A finish line still to be reached
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 28, 2016 10:35 AM
News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Jimmy Williams, left, who was recruited out of retirement to lead fundraising efforts in institutional advancement for the University of Mount Olive's new track and field/lacrosse complex, and Jeff Eisen, athletic director, stand in front of the logo on the new lacrosse field.
MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive's new track and field/lacrosse complex may look complete.
But don't get the idea that the finish line has been reached for the project that also includes an area for shot put and discus, a javelin runway and pits for the long and triple jumps.
Since lacrosse is a spring sport no games are expected to played on the new field until then. There are no scheduled home track and field meets this academic year.
When such a project is undertaken people tend to kind of get "this whew, it's over with," university President Dr. Philip Kerstetter said.
"The truth is there is a lot more that we can do with this track and field," he said. "So I don't want people to conclude that this project is over. I mean there is also parking, and there are some other things that we really ought to be doing on that field, in that whole facility over there.
"So, this is really phase one. It gets us up and running. It was really the critical thing to get us started, but it becomes a far more accessible facility with lights, with some other parking areas, with some other support building to house some things over there. There are many opportunities for people to get involved and make this more applicable for more people. We would be remiss if we were to let people know this is a done deal."
It is just beginning, said Jimmy Williams, who led the fundraising efforts in institutional advancement for the complex.
"The fundraising has gone well," Williams said. "We started off at one figure, but as we got into it, it kept growing. But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not a train coming our way. We have had tremendous support from business and industry, individuals that basically comes out of the service area of the university.
"We have had some that are farther away, but it's been well received by potential investors. We started off as a $1.5 million project, and we are somewhere around $2 million right now, maybe a little over."
The distance around the track has remained the same, but the cost has increased, Kerstetter joked.
The new facility's story is similar to that of the university's Scarborough Field baseball field, Williams said.
Williams said he has seen early photos of the field -- there were no bleachers, no fence, no dugouts.
"You see what has happened to Scarborough Field over the years as maturation has taken place," Williams said. "It (complex) has been well received by the public. I have to throw my buddy's name in this. This was (the late) George Kornegay's prime project. This was No. 1, top of his list at the time that he left us. I think all of us, I do, feel a sense of accomplishment of how happy he would be today to see that we put it together.
"George would be proud that it is being named after his friend, Ray McDonald Sr., and the support that was out there to put that name on the track. All of these things, it is a thing that has come together. We are all very pleased to be a part of it and to see it come to fruition."
It will be open for public use for things like Relay for Life or a Heart Walk.
"But we will encourage people who are walking not to use the inside lane because that is what people tend to do is use the inside lane and it gets worn our faster," said Jeff Eisen, the university's director of athletics.
The complex positions the university once again for being a regional resource and not only for doing such things as track and field events, Kerstetter said.
The complex has already affected recruitment.
"We have gone from about 75 track and field athletes to 105 this year," Eisen said. "So obviously the most notable difference for them is having a facility on campus."
While not as substantial it also made a difference in lacrosse recruiting, he said.
There is also a potential impact on the local economy.
But that potential depends on where people are pulling from, Kerstetter said.
Mount Olive has a limited number of hotel rooms compared to the Goldsboro area, he said.
"Just the conference though, the athletic conference that we are in reaches from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia so you have a three, four state area of athletic teams that will be here -- staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants thank goodness," Williams said. "There will always be spillover as Phil said."
Any new impact, new business so to speak would be from track because the lacrosse program has a schedule and has been playing on the soccer field, Williams said.
"We are just playing on a new field," he said. "So the ability to host tracks meets, and there could be an occasions when somebody did want to use our facility like Goldsboro does the big tennis tournament and they will come and use our tennis court as part of that.
"There could be a scenario where they would need to use our facilities for something they are doing. Or maybe one of the high schools wanted to host a track meet, and our facility would be available. So there are some opportunities, largely I am thinking for the track and maybe to some degree with the field as an overflow event."
The N.C. High School Athletic Association and N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association have regional competitions, Williams said.
"We are positioned so beautifully in eastern North Carolina when you look at all of the high schools that are within this area," he said. "I don't know that they would, but I know I have spoken with some of the folks that I know and they are interested in doing that."
Again, the big thing will be keeping a balance, Williams said.
"We do what we need to do," he said. "Yet in raising funds one of the caveats has been to make it a regional facility that is going to economically impact a three-, four-, five-county area here as people come in to participate. So that is not any different than the building (Kornegay Arena) that we are sitting in.
"It did exactly the same thing when it was built in 1984 and that it immediately became a point of conference tournaments, summer camps, graduation ceremonies."
The new complex positions the university again for being a regional resource not only for doing such things as track and field events, Kerstetter said.
"As lacrosse gets a greater foothold in this region, then I think that is a possibility as well," he said. "We are going to interested in keeping this as a balance because obviously it is a resource that is going to be a factor that is going to be attractive to our student athletes.
"But we also want to make certain that the big advantage of the university that it is a resource for this region as well."
There is more to come.
"There are always more projects that we need to do," Kerstetter said. "Part of those are still on the drawing board so there is really nothing that I want to get into on the record. We are looking at ways to enhance the experience our students have here, but also the ways we are being of service to this region. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of different directions.
"For a small town to have access to the facilities that are here, the programs that are here it really is an unique opportunity. We are happy to do that. We ought to be doing that. That is what universities really ought to be doing in terms of enhancing the opportunities and quality of life. So boy, we really do hope people will take advantage."