Winds tear facility, raise safety concerns

Whipping winds and otherwise inclement weather tore a hole in the fabric of the UNM Football Indoor Practice Facility Thursday, calling into question the safeness of the Lobos’ structure after a report back in January said there were flaws in the design of UNM’s $7 million facility.

The Lobos’ facility was evaluated by Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers Inc., a local engineering firm, after the Dallas Cowboys’ facility collapsed during a thunderstorm back in May 2009. That facility was constructed by the same company, Summit Structures, which erected the Lobos’ facility. Twelve people were injured when that structure buckled under pressure.

The rip in the north side of the Lobos’ structure exposed the skeletal beams. The facility wasn’t in use when the tear took place, said Media Relations Spokesperson Chris Deal.

Initially, a news conference scheduled for 6 p.m. was called by the University to address any concerns about the structure’s stability,but neither Associate Athletics Director Tim Kass, nor anyone from Athletics showed up and instead a press release was issued minutes later.

The statement said that UNM, following its safety protocol, blocked off all entrances to the facility and the plaza after winds gusted above 60 mph.

“At that time, we followed our management plan to close the building when winds get near 60 miles per hour,” Kass said. “A tear developed in the outside fabric on the north end and, as winds increased, so did the tear.”

Kass and Athletics Director Paul Krebs didn’t return phone calls late on Thursday for comment. Though access to the plaza entrance and facility was said to be blocked off, two women somehow gained access to the plaza and wandered down the paved sidewalk by the football team’s outdoor practice field through the commons area at about 6:30 p.m.

The two didn’t say how they accessed the facilities, nor did they witness when the tear in the structure took place.

So far, at least six Summit-designed structures have collapsed since 2002, according to an Associated Press report published in January 2010.