By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — After nearly five years of operating out of tents, Temple University’s rowing teams are hoping to get a new boathouse along the Schuylkill River.

The proposed boat house site is adjacent to the Strawberry Mansion bridge.

“Well, if we get approved for the parcel of land we like, then I guess the wheels start turning on design and raising the money and all that, so there’s still a long way to go,” says head men’s crew coach Gavin White.  “It’s just really exciting.”

A public hearing by the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commission will be held January 16th at 6pm at Lloyd Hall, on Boathouse Row just past the art museum.

“If you think about it, it’s just going to help recruiting a bunch,” White notes, “because not many parents are real excited about having their kids row out of a tent.”

Temple’s crew teams had to operate out of tents after the school’s previous boat house was condemned.
He recalls that it hasn’t always been easy.

“The first year the tent collapsed under the weight of snow, and we lost about $145,000 worth of equipment. I mean, it was just a nightmare.”

And White says the kids deserve better.

“These kids, they are Division I athletes, and they deserve to have comparable facilities to the teams they are competing against,” White tells KYW Newsradio.