OGDEN -- Weber State University favors a proposal by Ogden's administration to build a 150,000-square-foot field house downtown, because it could provide a winter practice facility for several of its athletic teams.
Weber County Commissioners also support the field house concept, but haven't promised any financial support for the project, said Ken A. Bischoff, chairman of the county commission.
Norm Tarbox, vice president for Administrative Services at Weber State, said Monday he has had several discussions with Mayor Matthew Godfrey regarding the benefits of the field house to the university's athletic programs.
The field house, which could cost $14 million to build, could include an Olympic-size pool and water park, six indoor tennis courts, an indoor soccer field, a running track, a velodrome (a banked track used for bicycle racing), and retail space.
An area being targeted for the field house includes both sides of Grant Avenue between 24th and 25th streets adjacent to the Marriott Hotel, said Tom Christopulos, the city's deputy director of community and economic development.
The city has allocated $38,000 to Hotel & Leisure Advisors, a Cleveland-based company, to complete a feasibility study on the field house proposal within a month.
The city has several partners interested in the field house, including the university, the county and Ogden School District, Godfrey has said.
Weber State has not been asked by Godfrey to provide any funding for the field house, but favors the project because it would provide a place for the university's football, soccer, tennis and track teams to practice during winter months, Tarbox said.
The university has tried without success to build its own indoor practice facility on campus, Tarbox said.
"It has not gotten traction (with financial donors)," he added.
Tarbox believes Weber State's use of a field house could benefit Ogden's tax base by attracting athletes downtown who would frequent local businesses. The university has provided to the city a list of possible private donors who may be able to contribute to a fundraising effort for the facility, he said.
Noel Zabriskie, superintendent of Ogden School District, also has had preliminary discussions with Godfrey about the field house, but talks have not involved funding. He envisions the field house possibly being used by the district for swim meets.
Godfrey's characterization of Weber County as a partner in the field house is a bit of a "stretch" because no funds have been pledged, but the commissioners are supportive of the project in principle, said Bischoff.
However, Weber County Commissioner Jan M. Zogmaister said she's concerned that if the field house is built, there won't be property available for the construction of needed additional parking for the Ogden Eccles Conference Center.
"Parking for the conference center is No. 1," said Zogmaister.
The field house proposal calls for the addition of two decks to a parking structure behind the conference center, said John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer. The field house also would include about 40,000 square feet of exhibit space that could be used by the conference center.
"It's got a lot for them (Weber County commissioners) to like," said Patterson.
The commissioners also are considering another proposal to benefit the conference center by constructing a skywalk from the facility west across Kiesel Avenue and into the second floor of the Kiesel Building.
From the second floor of the Kiesel Building, 2411 Kiesel Ave., there would be access into the adjacent Berthana Building, 329 24th St., where an upscale nightspot named the Copper Club would be located, according to Bischoff.
The entire project would cost about $7.5 million and would provide about 30,000 square feet of additional space that could be used by the conference center, Steve Fishburn, Ogden's business development manager, has said.
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