DAILY LOBO new mexico
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tuesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
November 3, 2009
Pit to open despite construction Vanessa Sanchez / Daily Lobo Construction is under way on the northeast corner of The Pit, as seen in this panorama. While the arena will be open for tonight’s exhibition game, fans will have to use portable toilets and concessions in tents outside.
Fans at the exhibition match tonight will have to brave the cold to reach outside bathrooms and concessions. by Ryan Tomari Daily Lobo
For nine months, the sounds of machinery and clanking metal have replaced the sounds of bouncing basketballs at The Pit. But that’s about to change. Tonight, UNM’s 42-year-old arena will open up to the public when the Lobos take the court in an exhibition match against New Mexico Highlands. “Once game time starts – the reaction, I hope, is positive,” said Tim
Cass, senior associate director of athletics at UNM. The Pit has been under construction for 153 days while it gets a modern day face-lift. The arena is scheduled to be finished in time for the beginning of the 2010-11 basketball season next November. But this evening, all concessions and bathrooms will not be accessible because of the construction inside the arena. Instead, portable toilets and concession tents will be set up outside the gym. Using the bathroom will require UNM basketball fans to walk outside to either the west or east side of the arena, Cass said. “I’ve got two little kids myself, a six and an eight-year-old, and I am probably going to encourage them to go potty before they get to the arena,” he said. “All of (the porta potties) are outside and they are what I
Berry berry good Look out ice cream — yogurt’s freezing over.
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~Tim Cass, Senior associate director of athletics would consider to be 15 to 20 paces away from the building.” The Athletics Department wants UNM students to be as much a part of the overall turnout as they were before the renovations, Cass said. “Hopefully the experience isn’t a whole lot different (for students),” Cass said. “You know they
will still be sitting in the same section and the seats are no different than they were last year. One of the things we’re most excited about is bringing back the free tickets to the students.” Even with the ongoing construction to The Pit this year, students will enter at the designated UNM student entrance doors on the north concourse. Students can get free tickets at the Popejoy Theater or visit the mobile ticket box office on the east side of The Pit. The arena and the ticket box office will open 90 minutes before the games this season to account for traffic, whereas they opened 60 minutes before games in the past. Bob Doty, assistant superintendent of Flint co. Inc, Construction Solutions, is overseeing The Pit renovations on a day-to-day basis.
Doty said the renovation has gone well even with the basketball season starting up. “Normally something (being built) at this speed would be chaos with everybody, everywhere and not much getting completed,” he said. “But it’s going very smoothly, and it’s smoother than normal.” Most concessions stands will also be outside in the tents, except for five or six stands in the concourse that will serve sodas, Cass said. “We certainly all have come to The Pit on cold nights,” Cass said. “We have put heaters in our commons area, in our concession and outside the restroom areas. There was confusion on whether there would be concessions in the building, and there will be.” UNM policy also permits reentry into basketball games, Cass said.
Get to work: Job fair coming Wednesday Career fair provides students opportunities for governmental positions by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo
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Inside the
“I’ve got two little kids myself…and I am probably going to encourage them to go potty before they get to the arena.”
Do you want to work for The Man? More than 70 employers from federal, state and municipal governments will present job opportunities as part of the Public Service Career Showcase in the SUB Ballrooms on Wednesday, said Mary Montano, Career Services event coordinator. President David Schmidly encouraged students to attend the fair in his Monday-morning message Oct. 2. He said UNM is part of a small group of schools selected to have the showcase.
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“UNM is one of only five campuses in the country that the Office of Personal Management has given funding for federal career days in 2009,” he said in the e-mail. “This is a great opportunity to see what’s out there when it comes to jobs in this sector.” Montano said governmental positions are ideal for students because of job security and flexible schedules. “The federal employers work life-balance into the workplace,” she said. “Even if you are working a 70 hour work week, it provides a family friendly kind of structure.” The showcase is an excellent place for students to meet prospective employers and possibly even be hired on the spot, Montano said. “This is one event where there
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