Winona Post: WSU to build field at Southeast Tech

by CHRIS ROGERS, 9/23/15

Sometimes, making everyone happy is impossible, but Winona State University (WSU) may have finally found a location for a new NCAA baseball field that comes close. Late last Friday, WSU announced plans to build a collegiate baseball field at Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical's (Southeast Tech) Winona campus. 

The announcement comes after over a year of public debate over a proposal to build a field at Bambenek Fields in Lake Park, and after WSU officials spent months searching for a different spot that would fit a regulation field, WSU's budget, and Winonans' expectations.

The proposed site is a triangular piece of land east of Southeast Tech's main building on Old Homer Road. The land is already owned by the state college and so building a WSU field there would not remove any land from the tax rolls. Losing taxable land is a perennial concern for some city leaders, and Winonans who supported building a field in Lake Park often argued that any other location WSU might find would require taking private land out of the local tax base. In addition to avoiding that concern, the proposed site already has ample parking. The site is far-flung from WSU's campus, but it could be worse. WSU President Scott Olson was pleased the university did not have to look outside Winona.

"It's great to have a spot where all of the stars seemed to have lined up," said WSU President Scott Olson.

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