New Era Coming for Alfred State Athletes

A new era of Alfred State College athletics will begin this fall as the Pioneers will have a brand new on-campus facility that will be the new home for football, soccer, lacrosse, and track & field. Work started on the complex a few weeks back but the grounds were officially broken in a ceremony held on Friday.

The 3.3 million dollar facility will feature field turf, an eight lane track, and lights. Bleachers, a press box, and a scoreboard donated by the ASC Alumni Association are also included in the project.

Athletics Director Kathy Feldman said the facility has been in the works for a long time. "It was five years ago when I first approached Vice President Dan Neverett about this facility. This is a huge improvement for the college. In the past seven years athletics has enjoyed a tremendous growth in its facilities. Since August of 1999 there have been $5,775,000 spent in facility improvement. This facility will grow and hopefully soon it will include locker rooms."

President John Clark echoed Feldman's comments. "This new sports complex certainly demonstrates our commitment to providing the best facilities for our wonderful coaches and great student-athletes as they strive and attain for athletic excellence."

Football player Jermell Corbitt (Naples, FL) and soccer/softball player Jody Ninos (Alfred Almond) are excited about being in the first class of athletes to get to play on the new facility.

"This new facility will provide a chance for the football program to play their first home game on campus since football started in 1995. Playing on campus will make it feel more like college football and create a home-field advantage for us."

Ninos added, "This facility will be one of the top places to play in our region. The turf field will allow us to play in any weather condition. It will be fun to play under the lights and have more people on campus come see our games."

"Our athletes will be able to play on a world class athletic surface and the new field will obviously enhance the quality of athletic experiences on and off the field", commented Vice President of Student Affairs Steve Tyrell. "This field will be a new showcase of campus."

Update: The athletic complex will be completed sometime in September.  The men's and women's soccer teams will play games at the facility when it is finished but the football team will play its games at Hornell High School during the 2006 season.  The football team will make it debut on the new facility in 2007.