If you build it, will they win?
Jerry Seymour makes his living flying across the football field, twisting and turning past opposing defenses.
Thanks to some summer construction, Seymour will have some new land to roam on.
After much anticipation and debate, the Chippewas unveil their new FieldTurf playing surface when they host Southeast Missouri State Sept. 18 in the home opener.
“It is the best thing going right now,” the sophomore tailback said. “It is truly a blessing for our team to have it, and hopefully it helps us win some games.”
Football is not the only CMU athletic program to have its facility upgraded during the summer.
The field hockey team’s new venue is under construction on the west side of Lyle Bennett Track.
The team used to play home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, but football’s new FieldTurf surface was not conducive to field hockey.
The baseball team also saw Theunissen Stadium have its field replaced with new grass in the outfield, and the warning track was extended around the whole stadium.
The Board of Trustees approved the $638,000 replacement of the old turf at Kelly/Shorts with FieldTurf because of its safety upgrade.
Seymour’s running style utilizes quick movements and cuts to foil the defenders, and the new field will play to his advantage.
“It is softer on the knees and is easier to run on,” Seymour said. “The old turf was really hard and it hurt the knees and legs.”
It also will provide an upgrade in looks, as the faded artificial turf surface gives way to a fresh paint job, including “Chippewas” painted in the endzone.
The Kelly/Shorts renovation was a controversial decision because it left the field hockey team without a place to play until CMU decided to build the team its own field.
Despite not getting started until late in the summer, the $650,000 venue is scheduled for a Sept. 13 completion, with the first home game Sept. 24 against Miami.
Having a field of its own will allow the field hockey team to be flexible with practice times, and it won’t have to share time with the football team.
“We are now able to build practice times around our players’ school schedules and it allows for further flexibility if we need it,” said coach Cristy Freese.
The new field also gives the field hockey team a true home field advantage, which is something they did not have in spacious Kelly/Shorts.
“When we would have 200 people at a game last season it felt like no one was there because the stadium was so big and you couldn’t hear any of the fans when they cheered,” Freese said. “Now it will feel like we have fans in attendance and when we have 200 people we will be able to hear them and it can play to our advantage.”
It is possible CMU will host the 2005 MAC Tournament on the new field. Central was scheduled to host last season’s tournament, but conceded to Kent State when the turf at Kelly/Shorts was deemed unplayable.
Theunissen Stadium was renovated to replace its drainage system after the old system built in 2002 was not up to par. The field did not drain properly because of poor compaction below the sod and the grass was not able to grow correctly.
Now that construction is complete, the team can begin its defense of its MAC Championship with practice beginning Aug. 30,
“The whole stadium looks great and with the new surface the ball will roll truer on the infield,” said baseball coach Steve Jaksa.
The money for this $345,000 project came from multiple sources including the original construction company, the architect and money from the deferred maintenance fund.
Because of a busy summer for CMU athletics, Seymour and a host of fellow CMU athletes will benefit from the facility upgrades.
“It’s got a little bounce to it, so its going to help me and the team out,” Seymour said.
