March 24, 2005

TCNJ HOLD GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY
FOR NEW SPORTS COMPLEXES

LION SOCCER AND SOFTBALL TEAMS TO RECEIVE NEW HOME FIELDS

The College of New Jersey held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 23 to officially commence the construction of the College’s new sports complex and an Alumni Grove. The ceremony took place on campus adjacent to parking lot 8, the future home of the planned projects.

“It is always exciting to initiate the construction of a new facility,” said TCNJ athletic director Kevin McHugh. “I am particularly happy for our softball players and the program’s coaches as well as their supporters, who have been patiently waiting for a couple of seasons for the replacement of their old field. It is also reassuring to know that we will have an improved playing surface for our soccer teams and should now finally be able to host NCAA Soccer events in the future. This new complex promises to add yet another dimension to the athletic infrastructure of the College and will positively impact all of our sport programs as well as the campus community in general.”

The new complex will include a softball field with grandstand spectator seating, dugouts, and a pressbox, while the soccer field will feature a new generation infill type synthetic surface and will also have grandstand spectator seating, a scoreboard, and a pressbox. A separate concession stand will be built between the two fields to serve both venues. The goal is to have the soccer complex ready for play at some point during the 2005-2006 academic year. The softball complex is expected to be ready for the 2006 season.

Since the 1984 season, TCNJ’s men’s soccer team has played in Lions’ Stadium, while women’s soccer, which was introduced as a varsity sport in the fall of 1990, has also called the facility its home. Since debuting in Lions’ Stadium, the men’s soccer team has compiled a record of 130-39-18, while TCNJ’s women’s team has produced a record of 106-3-8 in the facility. TCNJ’s softball team, a six-time NCAA Division III Champion, will also call the new facility home, replacing Lions’ Park.

The facilities will be NCAA compliant and able to host conference and NCAA championships, as well as a number of other special events that have taken place on the Ewing campus, such as the New Jersey Special Olympics and New Jersey State Scholastic Championship events in soccer and field hockey.