The signs have been up for several months, warning students off the grassy Parade Ground. Where students once spent sunny days lounging or studying is now nothing but green grass, seemingly begging for use. However, the University has announced that the Parade Ground, which has been undergoing maintenance since the summer, will be ready to reopen for use for Groovin’.
“We’ve been adding fertilizer, herbicides and ant control products as well as working on the irrigation system to prepare for Groovin’, other campus events that are coming up and most importantly, general student use,” said Tammy Millican, executive director of facility planning and oversight. “It will be ready for Groovin’ on the Grounds.”
The Parade Ground was closed to organized sports to repair damage from use. Millican said that the grounds are open to all other activities. Much of the damage came from people using cleats on the Parade Ground, tearing up the grass, instead of the UREC fields which are designed to take the damage, Millican said.
The Parade Ground was built when the University was primarily a military school. It was designed to be a space for drill practice. Now students use the area to lounge around and do leisure activities. It is also used for events such as ESPN Gameday and concerts like Groovin’. Millican said that Gameday being moved to the Quad this past semester was not because of the maintenance.
The Parade Ground was reopened earlier this semester on March 8, but the damage was so extensive, the area was closed again on March 13, Millican said.
The University is also working on new signage for the Parade Ground, which will detail some of its history and ask that people not use cleats on the grass. The signs will replace the existing signs and ropes, Millican said.
The University is anticipating that the Parade Ground will remain open to general use after Groovin’.
“I don’t think that we’ll have a whole lot of damage because that’s what we use it for.” Millican said. “It’s a beautiful spot. If we can get that one thing fixed, it would be a great help to everyone who wants to use the space.”