The Rams track team finds itself homeless for the second consecutive season as the poor economy, apparently poor initial construction, and everyday wear and tear continue to erode Fresno City College’s track inside Ratcliffe Stadium.

The all-weather track, built in 1986, now operates as a practice track for the team. But even practice is tough, according to student athlete Courtney Gooch, a distance runner for the Rams.

“The track is in bad shape,” Gooch said, “and it makes it tough to practice because we’re not able to use the lane that we’re use to using at our meets.”

Track coach Gary Bluth said the 24-year-old track has outlasted its lifetime by double and that it never should have lasted as long as it has.

“It’s still useable for training, but then we start seeing the injury rate go up because the loss of resilience,” he said.

In an interview with The Rampage, Athletic Director Susan Yates cited “a drainage problem, which has caused the inside lanes to deteriorate.”

Bluth also took the state of the economy into account.

“The school doesn’t have that kind of money right now,” Bluth said. “I’m confident that if the economy was in better shape, we would have a new track.”

The Rampage also noted structural damage throughout various parts of the track. The two inside lanes of the nine-lane track and the vaulting area are prone to flooding under severe weather conditions. Photos taken by The Rampage reveal that the polyurethane coat is worn out in multiple segments, leaving fissures and pockmarks of exposed blacktop to the rigors of the weather.

Bluth said multiple administrators are well aware of the situation. “It has been number one on my discussions with administrators,” he said.

Still, any hope for an overhaul depends on the college’s budget. Yates suggested that there is no one to blame but the economy and time.

Bluth said, “I’m confident that if the economy was in better shape, we would have a new track.”

The most recent facility renovations campus wide were made possible by Measure E bond money. The measure, according to Yates, provided FCC with funds for significant “puzzle-piece” improvements to the softball field, a new weight room, and a practice gym.

A complete track renovation, however, totes a hefty price tag. According to Yates, the track is not the only athletics facility that needs renovation.

“It is on every single decision package,” Yates said. “But the track is not the only project in need of immediate attention.”

“We have a softball field, a pool and a track,” Yates said. “They all have equal priority. They are all at the top. If we have $20,000 – What can be done to any one of those three with that money?”

The scope of the track renovation project is vast, comparatively. The cost of the original 1986 project chimed in at well over $600,000, according to Brian Fries, former FCC track coach.

Fries coached track and field at FCC for more than 20 years before recently retiring. He told The Rampage that he spearheaded a fund raising project for the initial construction of the current track at Ratcliffe.

“It would flood back then, too,” Fries said. “But the dry wells were just built and the track was new. All we had to do was wait for the sun to come out.”

A dry well acts as an underground seepage pit and is sometimes used to receive and hold water.

According to California Track and Engineering Inc. – one of FCC’s most recent potential track renovators – even a complete resurfacing of the Ratcliffe track would fail to address the root of the problem – the dry wells. Rather, it would only expose a new track to periodical flooding, according Jeb Burgess, Vice President at CTEI.

“It’s not just a cosmetic problem,” said Burgess, citing the track’s aging drainage system. “The dry wells are clogged up.”

Despite the state’s fiscal troubles, various high schools in the neighboring area have received renovations on many of the same types of facilities.

“It’s very ironic,” Burgess said. “The world is upside-down right now. There are high schools where the tracks are better.”

Burgess cites the availability of bond measures that allow high schools to make significant investments. “You either have bond money,” Burgess said, “or you have nothing.”

In spite of budget limitations, FCC is still moving forward, according to Yates. “Things are still happening,” Yates said. “Even though it may seem like we are in a stalemate, we are still doing what we can constantly.”

Until then, the FCC track team will continue to stay on the road. The status of the Ratcliffe track, historically considered the place “Where World Records are Broken,” according to the FCC Web site, remains on hold.

Gooch, an 800-meter specialist, feels let down.

“As one of the best teams in California,” Gooch said, “not being able to perform in front of our home fans because of our track is disappointing.”

Staff writers Annette DeDios and Ramiro Gudino contributed to this report.