Construction is underway on a 76,000-square-foot Indoor Turf Facility in the Brown Athletics complex. To be located directly behind the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center and the Nelson Fitness Center, the new facility will replace Meister-Kavan Field, addressing a critical infrastructure need for an all-season space for practice, training, and recreation.
“In the same way the University has made significant investments in our classroom technology, labs, libraries, and performance spaces for the arts, elevating resources for Brown athletic and recreation facilities has a huge impact on the Brown experience,” says M. Grace Calhoun ’92 Ph.D., the Chancellor Samuel M. Mencoff ’78 Vice President for Athletics and Recreation.
Calhoun cites the project as central to the Division’s strategic priorities, building upon the University’s efforts to update facilities for football, lacrosse, soccer, hockey, crew, and other sports that occurred during the first six years of the BrownTogether campaign.
“Outstanding facilities are essential to providing the programming our current students are requesting on a daily basis. Additionally, top facilities help recruit the best student-athletes and provide our dedicated coaches with the space they need to lead their teams and compete for championships,” Calhoun says. “We have approximately 1,000 varsity athletes as well as 1,500 club sport participants and more than 2,500 students involved in intramurals. This new facility will benefit all of those communities.”
Competing year-round
Beating the heat of late summer and contending with New England’s extreme winter weather has been an age-old challenge faced by Brown student-athletes and coaches. The new Indoor Turf Facility will provide a controlled environment, from early morning to late evening, for year-round practice and training.
