NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After a whirlwind five months of construction, Merrimack College officially opened its newest athletics facility, Merrimack Stadium – the centerpiece of the Outdoor Athletic District project which began last June – with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday (Oct. 13) evening on campus.
Merrimack College President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., presided over the ceremony and delivered opening remarks before all in attendance had the opportunity to explore the new facility and participate in different sport-related events throughout the venue. The historic evening culminated with a fireworks display.
The football program will play in the inaugural game at Merrimack Stadium against Pace University on Saturday afternoon. Tickets can be purchased
here with a special pregame ceremony to commemorate the opening of Merrimack Stadium preceding the 1 p.m. kickoff.
Merrimack Stadium is the College's first new athletic facility in over a decade since the opening of Martone-Mejail Field. It features a multipurpose field turf surface and eight-lane track that will become the new home to the Merrimack College field hockey, football, women's lacrosse, men's lacrosse and women's and men's track & field programs.
The new stadium capacity of over 3,500 patrons includes a mixture of chairback and bleacher-style seating on the press box side of the facility, in addition to a patio area that overlooks the field from the opposite side that provides additional seating and amenities.
Affixed atop the stadium is a press box, as well as luxury suites and coaches' suites. The complex includes a new sound system, as well as a state-of-the-art scoreboard. The facility also features an eight-lane, 400-meter track surrounding the field, with all field events being incorporated within the facility as well. Finally, the facility features an LED lighting system that allows teams to host games and practices throughout the day.
The completion of this project not only enhances the varsity sport student-athlete experience; the redevelopment of over 350,000 total square feet of land directlys benefit club sport, intramural sport, recreational and community use, as well. Merrimack's student body size has risen by over 1,000 students over the past decade, and the possibility to host Commencement at the new stadium will now be an option to enhance the quality of one of the College's most memorable annual events.
The Outdoor Athletic District is another major component of the College's historic capital Campaign,
Together for Good, which has raised more than $38 million to date. To learn more about
Competing for Good and other Campaign initiatives, visit
www.merrimack.edu/togetherforgood.
About Merrimack College
The only Catholic Augustinian college in New England, Merrimack College is an independent, coeducational institution with more than 4,000 undergraduate, continuing education and graduate students from 34 states and 36 countries, comprising schools of liberal arts, science and engineering, health sciences, education and social policy, and business. The college's 220-acre campus is situated approximately 25 miles north of Boston in North Andover and Andover, Massachusetts. Merrimack is a Master's Colleges & Universities/Medium Programs institution in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
