Alfred University’s Saxon Hill Sports Complex remains on track for completion in December 2025

College principals Mark Zupan and Deb Steward hop on the bulldozer!!

From Alfred University,

“We are still on track to finish as planned. We have worked hard on all aspects of this project to stay on track,” Deb Steward, associate vice president for Student Experience, Athletics and Recreation, said Thursday morning at the 200-acre site located about three miles south of campus.

LeChase Construction of Rochester is serving as construction project manager, while Olean, NY-based architectural firm Clark, Patterson & Lee (CPL) provided design services. Workers from LG Evans Construction of Avon, N.Y., the site construction subcontractor, have begun moving earth and removing trees to make way for roads and utilities and, ultimately, the installation of athletic fields, an outdoor running track and several supporting buildings.

“We have a really great team consisting of CPL, LeChase and Alfred University. “We are very excited to see this project come to fruition,” added Steward, who along with Alfred University President Mark Zupan took turns manning a bulldozer moving dirt near the new baseball field.

Last fall, Alfred University’s Board of Trustees gave its approval for construction of the Saxon Hill Sports Complex, a project designed to significantly improve the university’s student recruitment and retention efforts. Once completed, it will have allowed for the addition of four new varsity athletics teams: baseball, men’s and women’s rugby, and field hockey. The baseball team began competing last spring and will play at its home field in Saxon Hill in the spring of 2026. Women’s rugby began as an intercollegiate sport in the fall. Men’s rugby, formerly housed in student clubs, is now an official inter-university sports team. Field hockey competition will begin in fall 2025. The complex will also have a positive impact on the men’s and women’s track and field teams as the facility will serve as a home training and competition facility.

1. Additionally, Saxon Hill will provide valuable practice space for existing teams – soccer, men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse – that currently practice and compete at Yunevich Stadium on the AU campus. An existing cross-country ski track, which was primarily used for training but also hosted competitions, will be retained and used for practice and competitions.

Once completed, the complex will include:

• Saxon sports center: changing rooms; sports training room; offices; Gathering room where alumni, parents/families can gather for tailgate events; Officials’ locker room; Media room.
• Baseball field: illuminated artificial turf field with scoreboard; Bullpens and dugouts. A two-story building will house restrooms, a concession stand, a team room, public address and gaming operations rooms.
• Athletics facility/multi-purpose turf field: illuminated 400-meter track with eight lanes and jumping and throwing areas; Video scoreboard. The track’s infield will be a multi-purpose synthetic turf field that will serve as a home for the future intercollegiate field hockey team and as a practice and competition site for other outdoor field sports teams.
• Rugby field: illuminated natural grass pitch with scoreboard. The women’s and men’s teams began playing as intercollegiate teams in the fall.
• Grandstands and press box: One group of stands faces the athletics and multi-purpose area, the other faces the rugby field. A double-sided press box will be equipped for each venue with public address and match operations booths as well as spectator toilets and team rooms for visitors.

Subcontractors were selected to install the turf on the fields (Chenango Contracting of Johnson City, NY); the outdoor track surface (Detroit-based Crafco Inc.); lighting (Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, IA); and scoreboards/sound (Toth’s Sports of Victor, NY). Bids for construction of the Saxon Hill Sports Center, press boxes and grandstand are being prepared for release in the coming months, with construction expected to begin next spring.

Site development – ​​utilities, parking, roads – is expected to be completed by November 2025. The baseball field will be completed by October 2025, while the athletics and multi-purpose field, throwing area and rugby field will be completed by October 2025 and December 2025. Construction of the various buildings will begin in March and is expected to be completed in December 2025.

The $30 million project will be funded through a combination of bonds and philanthropic donations; To date, more than $10 million has been raised through philanthropy.

The project is expected to be a boon for student-athlete recruiting and student retention. The university estimates that the number of students enrolled will increase by about 170 in the first six years after opening. Saxon Hill will complement nearby existing athletic, recreational and academic facilities at Jericho Hill. These include the Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian Center at Maris Cuneo Equine Park, home of Alfred University’s premier equestrian program, and Foster Lake, which offers numerous recreational and extracurricular opportunities to the campus community.