The University of Mississippi Athletics
STAFF BLOG: Barnes On Facility & Event Plans
4/20/2010 | Athletics
The Ole Miss athletics department's senior staff and leadership publish blogs on OleMissSports.com to offer fans added insight into the overall operation of the department. Blake Barnes has spent three decades working with the Rebels and currently serves as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Facilities.
April 20, 2010
We have worked very hard to keep our facilities here at Ole Miss in the upper echelon of college athletics. We are always looking to improve and provide our coaches and student-athletes an edge in their mission to win championships. Among the projects currently in the planning stages involve renovations of our golf, tennis and football indoor facilities.
We are quickly approaching the end of the 2009-10 athletics year. By all accounts, last weekend's Grove Bowl was a success, and our staff now turns its attention to the final regular season and potential postseason events in tennis and baseball. If the tennis men, women or both earn NCAA Regional host status, the matches would be May 14-16. NCAA Baseball Regionals are June 4-6. As we wrap up the year, we enter an evaluation and budget period where we examine what upgrades can and should be made in our facilities and event management operation. Please email us if you would like to provide feedback.
Looking ahead to the 2010 football season, we are anticipating another banner year for ticket sales and crowds. Thus we have begun our early preparations for the logistics surrounding gameday. For season ticket holders, please be sure to read the information packet you will receive with your tickets in August regarding new parking regulations and policies. It should be another fun season, and we hope to make your gamedays as worry-free as possible.
September 17, 2009
The first home football game of 2009 has finally arrived, and everyone with facilities/event management is excited about the fans' enthusiasm and the anticipated large crowds. The stadium preparations are complete, and the staff is in place and ready for Saturday's game. We would like to remind fans to arrive early and try to enter the stadium at least 30 minutes before kickoff, because gates can get clogged and long lines occur. An article was posted on the website earlier this week with gameday reminders, and I encourage fans to read over them.
During the month of August, the FieldTurf was successfully installed in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium without issue, as all of the scheduling fell right in line. The team has already practiced on the turf a few times, and everyone will see Saturday night how great it looks under the lights.
Switching gears, construction is coming along well on the Basketball Practice Facility, which is expected to be ready in December. It is going to be an impressive building, which both teams are already very excited about. The wood floors and landscaping are being handled this month, and the finishing details will be addressed in October and November.
June 2, 2009
While everyone is excited about baseball and we are making our preparations for this weekend's Super Regional, the upcoming 2009 football season is also heavy on our minds right now. We are compiling our evaluation of the 2008 campaign and preparing Vaught-Hemingway Stadium from a maintenance standout. There will naturally be some cleaning and repainting, and the suites and restrooms will be assessed. The field crew is doing their best to get the practice fields in shape, while working around the many summer camp sessions As always, we are also working with Event Management to make the overall experience more fan friendly.
Progress continues on the Basketball Practice Facility. We are currently working with the contractors to have owner-furnished items, such as the hardwood courts, hydra-work pools and audio/visual equipment, installed within the guidelines of the construction.
As will once again be evident this weekend, we have one of the premier baseball stadiums in the country, and a facility that the Ole Miss family can be extremely proud of. We are in the final stage of completing the contract and talking with the architects and contractors on a final detail list to determine those few remaining unfinished quality items.
September 19, 2008
We have just begun the 2008-09 events calendar year, and there is no other time to be more excited about Ole Miss Athletics than now. The entire campus is buzzing with excitement about Rebel football and the beginning of a new era with head coach Houston Nutt. The soccer and volleyball squads will also provide ample opportunities for Ole Miss fans to see our student-athletes compete up close in the confines of the Gillom Sports Center and the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. The proactive approach by all event management staff has provided a fan friendly and trouble free atmosphere at all venues which will continue throughout the academic year.
Progress is being made everyday with several ongoing capital improvement projects. The goal of all of these projects is to provide our patrons, student-athletes, coaches and staff with state of the art facilities and amenities to lay the foundation for success for Ole Miss athletics programs and provide enjoyable viewing experiences for all fans. Our commitment to a greater gameday experience is evident with the completion of the new $6 million high definition video board at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Currently the SECs largest HD video board, operations for this project have been ongoing since June and have gone remarkably well, even though the unseasonable wet weather has caused some slight delays in its total completion over the last month.
Renovation and expansion of Oxford-University Stadium continues to come together as work will progress throughout the fall and winter and concluding during the season. Discussions with Panola Construction Company have provided assurance that all seating and amenities will be in place prior to the season opener and that finishing touches will be ongoing during the season. This facility will be one of the finest on-campus baseball stadiums in the nation and offer the prospect for more Rebel fans to cheer on the baseball team than ever before with the near tripled seating capacity.
The success of Andy Kennedy's and Renee Ladner's squads has provided the catalyst for a vital component to the future success of Ole Miss basketball. In conjunction with the UMAA Foundation, work has begun and ground has been broken for the Basketball Practice Facility. The initial phases of the project are underway and dirt is being moved and ground is being leveled.
There will be some changes to C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum for the upcoming basketball season. The addition of 70-80 premium floor seats will be a welcomed addition to season ticket holders. In combination with the additional floor seating, a new press area has been created in Section G of the Coliseum seating area. Other changes include upgrades and additional visiting team and coaches locker rooms. This will allow for future flexibility in scheduling with the Coliseum being able to accommodate up to four teams at once. Other changes consist of aesthetic renovations to the new media room and hallway areas at floor level.
The Gillom Sports Center will continue to be one of the bright spots for Ole Miss Athletics with the aesthetic renovations in the entry lobby and staff areas being completed. New tile floor work, including the block M logo adds to the welcoming atmosphere along with updated artwork and paint.
Ole Miss strives to support our teams with the finest facilities, and it is our hope that Rebels fans can share in the excitement of our athletics future.
November 11, 2007
There have been many successful projects going on for the last few months with athletics facilities. Some of these projects have just begun and will take some time, while others have recently been completed.
We are in the process of a major renovation of Tad Smith Coliseum at this very moment. It will be a work in progress throughout the 2007-08 season. The renovation will improve gameday operations for basketball and have a direct impact on teams, officials, and media. Among the additions that have been completed in the coliseum include ceiling repainting, installation of additional lights, sound system and additional bleachers for students. Ribbon boards were also placed in both the coliseum and football stadium through Telesouth.
Many have asked about the Basketball Practice Facility and when it will be done. We are currently working with architects to nail down specific designs, and we will start on the facility once these designs are completed.
With spring just around the corner, questions have been asked about the baseball expansion and when it will take place. We recently received a bid for the start of construction, and the expansion process has begun. This will be a three-phase project and will be in progress during the 2008 season. The construction will be scheduled around baseball season and is projected to be ready for the 2009 season.
While these major projects are currently in the works, there have been several fiscal budget improvements for this year already completed at several of the different athletics facilities. Some of them include upgrades of the team locker rooms, sound systems and ticket booths, and stained and repainted logos on stadiums.
Along with building the facilities comes the responsibility of managing these facilities and the events that go on in them. We provided two new services for the 2007 football season. These services included ADA handicap parking and a no smoking policy in the stadium with designated areas for those who do smoke. These policies and services were very successful and effective in gameday management. They provided good customer service and helped with traffic congestion on Saturdays.
As we continue to improve our athletics facilities, we hope this will help provide every opportunity for our student-athletes to compete for championships in the SEC.