West Virginia University students from various club sports teams including rugby, field hockey, baseball, boxing and more helped usher in a new era of student recreation on Tuesday.
WVU and Mylan Park held a ribbon cutting ceremony for a lighted rugby field, two lighted softball fields and the J.W. Ruby Community Expo Center indoor facility, which will all be used by students and the community for recreational sports and activities.
“Today, the University took a huge step toward becoming a legitimate contender in the club sports arena,” said WVU Sports Club Federation President Jared Fabian. “The potential for these club sports facilities is limitless.”
In five months since the groundbreaking ceremony on the Evansdale campus, WVU’s plan for enhancing its recreational facilities in more than halfway completed.
“We listened to the students’ ideas, their needs and their dreams, and we’re making that a reality,” said WVU President James P. Clements. “This took a true team effort to get done. Many people came together to put this plan in place. Together, we came up with a really creative solution.”
Earlier this semester, the area near the Student Recreation Center and Evansdale Residential Complex was completed, which includes an artificial turf soccer field, a walking/jogging trail and five new and four resurfaced tennis courts. Another grass soccer field will be opened in the spring.
The recreational space updates will be completed by next fall. The final step will be updating four lighted flag football fields near the Health Sciences Center.
“It’s very gratifying for us to provide such facilities as these,” said President of the Mylan Park Foundation Craig Walker. “We’re very excited to have the opportunity to give you an area to compete that you can be proud of.”
For more information on WVU’s $27 million recreation and student plan: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2010/9/17/wvu-will-invest-27-million-in-student-recreation-wellness-plans.
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CONTACT: University Relations-News
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td/09/27/11
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