With the winter approaching and temperatures dropping in Madison, student athletes in the University of Wisconsin’s Track and Field program are beginning to worry about where they can practice safely.
Demolition of the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center, commonly known as the Shell, and the 80-yard football practice field in the McClain Center began at the start of the 2024-25 school year, according to WKOW.
The facility, which opened in 1956, became obsolete with the recent openings of the Bakke Recreation and Wellbeing Center and the Nicholas Recreation Center, according to OnWisconsin.
The new indoor football training facility, which will replace the Shell and the McClain Center field, is projected to cost $285 million, making it the largest capital project in the history of UW Athletics, according to WKOW.
The Shell was open to both students and the public and hosted a variety of events, such as recreational leagues and occasional softball and soccer practices, thrower on the Track and Field team Chloe Lindeman said.
“The Shell, although open to the public, had dedicated track usage at certain times, and it is quite literally the only place that our runners, and field event participants could practice in a space on campus that is similar to a setting they would be competing in,” Lindeman said.
The new facility will impact the location of training for the majority of Wisconsin’s 23 sports and 800 student athletes, according to WKOW News.
Heptathlete on the Track and Field team Kyla Saleh said warmer weather at the start of the school year allowed the team to practice outside. Recently, colder temperatures and the lack of a dedicated indoor facility has made practicing difficult, especially for those partaking in field events such as pole vaulting, Saleh said.
“We’re outside in the cold, and you can’t do event work when it’s freezing, and you can’t do effective speed work, and with no current plan, we can’t train properly, and we are increasing risk of injury in these colder temperatures,” Saleh said.
They don’t have anywhere they can practice pole vault when it’s cold, Lindeman said.
Distance runner on the Track and Field team Maggie Munson has put together a petition against the new football facility.
Munson said she believes the facility’s construction violates Title IX, a civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational institutions.
“When you tear down the Shell and offer facilities that are subpar compared to what it was, you’re expanding facilities for male athletes while decreasing those for women athletes, pointing to a potential violation of equitable treatment,” Munson said.
Munson’s petition has garnered over 1,900 signatures, and she aims to draw the attention of officials like Chancellor Mnookin Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wis.
“We just want to feel like a priority by the people that make decisions, and I think the more people that know about this, the more attention that we’re finding,” Saleh said. “It’s important to not only talk about our situation now, but how the future plans are not conducive for what this program needs.”
