready to rock for basketball season, so stay tuned.

This new work comes on the heels of some big improvements made in 2011, most notably to the ice rink, which was repainted and had new glass installed. All of these renovations will only strengthen UMass’s rising athletic program. Providing every team on campus with improved facilities will undoubtedly help attract some fantastic recruits here, and drive up our notoriously poor attendance. Now that we have some state-of-the-art facilities, our teams can hopefully put up some state-of-the-art numbers.