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SOU preps stadium for graduation By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon University is planting, paving and touching up Raider Stadium to become Mountain Arena - the new commencement ceremony venue. The university has allocated more than $100,000 toward morphing Raider Stadium into an aesthetically-pleasing commencement arena for the June 14 ceremony. De-emphasizing the football feel, university officials hope to create a location that will rival Lithia Park - where the SOU graduation ceremony has been held annually until this year. According to Ron Bolstad, SOU vice president of administration and finance, the decision was not an easy one. Richard Lee, Southern Oregon University landscape maintenance supervisor, shows off some of the plants that will alter Raider Stadium into the Mountain Arena for the 2003 commencement. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER "It goes without saying that it's been a difficult decision because the park has been a tradition for so many years," Bolstad said. University officials said the decision to relocate the ceremony hinged on space, safety and convience. With an ever-increasing crowd, the park presented more concerns and little space. Last spring, SOU officials made the decision to move the ceremony to the stadium after considering safety, security and audience needs, according to university officials. A 2003 commencement committee, chaired by SOU Registrar Mike Corcoran, was formed to address the details surrounding the relocation. Corcoran said while Lithia Park provides a beautiful setting, it is unable to service all guests - something university officials hope to change. "The main reason for the move is space. As beautiful as Lithia Park is, it has very limited space. This is really not a money-saver. What it is is really more of a way to show respect for our guests and visitors," Corcoran said. "It's our objective and our goal to have every guest have a seat." Corcoran said approximately 5,000 people converged annually on Lithia Park, and most were forced to stand. Moving the ceremony to the stadium will provide much needed seating space, according to Corcoran. In preparation for graduation, SOU Physical Plant Department workers, like landscape maintenance supervisor Richard Lee, have been planting $15,000 worth of plants purchased for the ceremony. The money is coming from the plant department's operating fund, university officials said. Lee, who has been planting at the stadium over the last several weeks, said visitors will view lavender, geraniums, cedars, cypress - and of course, laurels - when they come to watch the first-ever Mountain Arena graduation ceremony. "Eventually, it (the landscape) will provide a nice screen," Lee said. "There's going to be a very large grove of native trees when all is said and done." In addition to the $15,000 allocated for landscaping, the university will spend $75,000 to pave the parking lot north of the SOU tennis courts along Wightman Street. Physical Plant Director Bruce Moats said the university is paving the parking lot to make it compliant with the American Disabilities Act. "We felt it was only appropriate and past time to create an accessible parking lot," Moats said, noting the closest ADA-compliant parking lot is on the corner of Webster and Wightman streets. "The goal is to have it done before commencement." The parking project - funded through the parking fund which collects revenues from campus permits and parking tickets - will provide 60 additional parking spaces with 10 reserved spots for the disabled. According to Bolstad, paving the parking lot is a one-time fee and something the university intended to do regardless of its commencement plans. Other one-time commencement fees include $9,500 to remove a fence, as well as pave between the grandstand and the running track's edge. Another $10,000 is slated for bleacher upgrades. The projects will be funded by the capital repair fund, university officials said. While altering the stadium for commencement is costly, Bolstad said the benefits of having it on-campus outweighed the price tag. "As a fiscal person, I can say that the limited net additional costs here are warranted and justified by the benefits we'll gain by having it be our own ceremony. We're essentially bringing it home," he said noting the university will see some savings from labor costs linked to the Lithia Park ceremony. Bolstad said the university will benefit mainly from the time it will save in organizing the event. "It was becoming increasingly time consuming to plan at the park. So if you factor time into this, coordination with the police and our security, busing logistics, safety concerns and given that it is one of the premiere ceremonies and traditions that we have, we wanted to do it right," Bolstad said. For students like SOU student body president Danielle McNeill, the feelings on the move are mixed. "I'm going to be thrilled to graduate either way regardless of whether it's at the stadium or at Lithia, but I would have liked it to be at Lithia," McNeill said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -