The bit of folk wisdom about it taking a village to raise a child appears to have a parallel in efforts to renovate sports facilities at Durango High School and Fort Lewis College.
Twenty prominent community figures seemed to reach that conclusion Monday evening at the end of a two-hour skull session that brought out some candid observations.
At issue is how to update the dilapidated stadiums, tracks and other athletic facilities at the two institutions.
“They’ve been abused and overused,” said Sheldon Keresey, retired athletic director at DHS.
Among those present were Don Mapel, owner of the Coca-Cola franchise in Durango; Jim Morehart and Pat Murphy, owners of the Durango auto center that carries their names; Mick Souder, a Durango School District 9-R board member; and Dave West, a U.S. District Court magistrate.
Conspicuous by their absence were representatives of the city of Durango and La Plata County, although they had been invited.
The meeting was convened by FLC and DHS, where athletic fields are in short supply and in such poor condition that they pose potential injury for users. The poor condition of fields requires teams to juggle practices.
The stadiums – the DHS stadium dates to 1996, the FLC stadium to 1959 – also are in deplorable condition.
Initial estimates place the cost of DHS needs at nearly $2 million and the value of FLC upgrades at $3 million.
Gary Hunter, athletic director at FLC, and Keresey presented the case for the schools. They said the top officials at their respective schools support their goals.
Hunter said FLC can’t afford not to field a football team. The 100 to 130 hopefuls that enroll with dreams of pigskin glory are a major source of revenue for the college, he said. On average, each student-athlete brings along half a person, a buddy or girlfriend, who enrolls.
Hunter cited Colorado State University/Pueblo, which several years ago saw enrollment plummet when football was axed. The reinstatement of football and a state-of-the-art sports complex reversed the trend, he said.
Participants didn’t jump to embrace renovation projects. They had questions, observations and suggestions such as drop football. Among the issues:
Why have facilities been allowed to fall into such disrepair?
Murphy said the FLC facilities were built on the cheap. Retrofitting them every few years isn’t the way to go, he said, in calling for a 40-year plan.
Stadiums and tracks should accommodate the needs of the community, not high school or college sports teams.
Mapel said (community) participation, not entertainment (competitive games) should be a prime goal.
Perhaps fields or a stadium could be shared.
“We’re seeing waste,” Jerry Martinez, owner of CJ’s Diner, said without elaborating. “The community isn’t going to buy into (building) two stadiums.”
There must be a concrete plan for development up front before soliciting financial support. Mapel seemed astounded that there was little seed money available.
“You say you have everyone behind the project, but you have no money,” he said.
There could be competition between DHS and FLC for the same dollar.
Bring all stakeholders, including the city of Durango and La Plata County – even Bayfield and Ignacio – into the process, Mapel said.
Participants in the session concluded renovating the two stadiums will be a hard sell.
The gathering wasn’t convened to put the arm on anyone for money, school representatives said. No one was expected to show up with checkbook in hand.
The conveners said they were looking for ideas, not money.
“This is what we wanted to hear from you,” Hunter said in wrapping up the meeting. “We hear your concerns, so we’ll take this and see what we can craft and bring back a plan and financing sources.”
daler@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect first name for Jerry Martinez, owner of CJ’s Diner.
