Wabash Valley College’s planned 8,500-square-foot Athletic Training Center in Mt. Carmel, Ill., is scheduled to open in the summer of 2025, providing new space for Warrior athletes to train.
The center will feature three locker rooms, designed to be the new home for the WVC women’s soccer, softball, and baseball teams.
Plans include a large, netted practice area with synthetic turf flooring, designed to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of different sports. The area can be divided into four separate batting or pitching cages, or it can be opened up to create a larger space for a wide range of drills and conditioning exercises. [The Hometown Register]
It’s nowhere near the scale of the Gateway District project, which includes a new football stadium at the University of Kansas, or the $250-million Memorial Stadium renovation that the University of Missouri Board of Curators recently approved, but MidAmerica Nazarene has its own football stadium project underway.
Beams for the seating bowl and press box went vertical Wednesday.
Pioneers Director of Athletics Todd Garrett said the new Copeland Athletic Complex "will be named after our late mayor of Olathe and MNU alum," Michael Copeland, who died unexpectedly four years ago.
The Copeland Athletic Complex will include a 1,000-seat football stadium with an artificial turf field; new locker rooms for men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and softball; restrooms and concessions; and a new practice facility for track and field.
The final price tag: $14 million — a pittance compared to KU’s ambitious $450-million project or Mizzou’s $250-million renovation, but a massive investment for the Christian NAIA school in Olathe with an enrollment of 2,000, including 850 undergraduate students. [KSHB]
As part of the long-term strategy to transform the Boston University Softball Field, the Boston University Department of Athletics is excited to announce that Phase Three is underway with the changing of the grass surface to turf after a lead investment from Tim (MET'97) and Carrie Burr.
R.A.D. Sports will serve as general contractor to install a new Shaw Turf surface that will allow for better ball roll and reduced infill splash. Though the turf will extend to the bullpens, the natural infield dirt mix will remain. Phase Three will also include the creation of a natural grass viewing berm in center field for fans to utilize during games.
"The latest improvement of our facility is a testament to our incredible student-athletes, both past and present," said Ashley Waters, the three-time reigning NFCA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year. "Their dedication to greatness has paved the way for future generations to experience these exciting changes. Drew Marrochello and our wonderful university community have supported the continued growth of our program, and for that, we are grateful. The opportunity to watch these improvements unfold has been a dream and vision of mine since I arrived on campus. I am so proud of what we have built and what we are going to continue to build on our home field." [GoTerriers.com]
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