Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer on Wednesday called for facility upgrades at the school, saying Rutgers needs to "get a $50 million god darn arena," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Stringer, referring to the school's Louis Brown Athletic Center, said, "You try recruiting to this. Have you gone to the other facilities?" Sargeant noted Stringer's comments were her first "on the state of Rutgers' facilities issue since state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) in late February rebuked officials at the state university for not doing enough to support the men's basketball program while calling for an achievable plan to upgrade the 38-year old Rutgers Athletic Center and build a practice facility to accommodate the basketball teams." If Lesniak "sparked the fire on the topic of Rutgers facilities, Stringer turned it into a raging inferno during a 30-minute interview." Lesniak, who has "talked of implementing a plan to upgrade the Rutgers Athletic Center and build a practice facility with both private contributions and public funds, has criticized Rutgers President Robert Barchi and athletic director Julie Hermann for being slow to address what he considers to be a glaring need to aid the basketball programs." Hermann "has yet to unveil a plan to replace the Rutgers Athletic Center or supplement the arena with a practice facility." Both teams "play and practice at the building commonly called the RAC, which only recently received an interior facelift, thanks to a new scoreboard, gaudy ribbon boards and an improved sound system" (NJ.com, 3/19). Lesniak "applauded" Stringer for her call for support, calling her comments "'a big boost' for his efforts" (NJ.com, 3/19).
