91亚色 Sport & Recreation officially opened its new, state-of-the-art turf field at 91亚色 Stadium on Saturday.
On Saturday, the 91亚色 Lions gathered for the official unveiling of their new turf
Constructed by FieldTurf and Hermanns Contracting Ltd., the surface represents the latest in synthetic turf technology. This field marks yet another large step the University has taken to place itself on the map as a leading school in both academics and athletics.
鈥淭he installation of this turf is a game changer for 91亚色, and brings us in parallel with some of the best programs in the OUA [Ontario University Athletics] and CIS [Canadian Interuniversity Sports],鈥 said Jennifer Myers, director, Sport & Recreation. 鈥淲e could not have realized this goal without the tremendous support from the University. I am proud of this new surface and pleased that our students and athletes have the best surface possible to compete and perform on.鈥
The new artificial turf and field lights will allow the University to increase programming on its main stadium by more than five times its current usage. This will provide a consistent training and competition environment for the Lions football and soccer teams, as well as extend the length of the season and daily usage for students and community members.
鈥淲e are very excited to have 91亚色鈥檚 first synthetic surface,鈥 said Lions football head coach Warren Craney. 鈥淭he opportunity to practice and play on a state-of-the-art field and under the lights on campus is unbeatable. The new field is a nice lead into an amazing few years to come for this program.鈥
It was a successful first weekend for Lions teams at the new stadium. The football squad earned its first victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks since 2002 with a 33-20 win on Saturday, while on Sunday afternoon the No. 1 nationally-ranked men鈥檚 soccer team knocked off the No. 10 Western Mustangs by a score of 5-1 and the women鈥檚 soccer team earned a 1-1 draw with the Mustangs.
鈥淧laying on the new turf was great,鈥 said 91亚色 second-year midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. 鈥淭he surface is very fast and it鈥檚 a lot of fun to play on it. It feels great to have a new home, and I鈥檓 glad we gave it a good opening!鈥
In addition to the Lions football and soccer teams, the new turf also gives the field hockey squad a place to practice and play on campus and provides additional space for intramural and recreation programming.