Evolution of the Centenary Sports Facilities
Photo by Chana Williams
Over the last year, Centenary adapted its sports facilities to grow with its athletes and student population. I interviewed Centenary Director of Athletics and Recreation, David Orr, to understand the vision for these facilities within the next few years, along with getting student and faculty perspectives to see how these facilities have impacted their experience in athletics.
Over 400 students are athletes this year, and with our growing athletic population, Centenary wanted to create spaces that are inclusive for many different sports and their priorities. For decades, athletic staff members have been cultivating ideas for the building process. They began with the football team due to their substantial need for space, but it did not end there. They also created spaces for two of our women’s teams including soccer and softball. Orr says, “The rising tides lift all ships.” This can be seen in the renovations on the Atkins, formerly known as Mayo, field. The new upgrades include new grandstands, a digital scoreboard, a press box, and more space that makes it possible for different teams to practice simultaneously with enough space. Along with the renovations, efforts such as the new Centenary Pep Band, a student section, tailgating, and student organization-led pre-game contests are working to help build a lively community environment that makes the experience at games more enjoyable.
These renovations could not have been made possible without our many donors, who have raised around seven to ten million dollars for this project. The funds were used to turf the Atkins field, build the sports facilities for football, and women’s sports, and install more lighting around the field. In the coming years, more renovations are in motion such as upgrading the baseball/ softball field to be in NCAA standards, building a classroom for the football team to have meetings, and expanding the geographic space of these facilities to be multi-use for learning.
Bill LeClair, Head Coach of the Lacrosse team, said that the improvements to the lights have made it easier to proceed with games and practices because they used to have to use the lights from
the softball field which left areas of the field dark. The team is also excited, especially going into the spring to have their family, friends, and recruits watching them from the stands. The new graphic on the side of the Gold Dome is also making an impact on recruitment by showing the greatness Centenary students can achieve. Dylan Miller, a senior lacrosse player, is proud to see this change because “it feels like they are coming full circle.” Miller says, “It felt like there was nothing and now being in the stands he can see the impact of everything.” Miller also says he is excited to practice because he, “sees what was given and now he is eager to work for it and prove that [he] earned it.” Jinaki Robinson, Administrative Assistant for Athletics and Centenary's number one fan, is excited because it’s new and fresh. Saying, “New year new season I have faith in what they have offered and how it will help the players.”
