Phase II dedication part of Clarion Classic
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
DATE: Wed., Sept. 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
University Stadium
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State will dedicate the latest addition to its athletic complex with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday during the Clarion Hotel Soccer Classic at University Stadium.
The Phase II dedication will be held at approximately 7 p.m. Friday on the stadium’s grass field. The event will include comments from Dr. Dennis Hefner, the university president, and Director of Athletics Greg Prechtl.
In addition, there will be a moment of silence to honor the victims of 9/11. The Dunkirk High School Junior ROTC color guard will present the colors, while a select group of 12 Fredonia State vocal majors – under the direction of School of Music voice department chairman Gerald Gray – will perform the national anthem prior to the start of the men’s soccer game between Fredonia State and St. Joseph’s College.
Members of the Fredonia State College Council, the College Foundation board of directors, college administrators, Student Association president Anthony Faraco and vice president Nicole Matteson, men’s and women’s soccer teams and varsity cheerleaders, and sunyac Patrick Damore – the SUNYAC commissioner and first head coach in Fredonia State soccer history – will participate in the ceremony.
“I’m very excited,” Dr. Hefner said, “about the upcoming dedication of Phase II. The addition of team rooms, a concession stand, and a press box make University Stadium the type of full-service facility our teams and fans deserve.”
Prechtl said the Phase II addition to University Stadium “signifies another step in Fredonia’s securing some of the finest athletic facilities in New York State. I am pleased for our athletic teams and coaches and the fans that follow them.”
Phase II of the stadium project began last fall and was completed this summer. It consists of the Gateway building, which includes of a state-of-the-art press box, team rooms, restrooms, a concession stand, a ticket booth, an outer façade wall, and a circular drive entranceway to the stadium’s main gate.
The additions to University Stadium – officially opened and dedicated in Sept. 2007 – result in one of the finest college multi-use facilities in NCAA Division III. The grass field is used primarily for soccer, while the synthetic-grass field is home to Fredonia State’s women’s lacrosse team. The two fields have combined seating for approximately 2,000.
Both fields are lighted, which has made night games and practices possible. The department of Fredonia State Sport Management and Exercise Science also uses the synthetic-grass field for intramural sports.
Area state lawmakers Catharine M. Young, William Parment, and Joseph Giglio were instrumental in securing funding to help bring the project to fruition. Total cost of the entire project was $5.3 million.