Student-led survey gathering opinions on the approved arena district

After hearing about Miami University’s decision to build a new arena district on Cook Field, many students felt that their opinions had not been taken into account by the Board of Trustees. Bri Fitzgerald, a senior organizational leadership major, along with other students and community members, came together to figure out what they could do to make their voices heard.

“Whether people realize it or not, if the Cook Field [arena] project goes through, it’s going to impact the entire Miami community,” Fitzgerald said, “meaning students, faculty, people living in Oxford [and] Oxford businesses.”

On Feb. 28, the Board of Trustees unanimously decided to place a new sports arena on Cook Field. The proposed arena district would also include a hotel, parking and other amenities.

This decision was made by the board after a site survey committee discovered and reported that the Cook Field location was overwhelmingly not preferred. Less than 300 responses preferred Cook Field out of the 1,500 total responses.

Cook Field is an open green space currently used by students and members of the community for gatherings and intramural activities. It’s located along Patterson Avenue, across the street from Bishop Woods. Those recreational fields would be relocated to the vicinity of Millett Hall.

“Miami proposes to allocate $200-225 million to construct a new arena, likely to be primarily funded with existing student fees, perhaps $500 per year or $2,000 over four years per student,” according to the survey.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

The impacts on the physical campus environment and university budget would make it one of the most substantial projects in Miami’s history, according to the research team.

Although the site survey committee and Board of Trustees have identified Cook Field as their preferred location, construction has not yet begun.

Miami undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and alumni have come together to design and administer a new Qualtrics survey, collecting opinions from the community. Their goal is to promote democracy and gauge the perspectives of every person who will be affected by the construction of a new arena district.

The core research team includes Anna West, a junior individualized studies and comparative religion major, Ava Nuttall, a first-year graduate student in liberal studies and Fitzgerald. Jennifer Bulanda, an associate professor and Scripps Research Fellow, volunteered to be the faculty member featured in the institutional review board proposal; however, many of the other faculty supporting the cause have intentionally chosen to remain unnamed.

The research team said the goal of this survey project is to potentially help inform the administration’s planning and decision-making process. Summarized results will be publicly shared after data collection and analysis.

“We’re not expecting them to change their minds at all, but I do think that it’s really important for everyone to at least have their views expressed,” West said.

The new survey can be accessed through the QR code and on posters around campus. It will be open from Oct. 2o to Nov. 10, and the results will be analyzed after. The survey research team plans on presenting results to the Board of Trustees in February.

“Inform the conversation,” Fitzgerald said. “ Your thoughts count.”

The Miami University Research Ethics & Integrity Program reviewed this study and determined its exempt status, 05223e. Questions? Contact Dr. Jennifer Bulanda (bulandjr@miamioh.edu) or Bri Fitzgerald (fitzgeb6@miamioh.edu)