PLANNING BOARD DEFINITELY FIXES SITE OF NEW CAGE

It is now an assured fact that the new baseball cage will be ready for the use of members of the University squad when they are forced to practice indoors next winter. The plan for a site formerly considered has been rejected, and a place for the cage has been definitely decided upon.

Accordingly to this final plan, the new building will be erected across the walk from the Soldiers Field locker room, and the Superintendent's office. This will situate the cage at the easterly end of the tennis courts, and a portion of the building....which is to be 160 feet square, will probably lie upon the end court. Ample room will be left between locker building and cage to accomodate the crowds which make use of the walk during the football season. Ground for the new building will be broken as soon as possible after the present athletic season, and July 1 is set as the probable date for work to begin.

Pristine Site Was Near Stables

When the gift of the cage was first received, it was planned to erect it at the western end of the old tennis courts, near the stables. Lines were drawn there and the boundaries of the buildings were staked out.

It was found, however, that this place would not be suitable for erection of the building. At the spot which had been chosen, it was discovered that there was a bed of gravel about 25 feet deep, making it impractical to build a large structure upon it.

Work Held Up By Board

The present site was suggested last fall, but lack of a definite decision from the Planning Board kept the work from being started at that time. It was also felt that if the erection of the building had been started last autumn, the work of construction would have interfered with the crowds of people attending the football games in the Stadium.

When it was first made public two years ago that a donation to be used for the building of a new baseball cage had been received, it was announced that work would begin at once. The delay was due in a very large measure to the difficulty experienced in selecting a site, and to the fact, than when a location had been selected the winter was too far advanced for it to be possible for work to be done.

Three years ago this spring, a graduate, who expressed the desire to be anonymous, wished to give the University some sort of an athletic building in honor of Dean Briggs.

Offered Any Building

The donor felt that he wished to give whatever sort of building the University authorities thought was most urgently needed. After some discussion and in-vestigation, it was finally decided that a new baseball cage was the most immediate and pressing need. The donor, therefore, made the offer, accepted forth-with by the authorities, of a cage to be erected at Soldiers field and named in honor of Dean Briggs.

The old cage, built over 30 years ago, has proved of late to be wholly inadequate. Particularly chagrin was felt because of the size of the building, the cage being much too small to accomodate the baseball squads. The eramped quarters also restrict practice to a large extent.