St. Aug's stadium plan renews old spat

RALEIGH -- The yard lines are painted, the goal posts are up, and a video scoreboard stands ready to flash the first Falcons touchdown.

But one thing is missing from the new sports complex at St. Augustine's College, and it's not referees, offensive linemen or a drum line.

The stadium has no bleachers.

St. Augustine's finished work this spring on a turf field and nine-lane track, marking progress on the long-awaited George Williams Athletic Complex.

But the school put off installing bleachers while it worked to resolve conflicts with neighbors aghast at the prospect of noisy crowds and game-day traffic.

At issue is the seating capacity for the stadium, nestled in a quiet residential area off Oakwood Avenue.

In 2004, after several rounds of talks between neighbors and school leaders, the City Council approved a 2,500-seat stadium under a compromise brokered by Mayor Charles Meeker.

But the school never acted on the plan. Now, college officials are convinced they need more seats to attract recruits and compete for upper-tier NCAA track competitions.

"At 5,000 seats, we will be one of the smallest stadiums of any institution we play," President Dianne Boardley Suber told a group of concerned neighbors last week. "I don't expect this to be an easy decision for you. ... There is nothing in our history to suggest we're going to be anything other than good neighbors."

The stadium flap has become a source of tension as St. Augustine's seeks to raise its profile, attract alumni back to campus and boost enrollment from 1,500 to 1,650 students.

Heard it before

Some residents said they've already heard these arguments.

"We were willing to compromise and cut it to 2,500," said John Seitz, a neighbor on Glascock Street. "I respected the decision that had been made, and I'm disappointed that we're here again."

Since the football program returned in 2002 following a 37-year hiatus, St. Augustine's has tromped across town to play in high school stadiums, most recently at Broughton.

The college brought in acoustics, parking and traffic specialists to come up with a new $8.5 million stadium design that minimizes disruptions.

Temporary barricades and traffic cones will prevent cars from parking on neighborhood streets, and lighting and new trees will be oriented to avoid glare on stadium-facing homes, school officials say.

A 10-game football season includes four or five home games. During the spring track season, the venue would host two to three meets, each with an attendance of up to 1,000 people.

The stadium is named in honor of George "Pup" Williams, the track coach who won 31 NCAA Division II track championships and produced 29 Olympians, including Bershawn Jackson, a bronze medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

"It means so much to me," Williams said. "It's going to mean so much to the city, and also bring a lot of notoriety to have Olympians and world-class kids" visit Raleigh for competitions.

Attracting recruits

Now in her 12th year as president, Suber is familiar with the excitement of game-day Saturdays, having grown up in Tallahassee, where Florida A&M and Florida State each boasts a devoted fan base.

"It's important we have the kind of venue that attracts student recruits," Suber said. "They don't want to come to a replication of high school."

The Falcons are coming off a 9-2 season that included a second-place finish in the CIAA Southern Division and 20-9 victory over Fort Valley State in the Pioneer Bowl, the school's best season since the 1930s.

Suber said she's confident the football team will play in its new stadium sometime this fall; other school officials hold out hope for hosting the Sept. 3 home opener against Catawba.

To help with negotiations, the college hired Clyde Holt III, a 39-year Raleigh attorney who also serves as general counsel to the Centennial Authority, the owner and developer of the RBC Center.

"We are going to build the facility in a manner that satisfies every legitimate concern," Holt told neighbors last week.