Chicoine needs Wi-Fi

Renovation on the campus of Chadron State College is going well. Improvements upon existing structures are constantly being done and there are some new ones as well.

Some of the newest building on campus are the Rangeland Complex east of the softball field, Eagle Ridge units, also near the softball fields, and the Chicoine Center, an expansion of the Armstrong Gymnasium.

All three buildings are nice additions to CSC’s campus, but work is still being done until they are fully complete. The Eagle Ridge housing units and the Chicoine Center are near completion with minor work being done each year. Rangeland has the most work left to do, with the arena being the only area that is usable by students and staff.

The Chicoine Center, is $16.2 million expansion of Armstrong and officially began construction in April 2013. The arena/playing area was completed in 2014 and ready for the 2014-2015 men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

The arena has been open for almost two years now and hosts a number of athletic and non-athletic events, but one thing missing in Chicoine is a Wi-Fi connection, which is considered one of the last things needed to be installed.

A $16.2 million renovation and expansion for a new athletic center and there still is no Wi-Fi. This may not seem like a big deal, but in this era of technology, it almost impossible to accomplish anything without Wi-Fi.

The Eagle looked at this topic because two reporters on our staff also work as sports commentators for CSC Live, the online streaming service for CSC athletics and certain CSC events.

In the field of sports commentary and play-by-play, you have to know how sports are played, obviously, and be accurate with stats and numbers. It’s hard to know how well an athlete is doing when the stats are online and there is no Wi-Fi connection. They do get printed stats at certain breaks in the games, but they are helpful for a limited amount of time.

Numbers and stats change as the game continues and sports commentators have to be on their toes and ready to evaluate and break down the game as goes on. That is not easy when you don’t have access to updated online stats.

From a student’s perspective it’s an annoyance as well when you go to an event and have to rely on cellular data from your phone company. Plus, the shape of the arena altogether makes it hard for cell phones to get a strong signal.

It seems strange that after having the Chicoine Center open for nearly two years the only way to connect to the internet in there is through an Ethernet cable connection. It doesn’t have to be on the top of list of first things to be done, but it is surprising that it is the last thing to be installed.

Overall, the Chicoine Center is a nice building. The offices, lockers room, training room, and arena look great. It has definitely helped with the expansion and growth of CSC’s campus. All they need to do is install the Wi-Fi and students can fully enjoy events while taking selfies, checking social media, and enjoying knowing they don’t have to use their own cellular data.