Where is the dome?
Students are going to have to wait a few more months before they can use the long-awaited Castleton University athletic dome, and some are getting sick of waiting.
“They got it the fall of my sophomore year. I’m a senior now and it’s still nowhere to be found,” said Justin Del Bianco, a senior and member of the Castleton golf team.
Castleton University received the athletic dome from Middlebury College in May of 2013. The university is now finalizing the plan to put the dome in Rutland Town, next to Spartan Arena, school officials said.
“We are presently in the permitting process and if all goes well there, we hope to have it completed in early spring of 2016,” said Scott Dikeman, dean of Administration and CFO at Castleton.
The dome will have a turf surface and be surrounded by a rubberized track. Club and intramural teams will have access to this facility and the university’s athletic teams will be able to host practices here year round, school officials said.
“It will be great for bad weather and long winters,” said Tyler Higley a junior on the football team.
The Rutland community will also be able to benefit greatly from the construction of this athletic dome, Dikeman said. The University has plans to use the dome much like Spartan Arena.
“It will serve as a regional recreational facility for the community,” Dikeman said.
Rutland residents are also looking forward to this addition to the town.
“I think it will benefit Castleton University sports and Rutland’s community,” said Del Bianco, who is also a resident of Rutland Town.