ANCHORAGE ? Alaska Anchorage athletic director Dr. Steve Cobb and cross country/track & field coach Michael Friess announced Tuesday a five-year partnership with The Dome at ChangePoint that makes the top-of-the-line indoor complex the official training home of the Seawolves cross country and track & field teams.
“All of us at UAA are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with The Dome,” Cobb said. “Our partnership will be good for our community and will help provide better opportunities for the youth of Anchorage.”
Through the pact, UAA will have extensive access to The Dome, the largest air-inflated athletic facility in North America, throughout the academic year including dedicated training times. During the winter months, the 174,290-square-foot structure off Minnesota Drive provides a climate-controlled training environment with a six-lane 400-meter track.
“Today, with the signing of a five-year agreement, The Dome at ChangePoint will be the home of UAA's track & field team, thereby radically altering the competitive landscape for the Seawolves by providing a state-of-the art indoor facility and allowing UAA's athletes to reach their full potential,” The Dome at ChangePoint CEO Carl Ekstrom said. “Furthermore, this solidifies UAA's and The Dome's commitment to community partnership and strengthens the Dome's sustainability.”
As part of the agreement, the UAA athletic department and The Dome management will add a strength and conditioning center and a cardio workout area. In addition to the track, the facility already features the only indoor Olympic-size soccer pitch in Alaska, other fields, and top-end batting cages equivalent to those utilized by teams around Major League Baseball. The Dome and Seawolf athletics are also developing plans for future UAA and community-wide recreational and athletic needs.
“This partnership allows us to offer our athletes both a first-class education and first-class facilities. Now a student can choose to stay home and still compete at the highest level. Our athletes are going to have a place to train in an unlimited fashion,” Friess said. “By training in The Dome last year we attained a level of success we weren't able to before. We really have no excuses anymore.”
UAA captured unprecedented success during the 2008 track & field season, as it garnered its first individual national champion, won a combined nine titles at the GNAC Championships, had three athletes earn All-America honors and produced 29 all-conference performances. In addition, the Seawolf men and women registered their best-ever team results at the conference meet, as the men finished runner-up and the women were fifth. UAA broke or tied 49 school records in 2008 ? with 30 occurring on the men's side and 19 on the women's.
