Watson Rink to Be Renovated; Hockey Team to Play at B.U.

Renovations on Watson Rink scheduled to begin next month will force Harvard's hockey team to use Boston University's Walter Brown Arena as a home stadium this season.

John P. Reardon '60, director of athletics, said yesterday the Athletic Department's decision to renovate Watson Rink came earlier this year as projected costs for a proposed new hockey rink rose from $5 million to $7 million.

The Athletic Department has faced severe problems over the past year in financing new facilities originally proposed for the second phase of the Soldier's Field Athletic Complex.

Snafu

The Athletic Department last fall halted the $30 million fund-raising drive financing the complex because of fund-raising problems and possible competition with other Harvard fund-raising drives, Reardon said.

The drive raised approximately $13 million, financing the first phase of the athletic complex last spring, which includes Blodgett Pool and the Indoor Track and Tennis (ITT) facility.

Late last fall, however, much of the second phase of the project had to be scrapped due to insufficient funds, he added.

The second phase of the plan was to include a new hockey rink, renovations and an addition to Dillion Field House and conversion of Watson Rink into a basketball arena.

Reardon said the Athletic Department dropped plans for the Dillon addition in the Fall, and rejected plans for the new hockey rink in January.

Renovations on Dillon Field House have continued and the $1.5 million project, which Reardon termed "a huge undertaking," will be completed by September 15, he said.

The Watson Rink renovation project is scheduled to end in mid-April, Reardon added.

George Oomen, planning officer in Project Planning Division, said yesterday that both renovation projects are proceeding on schedule.

Phase 1

Fund drive problems will also hamper phase 1 of the Soldier's Field Athletic Complex project, Reardon said.

Although the department had sufficient funds to build Blodgett Pool and the ITT, the $13 million received from the fund-raising drive will not supply an endowment to cover the $300,000-a-year operating costs of the two buildings, he added. $17 million was originally slated for phase 1.

Since the fund-raising drive for the athletic complex has been halted, Reardon said the Athletic Department may receive funds from a major University fund-raising drive.

The Athletic Department needs "a long-term strategy to find funds to operate the existing facilities," Reardon said. It also needs funds to renovate some facilities, he added.