Spring Break
Brandeis, Lasell embark on athletic partnership
by Charlie Gandelman
Sports | 4/24/07
Posted online at 10:19 PM EST on 4/23/07
After the Brandeis crew team learned that it wouldn't have a boathouse next year due to the renovation of its current facility, the team feared it would not be able to compete next season. But thanks to a landmark partnership Brandeis recently made with Lasell College in Newton, Mass., the crew team is assured a secure future.
The partnership grants the Brandeis crew team full access to Lasell's boathouse on the Charles River. In return, Lasell's newly formed baseball team will practice and play games on Brandeis' Stein Diamond.
For over 20 years, the crew team had used the boathouse of a private company, Community Rowing, Inc. in Newton for its practices and races. The space normally served as an ice-skating rink during the winter and then as a boathouse during the fall and spring when the ice was removed and boat racks were installed. CRI, however, recently decided to build a new boathouse and keep the current one as a year-round ice-skating rink. The crew team would have been forced to take on a down payment of about $1 million, along with an additional yearly fee in order to use the new boathouse and simply couldn't shoulder that financial burden.
"Without this [agreement], we wouldn't have a boathouse to row out of next year," team president Sarah Robinson '08 said. "The new boathouse is a great option for us
and the best alternative to the boathouse we're rowing out of now."
Under the agreement, which had been in the works since Athletics Director Sheryl Sousa contacted Lasell athletics officials last November, each school is responsible for financing renovations of the shared facilities. While Lasell agreed to replace the dock on its boathouse, Brandeis will accommodate the schedules of the two baseball teams by adding lights to the field for night practice and games, Sousa said.
The Department of Athletics will also finance improvements to the field to account for the extra wear and tear next season. All renovations will occur after the current season, Sousa said.
The partnership grants the Brandeis crew team full access to Lasell's boathouse on the Charles River. In return, Lasell's newly formed baseball team will practice and play games on Brandeis' Stein Diamond.
For over 20 years, the crew team had used the boathouse of a private company, Community Rowing, Inc. in Newton for its practices and races. The space normally served as an ice-skating rink during the winter and then as a boathouse during the fall and spring when the ice was removed and boat racks were installed. CRI, however, recently decided to build a new boathouse and keep the current one as a year-round ice-skating rink. The crew team would have been forced to take on a down payment of about $1 million, along with an additional yearly fee in order to use the new boathouse and simply couldn't shoulder that financial burden.
"Without this [agreement], we wouldn't have a boathouse to row out of next year," team president Sarah Robinson '08 said. "The new boathouse is a great option for us
and the best alternative to the boathouse we're rowing out of now."
Under the agreement, which had been in the works since Athletics Director Sheryl Sousa contacted Lasell athletics officials last November, each school is responsible for financing renovations of the shared facilities. While Lasell agreed to replace the dock on its boathouse, Brandeis will accommodate the schedules of the two baseball teams by adding lights to the field for night practice and games, Sousa said.
The Department of Athletics will also finance improvements to the field to account for the extra wear and tear next season. All renovations will occur after the current season, Sousa said.
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