Site preparation for new track / soccer stadium begins today
6/24/2014 11:29:00 AM | General, Men's Track and Field, Women's Soccer, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
ABILENE – While fundraising continues, initial site preparation for construction of the first new on-campus stadium in more than 15 years will begin this week when crews begin clearing and leveling the land where Abilene Christian University's new track and field/soccer stadium will eventually be located.
Crews from HOAR Construction will begin preparing the future stadium site, which is directly south of ACU's softball/soccer facility on the university's former intramural field and the current home of the women's soccer team. To accomplish this, Oliver Jackson Boulevard – which runs south from Ambler Avenue to Coliseum Way on the east side of the site – will be closed to vehicle traffic beginning today.
Also, the northern portion of the Edwards Hall parking lot – the former Big Purple stomping grounds – will be closed. Pedestrian access to Wells Field, the softball and soccer fieldhouse, and Powell Fitness Center will remain open.
Site preparation will cause the Wildcats to move practices and matches off campus this fall, when head coach Casey Wilson's team will practice daily on the turf surface at Action Zone and play all home matches but one at Shotwell Stadium. An Aug. 29 home match against Wayland Baptist University will be played at Hardin-Simmons University.
The as-yet-unnamed stadium, sitting along Campus Court, will seat about 1,000 fans will be the home to both ACU women's soccer, and men's and women's track and field. This facility will be the first stadium built on campus since Wells Field opened for the softball program in 1997. The track and field/soccer venue will be the first of two new on-campus stadiums to be built as part of the Vision in Action initiative launched in February. Wildcat Stadium, a new home for the football program, will be built on the site of the existing Elmer Gray Stadium.
Vision in Action is a $75 million fundraising initiative that will transform the ACU campus in a way not seen for nearly 50 years. At its conclusion, ACU will feature three new major science facilities – the Engineering and Physics Laboratories at Bennett Gymnasium, the Onstead Science Center and the Halbert-Walling Research Center – and the two new stadiums. Construction work began several months ago on renovating historic Bennett Gymnasium for one of the fastest-growing academic programs at the university. An initial step to prepare for construction of the two other science facilities is to vacate Chambers Hall. This relocation work is underway and should be completed by the end of the fall semester.
To date, $49.7 million has been raised for the five facilities, including the largest gift in ACU history, a $30 million pledge by Mark and April Anthony of Dallas. The Wildcat football team will play on Anthony Field in its new stadium.
For more information about Vision in Action, visit acu.edu/via.
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