UIHistories Project: A History of the University of Illinois by Kalev Leetaru
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Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - 30 Year Master Plan (Tilton & O'Donnell) [PAGE 211]

Caption: Book - 30 Year Master Plan (Tilton & O'Donnell)
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Extracts from Letters

20C

present time two more acres for tennis courts, two acres for outdoor hand ball, and five acres more for baseball, making a total of thirty acres absolutely needed now. In this connection I desire to give a brief table show ing the amount of land given to athletic purposes at some of our leading universities, golf not being included: Cornell 60 acres Illinois 35 acres Harvard 50 acres Wisconsin 42 acres Michigan 38 acres Yale 29 acres Illinois holds a respectable place in the list at present, but we are threatened with the loss of all the space we are now using, except Illinois Field, which would cut our total acreage down to twelve acres and leave absolutely nothing for any but varsity teams. As the number of students increases and as the percentage of students increases who will go into these sports it can readily be seen that provision should be made for at least forty acres—sixty would be better—and this land should be in one body, as it can be used far more economically than if scattered about in different locations, and for the further reason that in time it will be necessary to erect a field house, to contain lockers and baths, on or near this plot of ground. As it is now, the boys who use the south campus for games leave their class rooms or rooming place and come to the gymnasium, the farthest north of any of our buildings, to dress; then they go to some place on the south campus, a distance of one-half to threequarters of a mile. This process is, of course, reversed when they are through, making it an extremely awkward arrangement on account of the time consumed. The Athletic Association has just completed the purchase of twenty acres of ground located in Champaign between First Street and the Illinois Central railroad tracks and immediately south of Davidson Street. We paid $14,000 for this ground, $4000 in cash, our entire surplus, and we gave a mortagage for the remaining $10,000. This ground is not very well located for the students who live in Champaign, and for those living in Urbana it is almost entirely out of reach. This plot was the very best that we could do with the amount of money we possessed, and it will help, but it will not nearly take care of our needs. I hold that the University, not the Athletic Association, is entirely responsible for this matter of a playground, but as the Association had a little surplus money I could see no better way to spend it than for something which would help the whole student body.