Football | 2/17/2016 11:55:00 AM
ABILENE – Abilene Christian University will host a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new on-campus football stadium Friday morning at approximately 11:45 a.m. near the site where the new stadium will begin to rise in the next few weeks.
ACU officials, coaches and football student-athletes will participate in the groundbreaking after Friday's 11 a.m. Chapel at the
Wally Bullington Practice Field. The Wildcats' practice field is situated just to the south of where Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium will be built.
Construction crews from contractor HOAR Construction will begin work this spring. Crews spent the last two months clearing the site of the old Elmer Gray Stadium, which is where the new stadium will be built. The stadium – which will have a capacity of 12,000 – is scheduled to open Sept. 16, 2017, when the Wildcats host Houston Baptist in a Southland Conference game.
"This is an incredibly special day that many people associated with ACU Athletics and our football program have been waiting a long time to see," ACU director of athletics Lee De León said. "While we are still in the process of raising funds for the stadium, we are so grateful to our generous donors for helping make this day possible."
Last month, the ACU Board of Trustees voted to begin construction after the university surpassed its original fundraising goal of $30 million to fund both the on-campus football stadium and the new Elmer Gray Stadium. Fundraising is still ongoing, however, after the total cost of the project reached $50 million. The board, however, voted to begin construction with $13 million still needed to fund the projects.
Including the $37 million raised for these Athletic facility enhancements, funds raised for the Vision in Action Initiative so far total more than $82 million, surpassing the original $75 million goal and making it the third largest campaign, dollar-wise, in ACU's history. Other VIA projects include the Halbert-Walling Research Center, Onstead Science Center, and Engineering and Physics Laboratories at Bennett Gym. Construction is complete or underway on all three science buildings.
"Many of our alumni, faculty, staff and friends have stepped up to make this stadium a reality," ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert said. "I continue to be amazed and grateful at the level of generosity we've seen, and I'm certain it will only grow as we officially break ground and prepare for our first home football game of the 2017 season. Wildcat Stadium will be a place beloved for generations, not only by the ACU community but by Abilene and West Texas as well."
