With many ambitious construction projects on campus such as the new North Campus dorms, the new engineering building, and Lynah’s new ice, some of the lesser improvements have gone unnoticed.
Case-in-point: this past summer, Charles F. Berman Field also received a facelift. Schoellkoff’s little sister beyond the Fieldhouse, which is circumscribed by the track, now has lighting and permanent bleachers.
The field, named in honor of one of Cornell’s best soccer players, houses the soccer teams in the fall and the women’s lacrosse and track teams in the spring.
Last year’s Cornell athletics’ enthusiasts who were relegated to standing or sitting on the track are now assured seating on the 1000 feet of bleachers that were installed.
The new lighting, on the other hand, was a necessary step in scheduling games. Ithaca’s short days, accompanied with daylight savings time, often caused matches to be played earlier than the athletic department desired. Cornellians were forced to miss classes, and visiting teams often had to leave their respective schools well before 9:00 a.m. to accommodate the games.
“It’s tough to play afternoon games because it gets dark early,” Cornell groundsman Pat Graham said. “Students had to leave [classes] too early [in order to play a full game].”
Night games are an added plus. Last year Schoellkopf was the only forum on campus equipped with lights. Berman, having twice the amount of athletic traffic that Shoellkopf encounters, did not.
The recent improvements will allow the university more flexibility in the amount of games it hosts, and the more convenient times hopefully will attract more fans.
Archived article by Amanda Angel