Evangel University is celebrating the start of phase one of its Momentum project, which will improve athletics facilities at the school.
Crews will break ground Wednesday afternoon on a new turf field and two practice football and soccer fields. They will be ready for football practice, as well as for men and women’s soccer practice and games by the end of the summer. There’s also plans to repair EU’s baseball and softball fields and finish paying for nearly seven acres of property that Evangel acquired from the Missouri National Guard in 2015.
Total cost for the projects is $2.9 million, $1.5 million of which has been pledged by donors so far. Contributions to date have led to the start of the turf project while fundraising for the rest of phase one continues.
“This is the start of an incredibly exciting time for our university,” said Dr. Michael Kolstad, vice president of university advancement, in a press release. “We’ve been transforming the buildings on campus for a number of years, and the time has come for our athletic facilities to take a big step forward.”
The new turf field will be known as Coryell Field, named for owners and developers Sam and Carol Coryell of TLC Properties in Springfield. The couple both taught music at Evangel, prior to the founding of TLC. The school says all three of the Coryell’s sons attended Evangel; and Daniel and David are both 2003 EU graduates.