Trustees approve $8 million lacrosse field construction
Intramural and club sports will have a new arena for play after construction of a stadium originally intended for varsity lacrosse is completed next year.
Last month the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees approved the $8 million project, with a finish date of August 2015.
Vice President of Facilities Management Steve Lawrence said the project was intended to increase CMU’s compliance with Title IX, a law that requires schools to offer sports intended for women.
Along with varsity lacrosse, the complex will host women’s soccer along with intramural and club sports.
“It started out as a Title IX compliance project, but we’ve expanded it,” Lawrence said.
Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Barry Wilkes also emphasized the multi-faceted use now intended for the arena.
The arena will be constructed where the soccer practice field currently sits, on south campus in the athletic complex. Lawrence said the project was given a short time to completion, in order to be available for the upcoming soccer and lacrosse seasons.
The competitive soccer season starts August 2015, with lacrosse starting March 2016.
“It’s an incredibly tight schedule,” Lawrence said. “That’s when lacrosse season starts, so we want to be ready.”
Lawrence said the construction of the arena is being led by Kalamazoo-based construction management firm Miller Davis. He said Miller Davis will hire subcontractors to begin building the facility in February 2015.
CMU Athletic Director Dave Heeke said although the arena was expanded for additional sports, it will remain focused on lacrosse.
“All along, the project has been centered around women’s lacrosse,” Heeke said. “That has not changed. We wanted to utilize the space in the best way possible. We wanted it to be cost and space effective,”
Hoping the added arena will bring greater activity to the south end of campus, Heeke said he anticipated the project would increase student involvement near the athletic complex.
“Our area of campus is robust with student activity,” he said. “This can only increase that. It’s very exciting.”
The design of the facility is 80 to 90 percent complete, Heeke said.
Athletics is accepting donations for the project. It has yet to be named after a donor.
