3. History of Opposition against the Building Location in Stadium Woods

At a January 20, 2011, Virginia Tech Arboretum Committee meeting, the members were informed by Matt Gart, University Landscape Architect, of the plans for a new indoor athletics practice facility. Mr. Gart informed the group that there were “alternative sites” but that “Beamer wanted it here” (“here” being the north end of Stadium Woods, Figure 6). The committee at the time was asked to please keep this confidential. Mr. Gart was informed that this was not a very good location and that considerable opposition was likely to occur. At an August 8, 2011, meeting of the Arboretum Committee, members were informed that the location in Stadium Woods was essentially “a done deal” and the committee was asked for remediation suggestions for the loss of tree canopy cover. In a Washington Post article published on August 7, 2011, it is very clear from Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Affairs Tom Gabbard’s comments that the building of the facility in Stadium Woods was in fact “a done deal” in the minds of the Athletic Department. The article states, “Virginia Tech’s new indoor facility will be located in a wooded area adjacent to the Hokies’ outdoor football practice fields, just beyond the north end zone of Lane Stadium. Gabbard said part of the project will involve removing 30 feet of elevation and moving approximately 80,000 cubic yards of dirt from the woods”(emphasis mine; the elevation according to Hugh Latimer, University Architect, is actually 38 feet). Further, a Thursday, October 27, 2011, Roanoke Times article states, “Tech Associate Director of Athletics Tom Gabbard said that a planned indoor facility, which could open as soon as 2014, will be carved out of a hillside adjacent to Tech’s football practice fields” (emphasis mine).

Figure 6. Proposed location of indoor practice facility in Stadium Woods as well as one
alternative site mentioned in January 20, Arboretum committee meeting.

On November 3, 2011, the Arboretum Committee was asked by Associate Vice President for Facilities Michael J. Coleman (via Matt Gart) to provide an official position on the Stadium Woods location. On November 11, 2011, the Arboretum Committee sent their official “strongly opposes” position on the location of the facility in Stadium Woods (Figure 7). “Friends of Stadium Woods (FSW)” began an online petition opposed to building the facility in Stadium Woods on or around November 19, 2011. FSW had an organizational meeting in the Blacksburg Branch of Montgomery County Libraries on November 30, 2011. At this meeting, they discussed letter writing campaigns, the petition, and other strategies to make the university aware of the value of Stadium Woods and the recommendation that the facility be built in an alternate location.

Figure 7: Memo from Arboretum Committee to Mike Coleman, Associate
Vice President for Facilities Services.

In early December, Faculty Senator Jim Kuypers began drafting a resolution supporting the protection of Stadium Woods. In response to these plans, Dr. Sherwood Wilson, Vice President for Administrative Services, sent a letter dated December 6, 2011 (Figure 8), to all faculty senators that suggested that as part of information gathering, the university “… reached out to the university’s experts on forestry management in the College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) and have requested that they be included in our information gathering process.” However, no forest management experts in the CNRE were ever aware of this or were asked to be part of information gathering. The letter further stated regarding the Arboretum Committee, “… the group only recently brought their concerns regarding the proposed location to our attention.” However, the Arboretum Committee was not asked until November 3 for their official opinion. Earlier they had been asked to keep it quiet.

Figure 8: Memo from Sherwood Wilson, VP for Administrative Services,
to Virginia Tech Faculty Senate.

On December 13, 2011, the Virginia Tech Faculty Senate voted unanimously in favor of a petition supporting the protection of Stadium Woods (Figure 9). This resolution, among other things, emphasized that Virginia Tech has publicly committed itself to value sustainability and engage in sound environmental stewardship, that Stadium Woods is designated as an “environmental greenway,” and that Stadium Woods is a living reminder of the natural history of campus and the region.

Figure 9: Resolution of Virginia Tech Faculty Senate on Stadium Woods.