Kane County Reporter

Aurora University said recently that it plans to enhance its athletics program with a brand-new athletics complex, to be called Spartan Athletic Park.

The university purchased a 45-acre site that is less than one mile from the main campus. The complex built there eventually will house "championship quality" venues for softball, baseball, soccer, and track and field. Construction on the softball stadium, estimated to cost $1.7 million, already is underway. Building it will require moving more than 11,000 cubic yards of earth, and the installation of about 40,000 square feet of premium synthetic field turf for the outfield, batting cages and infield. There will be seating behind the plate for 300 fans, as well as natural-grass areas along the first- and third-base lines for overflow seating. A high-quality wireless digital scoreboard will be installed in the outfield, and the stadium will have a two-story press box equipped for live broadcasts, a public-address system, equipment storage and restrooms.

The new stadium could be seen as a reward for what has been a very successful young program. Aurora softball has won 10 conference championships in its 12 seasons, making the NCAA Division 3 tournament seven times and twice reaching the Sweet 16. The team has an overall record of 442-123-2 in those 12 seasons.

The new facilities are part of the university's effort to provide all of its teams with a better home-field advantage, an effort that has included renovating existing conditioning, training, practice and competition facilities on campus.