The west bank of the Iowa River may one day reverberate with the sounds of the Marching Hawkeyes or the lines of an outdoor play.

When the flood ravaged Hancher-Voxman-Clapp complex is eventually torn down, the UI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will work to honor what they recognize as buildings of cultural, historical, and community importance. Part of this memorial effort may include an outdoor amphitheater or a new practice field for the Marching Band.

“When FEMA decides that a building must be replaced, [officials] understand that some have more meaning than others,” said Rodney Lehnertz, the director of Facilities Management’s planning, design, and construction. “They do not remove them without great care and understanding for the building, and efforts are made to honor the building and its place.”

Sometimes the memorials are not physical, Lehnertz said. They can take the shape of a pictorial history or the commissioning of a book. Although plans are still in the early stages, some potential ideas are recording the footprint of the building with a landscaped amphitheater or marking out a football-field sized lawn for the Marching Band to practice on.

These ideas were aired during the Oct. 12 forum in which UI officials and members of the community discussed the various sites for the complex.

The options include rebuilding on a site slightly uphill from the current site, building on a site along Burlington Street, and splitting the complex, with Hancher built on the west site and Voxman-Clapp downtown.

Among the limiting factors in selecting a site for the new complex is cost and the division of space.

“In any plan, function serves as a primary driver,” Lehnertz said. “Necessary parking will not be sacrificed, but we do prioritize keeping the area around the river green.”

A small-scale amphitheater behind the IMU gives people an idea of what the amphitheater would be like, Lehnertz said. The theater could provide seating for such events as plays and ceremonies.

The Marching Band uses a field on Park Road, two blocks west of the Levitt Center. Kevin Kastens, the director of the band and associate professor in the School of Music, said he was content with the current field but would welcome some improvements.

After the 2008 flood, students could no longer store instruments in the arts buildings and now use two trailers that Kastens described as leaking and “not very representative of a Big Ten Marching Band.”

He would be excited to have a level field, he said.

“Sometimes, practice is canceled or postponed because it is too muddy,” said UI junior Katie Mehlbrech, who has been in the band for three years. She said the field “is pretty torn up because we have about 250 people marching around every day.”

Though there will definitely be an effort to memorialize the complex, plans are by no means completed. Lehnertz said he was sure more ideas will be presented in the coming months and will, in turn, be discussed with FEMA. More definitive plans should be possible by the end of the year, after the new site is chosen.