Members of “The Pride of West Virginia,” the Mountaineer Marching Band, will have a new place to practice at Mylan Park starting in 2024, part of a new partnership announced Friday (Oct. 20). (WVU Photo)
A planned partnership between West Virginia University and Mylan Park will provide a new home for “The Pride of West Virginia,” the Mountaineer Marching Band, starting in August 2024.
“As one of the most recognizable programs at WVU, the Mountaineer Marching Band has long deserved a space of its own,” said Keith Jackson, dean of the College of Creative Arts. “We are thrilled to be moving forward on this important project.”
The Pride Practice Facility is a necessary upgrade for the band, which for decades has practiced in a parking lot at the WVU Coliseum. The first phase of the facility, to be completed in time for 2024 band camp, will include a football-field-sized turf field and sound system.
The groundbreaking for the Pride Practice Facility will be held in early 2024, according to Jackson, and will officially kick off a partnership between the College of Creative Arts and Mylan Park.
“For several years, Mylan Park has planned to build an additional turf field,” said Susan Riddle, president and CEO of Visit Mountaineer Country CVB and a member of the Mylan Park Foundation Board of Directors. “We are pleased to announce another collaborative opportunity that will benefit our local community and serve to further support the greater Morgantown area as a tourism destination.”
When not in use by the Mountaineer Marching Band, the facility will be available for other community programming.
“With a focus on recruiting the next generation of band members, we can’t think of a better location and atmosphere than Mylan Park for the new Pride Practice Facility,” said WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias. “As a community hub, we hope to use this location as a way to further establish the Mountaineer Marching Band as a part of Morgantown community.”
The Pride Practice Facility will add to the University’s commitment to Mylan Park facilities which is already home to WVU swimming and diving, cross country, and track and field.
“We are thrilled to see this project come to fruition,” said Tom Bloom, Monongalia County commissioner. "It is this type of partnership and collaboration that makes our county and our relationship with WVU so special.”
Make a gift in support of the Pride Practice Facility.
Gifts to the Pride Practice Facility are made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.
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bmd/10/20/23
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