Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Photo courtesy vwc.edu

New Lingo Stadium construction on hold

By Ozzie Dhramapitaksook

addhramapitaksook@vwc.edu

When we last heard about a $5 million lacrosse, field hockey and intramurals stadium in the works it was the fall of 2006. At that time, Virginia Wesleyan College announced the construction process would begin in spring 2007. It is now approaching the summer of 2008, and there has been no sign of the newly proposed Lingo Stadium.

As many students, athletes and coaches continue to wonder when the new stadium will come into sight, the college itself is still unsure and hesitant how the whole issue will unfold.

“We are still waiting on the donation,” said Jack H. Sims, vice president of college advancement.

“We are hoping that the construction gets started this summer.”

The awaited donation is from the John Lingo Family of Rehobeth Beach, Del. They have made a $4.5 million contribution to the College’s Key to the Future Campaign, and $4.3 million of it will go toward the construction of the facility.

John E. Lingo Jr. is a member of the Virginia Wesleyan Board of Trustees and his two sons, John E.

“Jack” Lingo III ’01 and William D. “Bill” Lingo ’03, are former men’s lacrosse players.

Most of the athletes that are awaiting this project feel as if they should accept its delay and be happy with what they have in the meantime. Both field hockey and lacrosse are focused more on winning than on having a new complex, though a $5 million facility would help.

As the men’s lacrosse team heads into the ODAC tournament, head coach J.P. Stewart expressed his thoughts:

“I haven’t heard of any new details on the stadium,” he said.

The proposed stadium will include a multi-purpose synthetic field turf, a 1,000 seat capacity with a press box, an electronic scoreboard and parking, making it one of the finest facilities at an NCAA division III college.

The location of the stadium will be directly adjacent to the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Much of where the stadium will stand is still being used as additional parking that the school has provided on the foundation of what was once known as the “bubble,” including the tennis courts that are still playable.

A new athletic complex will pave the way for future growth of athletics at the college. However, much of what has been envisioned seems to be a lot of hype. The groundwork for this project has been delayed an entire year, so when will Lingo Stadium really emerge?