UC San Diego Breaks Ground
on RIMAC Annex and Softball
Field Improvement Project for
Player and Spectator Enhancements

A partnership between the Sports Facilities and Athletics
Departments, the project introduces new campus services
and facilities appropriate to UCSD’s current level of competition

March 12, 2008

By Don Chadwick and Daniel Palay

Today, the University of California, San Diego Athletics, Recreation, Sports Facilities Advisory Board (ARSFAB) announced the ground breaking of the RIMAC Annex and the Softball Field Improvement project.

RIMAC Annex illustration

The RIMAC Arena is a multi-use facility capable of accommodating a wide variety of activities ranging from large spectator events including ceremonies and concerts to athletic competitions and tournaments.  The Annex completes aspects of the original RIMAC design concept and introduces new services and facilities to the campus.  The Softball Field improvements will serve to provide improved player and spectator accommodations appropriate to our current level of competition.

The joint projects represent a partnership between the Sports Facilities and Athletics Departments.  The facilities will be located adjacent to RIMAC in an area that incorporates portions of the sloped landscaped area between Ridgewalk and the North Campus Recreation Area (RIMAC Field).

“It is our hope that the combination of the new Rady School of Management Otterson Hall, the soon-to-be-built North Campus Transfer Housing and the RIMAC Annex will serve to further enliven the north part of campus and continue to bring our students, alumni and community members back to campus,” said Daniel Palay, co-chair of the ARSFAB.

The project was designed by Bauer and Wiley Architects of Newport Beach, California and will unite various physical elements of the Annex building structure with the Softball Field Complex.   The building will include a sports and fitness-themed café, which in accordance with a vote from last year’s ARSFAB board, will sell beer and wine.  Additionally, the building will include a convenience store, a large meeting room, a Peet’s Coffee and terraced lounge spaces overlooking the playing field and exterior terraced patios.

UC San Diego alumna and former softball player Dana Chaiken ’91

The softball field improvements, in turn, will include a press/announcers booth behind expanded softball bleachers, improved dug-outs, additional storage facilities, a netted backstop and an improved playing field.   The combined total cost of construction is approximately $8.6 million.  The project is funded from a combination of reserve and income funds and a donation from UC San Diego alumna and former softball player Dana Chaiken ’91; it will have no impact on current student fees.

Because RIMAC “Annex” may be a bit confusing to students and the visitors, the ARSFAB board is commissioning a committee with the task of recommending names for the structure and the rooms within.  It is anticipated that the committee’s work will be completed before the grand opening, which is expected in late Spring 2009.

Media Contacts:
Don Chadwick, UCSD Director of Sports Facilities, (858) 534-2190
Christine Clark, UCSD University Communciations, (858) 534-7618