Veterans groups and officials who see the Camp Randall Memorial Park ground as sacred are voicing concerns regarding a proposal to build UW athletic facilities on the site, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
Plans are moving forward to replace an aging facility with a $285 million football practice building, but scrutiny from some veterans in recent months has stemmed from the amount of the Camp Randall Memorial Park to be taken up by the new construction as well as what input they have had in the project.
On Friday, the Board of Regents approved a UW–Madison plan honoring veterans that the state Legislature required in the capital budget proceedings that allowed for some of the park to be used for the new facility.
The park — a Civil War historic site where over 70,000 Union soldiers trained from 1861–65 and more than 1,200 Confederate prisoners were detained in 1862 — has had its borders reconfigured around athletic facilities twice in the past 70 years.
The first alteration occurred in the 1950s with the construction of the Shell, an indoor training and recreation facility that awaits demolition as part of the upcoming project. The second alteration took place in 1986 when a piece of land between the Shell and Monroe street was added to the park in exchange for the athletic department’s ability to take another parcel to build the McClain Center — an indoor football practice facility. That triangular area would now be taken back for use in the new facility.
The Board of Veteran Affairs is set to hear an informational presentation about the project at its June 20 meeting. UW–Madison is also taking multiple steps to honor veteran groups and said it plans to incorporate their feedback in the design of a veterans plaza in the new practice facility.
