Ceremonial bulldozers and campus community mark the start of site work for the new fieldhouse west of Wolf Pack Park.
West of Wolf Pack Park (university campus), August 21, 2025
Final financing closed and a groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of site work for a new 72,000‑square‑foot fieldhouse west of Wolf Pack Park. Ceremonial bulldozers, students, athletes and campus leaders attended as organizers said fences will be installed and dirt‑moving will begin shortly. The facility is a pre‑engineered metal building with roughly 70‑yard indoor turf plus end zones, rolling garage doors for indoor‑outdoor use, and 70‑foot apex/60‑foot clear height. Funded through a public‑private partnership and a per‑credit student fee, the fieldhouse will serve all varsity programs, intramurals and student life with a flexible layout and fast construction timeline.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday afternoon after project financing formally closed early that morning. With the final financing approved at 7 a.m., organizers said the project cleared the last major hurdle to begin work. Fences will be put up at the site this coming Monday, and dirt-moving is scheduled to start next week.
The event featured two large bulldozers used only for the ceremony and drew students, athletes, alumni and faculty. Several football players attended, and local mascots were present at the site for photos. Project leaders described the moment as the formal start of the work sequence that will transform a roughly 200‑space parking lot immediately west of the current practice area into an indoor practice facility.
The first major activity will be removal of the parking lot blacktop and substantial earthwork to raise the site footprint. The parking area currently sits several feet below the base of the adjacent practice area, so fill and compaction will bring the new grade level with the existing turf. Project managers said the team expects a long run of dirt work before the building arrives.
The building is a factory‑made, pre‑engineered metal structure. Steel will be delivered and assembled on site much like an erector set, and once the steel arrives the structure should begin to take shape in a matter of weeks. The factory fabrication schedule will determine the exact date when the main framing can be raised; that date is not fixed yet. Project staff estimated the raising of the structure could occur around March, but stressed that is dependent on the delivery window for the metal building.
The work was described as unusually fast for this type of project. After the steel erection starts, the developer expects the covered building phase to move quickly, with the plan to complete the facility by summer 2026. That completion timeline aligns with the funding step taken earlier, when a per‑credit student fee was approved to finance the majority of the costs. The developer emphasized the overall project will take less time than typical large buildings because of the pre‑engineered approach.
Because the site sits next to the current practice area, football and soccer routines will be affected. Fences that will change access to practice spaces are scheduled to go up on Sept. 2, which will prompt a rework of practice plans for the fall. The football team expects a tighter schedule inside the main stadium turf this fall, and campus recreation leaders are coordinating use of alternative turf fields and stadium time for intramurals and other groups.
The finished fieldhouse is planned to serve all seventeen university sports programs and also open for student life uses, including intramurals and marching band practice. The interior layout is being designed as a flexible space with turf, sport‑specific amenities, netting and a lobby, aiming to adapt as program needs evolve.
The fence between the parking spaces and the adjacent practice area will be removed as part of construction once work progresses. Rolling garage doors will allow the facility to operate as a connected indoor and outdoor practice zone. The team hopes to have the facility available for use by the start of next season’s fall camp in late July if the schedule holds.
The project uses a public‑private partnership model in which a private developer assumes most of the initial costs and leases the facility back to the institution. The majority of the project will be funded by a student fee approved by the governing board. Project leaders noted this arrangement lets construction move forward without traditional bond measures while sharing risks between the public and private partners.
Site work begins next week after fences are erected on Monday. Major earthwork will follow immediately.
Fences that will impact football and soccer access are scheduled to be placed on Sept. 2, and practice plans will be adjusted accordingly.
The building will be about 72,000 square feet with an indoor turf roughly 70 yards long plus end zones. It will have rolling garage doors for indoor‑outdoor use and a flexible interior for multiple sports and student activities.
The target completion is summer 2026, roughly 18 months after the student fee was approved to fund most of the project.
The project is funded through a public‑private partnership and a per‑credit student fee that was approved to cover the majority of costs.
Teams will use existing indoor turf and stadium fields, coordinate with campus recreation for alternate times, and expect a packed practice schedule until the new facility is ready.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Parking lot west of the current practice area |
| Building size | 72,000 square feet |
| Field length | About 70 yards plus end zones |
| Building type | Pre‑engineered metal building, assembled on site |
| Height | 70 feet at apex; 60 feet clear |
| Start of site work | Fencing Monday; dirt work begins next week |
| Fence impact date | Sept. 2 (access changes affecting football and soccer) |
| Expected completion | Summer 2026 |
| Funding model | Public‑private partnership plus a per‑credit student fee |
| Primary users | All 17 varsity sports, intramurals, marching band, student life |
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