Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: Campus

By Libby Nelson
The Daily Northwestern

A new lacrosse and soccer field will be built on Northwestern's Lakefill next year so the existing field can be paved over for a new parking lot.

The field will have artificial turf and lights for night games, giving teams greater scheduling flexibility, NU spokesman Al Cubbage said.

A 410-space parking lot will replace the current lacrosse and soccer field.

The new field will be east of the Frances Searle building on Lake Michigan - the northern half of the area used for Dillo Day.

"It was really an issue of parking driving it," Cubbage said of the new plan. "Obviously if you're going to go into where the soccer fields are, you need a replacement as well."

A price has not been settled for the project, which the Board of Trustees approved Monday, but Vice President of Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine estimated the cost as several million dollars.

The new field will have gates that can be opened for Dillo Day so the day's activities can take place, Sunshine said, adding that the new turf might even make the event easier.

"The beauty of this thing is that it drains so well that you can do all kinds of events out there even in inclement weather or shortly after inclement weather stops," Sunshine said.

Construction will begin right after lacrosse season ends in spring 2007 and should be finished by the fall, Cubbage said. He added that there is no contingency plan if the construction runs over deadline.

Athletic Director Mark Murphy said that the department has needed the new fields for some time, but agreed that the parking lot changes drove the university's decision.

"This is something we've had a need for, and it really just worked out that it made sense for both of us to do it this way," Murphy said.

The current lacrosse and soccer field has natural grass.

Artificial turf can support more wear and tear, opening its use up to club and intramural teams as well, Murphy said.

Continued...

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