July 3, 2008
DALLAS (SMU)--The SMU rowing program has a new boathouse to call home. The new boathouse, built by White Rock Boathouse, Inc., is nearing completion and will be ready for full move-in sometime in late July or early August.
"I'm very excited about this project finally coming to fruition," said head coach Doug Wright. "The new boathouse is a huge asset to the program."
The White Rock Boathouse is 24,000 square feet, 7,500 square feet of which have been allocated as the new SMU Boatbay. The new home of SMU rowing will be outfitted with brand new Focus Racks this week, with enough space to house 10 eights, 10 fours, 12 pair doubles and numerous singles, as well as 25-30 ergs.
SMU's space will also have three bathrooms and three showers, amenities the old Bathhouse lacks. In addition, the Mustangs will have separate launch and recovery docks at the new facility.
The new boathouse, located on the southwest side of the lake, is in an ideal location to mitigate the wind issues the Mustangs have been faced with in the past.
"We should lose very few days on the water due to wind or otherwise poor conditions," Wright remarked. "And we won't have to wet launch anymore, which is huge."
The boathouse was constructed as part of a Dallas Parks Board initiative to rejuvenate and enhance White Rock Lake Park. The project, which had a total tab of $2.63 million, included the restoration of the old water treatment facility that became the new boathouse.
Exterior construction on the facility has been completed and the new bay doors have been installed. The parking lot has been surfaced and one dock has been completed with the foundation set for the second.
"The new boathouse will be quite a morale boost for the team," said Wright. "First impressions are so important to recruits and novice rowers and having them trudge through the mud by the old bathhouse wasn't really the kind of impression we wanted to make."
Rising junior Chantal Bohren agrees with Wright.
"A brand new boathouse will take our program to a whole new level," Bohren said. "We will be able to invite more schools to White Rock Lake, which will make us more competitive as a team. It is motivation for us, because now we have the tools and equipment at our fingertips. The facilities a team has reflects on its performance and this boathouse is something that we can be proud of. Overall, this boathouse is a blessing that we have all been waiting for, and I am so excited to be a part of it's beginning."
"I think the new facility will help us recruit more rowers and, just as important, help us retain the walk-ons and novices a little better," said Wright. "This can only be positive for SMU rowing."
