Megan Reed, Campus Carrier Editor-in-Chief
Berry’s new athletic stadium, named Valhalla, has been relocated out of respect for the college’s resident bald eagles.
The stadium will now be located in a pasture on Maple Drive near the service entrance to campus, behind the Laughlin and Jones buildings. Its original location, closer to the Cage Athletic Center, was near a bald eagle nest. The nest was built in 2012 and is home to a bald eagle couple and three eaglets.
Berry’s football, lacrosse and track and field programs will utilize the new stadium for games and practices. Construction is set to begin in October and and is estimated to be completed by mid-summer next year, in time for the 2015 football season.
Only minor changes have been made to the design because of the location change.
“Now that we’ve pushed the stadium further south towards the site we’ve chosen, you will actually enter the stadium from the side,” Scott Breithaupt, assistant vice president for campaign and leadership giving, said. “You’ll no longer walk up to the back of the bleachers … because you’re entering from the side, the college created a little plaza there in the entranceway that has restrooms and concession stands.”
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| Drawings contributed by Life Ready Concept art shows detailed projected designs of the Valhalla stadium entrance (top) and the stadium itself (bottom). |
Vice president for finance Brian Erb said Maple Drive will be widened about a foot on each side in order to accommodate the stadium.
Anyone attending events at the stadium will be able to use the nearby Cage parking lot.
$5.8 million has been raised out of the $6.5 million, with the college’s Life Ready campaign aiming to fund the project. While the college usually waits until all funds are raised before beginning construction, Breithaupt said construction will begin soon in order to have the facility ready for athletic teams and campus events.
“One of the reasons we decided to go ahead and start the project without having all of the funds was trying to get the place built for the students,” Breithaupt said.
Head football coach Tony Kunczewski said having an on-campus stadium will be a “point of pride” for the team.
“They’ll finally feel like they have an actual home field and the sense of pride and ownership that it’s on campus,” he said.
The stadium will also boost school spirit and encourage attendance at athletic events, Kunczewski said.
“When I got hired here, one of the main reasons why they said that they wanted to bring football in was to further enhance the campus vibrancy,” he said. “Certainly having an on-campus stadium will help.”
Athletic director Tom Hart agreed that the new stadium will improve the environment on campus.
“Having a spot that’s going to be able to provide for football, men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s track and field is important for the overall growth of the [athletics] department,” Hart said. “Having a facility that’s new and exciting is going to be able to enhance recruitment and provide a good place to compete for all the student-athletes.”
The Vikings’ home football games will be played at Barron Stadium near downtown Rome this fall, with the first home game of the season on Sept. 27 against Rhodes College.