Daily Pioneer News

UWP civil engineering senior design students, (from left to right) Ryan Arndt and Ben Becker, designed a girls fast pitch softball complex for Mineral Point High School.

PLATTEVILLE - When the Mineral Point High School was built in 1996, a proposed location for a softball complex was included in the plans but since this time, nothing has been done to implement the construction of a girls' fast pitch softball field. Recently, Jennifer Baker, a parent of one of the softball players, contacted University of Wisconsin-Platteville civil engineering students Ryan Arndt and Ben Becker, to help create a design that could be used as a proposal for construction of a softball facility.

Currently, there is no playing field located on Mineral Point High School grounds, so all games are played at a local park. Having a softball field would be beneficial to the school and may even allow them to host WIAA playoffs and tournaments. Working under the pseudonym, Recreational Sports Engineering, the UWP students considered a variety of aspects for the design including WIAA rules and regulations, the addition of amenities to the softball complex, handicap accessibility, spectator seating, parking and the influence of weather on the field. Their biggest challenge was working around the steep slope situated in the middle of the proposed field location. "It was essential to look at every aspect of what makes a good playing field including lighting, dugouts, parking, field drainage, bleachers, the scoreboard, etc. It may not be possible to put everything together at once, but the simplest version could initially include the field, a fence and player benches," commented Becker. "From our cost estimate, we know putting the complex together in stages will be the best solution and most feasible. For the simplest version it would cost about $150,000 but if they wanted to put everything together at once, the project could cost well over $170,000," said Arndt.

To limit the expense of construction, Becker and Arndt also considered various fill options to level the playing field. The entire location covers slightly less than two acres, but includes a 30-foot drop extending through the entire location. Using only fill to alleviate this problem would require over 29,000 cubic yards, a majority of the proposed cost, whereas shaving off part of the slope and then using fill would require only 8,200 cubic yards. "Bringing in fill and concentrating on site work was a huge portion of our project. It's amazing the costs that go into a project before construction can even begin," said Arndt. Added Becker, "There is an insane amount of time, money, labor and equipment necessary to level and compact the area; and this is just completing the basic preparation work." During their final presentation, Becker and Arndt met with Mineral Point High School principal, Ted Evans, as well as the softball coach, police school liaison officer, ground crew and maintenance employees and various school board members. During this presentation, they recommended that the school consider outside fill sources and volunteers to help complete the initial preparation work for the location to limit expenses and encouraged them to add additional features as funds were raised in the future. Both students anticipate graduating in May 2006 and are civil engineering majors with an emphasis in construction. Arndt is the son of Craig and Val Arndt of Waupun. Upon graduation, he will work as a civil engineer for Gremmer and Associates in Fond du Lac. Becker is the son of Bruce and Linda Becker of Jackson. Upon graduation, he will work as a field engineer for Kiewit Western Construction in Phoenix, Ariz.

Contact: Samuel Owusu-Ababio, civil engineering, (608) 342-1554, owusu@uwplatt.edu; Philip Parker, civil engineering, (608) 342-1235,parkerp@uwplatt.edu

Prepared by: Rachael Lehr, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,lehrr@uwplatt.edu