A part of Texas Tech history will be removed and preserved soon to make way for new facilities.

On Wednesday, Texas Tech announced plans to remove and preserve the Southwest Conference Circle at another site on the campus.

The SWC Circle, located by the Exercise Sciences Center, will have to be removed due to construction of the new Petroleum Engineering Research building for the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering.

The circle is not expected to be preserved intact however, as the terrazzo is apparently quite fragile, and only remnants of the circle are expected to survive the removal process.

“We’ve conducted significant forensic testing on the concrete and terrazzo of the current site,” said Michael Molina, vice chancellor for Facilities Planning and Construction. “The terrazzo is old, very brittle, and highly likely to break. Our plan is to carefully preserve as much of the current circle as possible.”

The remnants that do make it through the removal process will be combined with new materials to create a “newly designed tribute to the SWC Circle,” according to a Tech press release.

The circle was created when Texas Tech was admitted to the Southwest Conference in 1956, and served as the site of pep rallies and spirit raising events for decades.

Officials are currently looking into several options for a remodeled and enhanced design honoring the SWC Circle. They have not yet chosen a location.

“We are very mindful of our history, and our goal is to honor and preserve a tribute to our past,” Molina said. “The new project will not be an exact reproduction of the old SWC Circle, but rather an improved and more encompassing design that showcases and includes multiple facets of the university’s several athletic conference affiliations.

Construction for the new $20 million engineering research building is expected to be completed by the fall 2013 semester.

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