NEW ORLEANS - A $13 million track and field stadium for the University of New Orleans is among the state-funded capital projects approved last month by the Louisiana Legislature and Governor John Bel Edwards.
The approval represents a significant stride toward Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Tim Duncan's strategic goals of strengthening the New Orleans connection and developing a championship culture upon his arrival in 2019.
"Although we still have some work to do to bring Privateer Track to life, the new facility will provide our teams with a phenomenal home base to train and compete," said Tim Duncan, vice president for athletics and recreation.
"As #NOLAsTeam, we will be proud to host events in conjunction with our neighbors at Ben Franklin High School, the new Hynes-UNO Charter School and others to continue to positively influence the Gentilly community and beyond."
The new facility will feature a nine-lane track, regulation sized soccer field, a fieldhouse, grandstands and a press box. It will occupy the space on campus at the corner of Leon C. Simon Blvd. and Elysian Fields Ave., next to the Human Performance Center.
The venue will give New Orleans track and field and cross-country student-athletes a place to train year-round, while providing opportunities to host meets, Southland and NCAA championships. In addition, the stadium will be used to potentially host Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) and metro New Orleans high school and New Orleans Recreation Development Commission meets.
"It is hard to overstate how much of a positive impact this facility will have on not just our program, but the entire New Orleans Track and Field community. Some of the best track and field athletes in the world call New Orleans home. This will finally allow them a place to showcase their talents close to home.?This facility will give us a first-class home for our student-athletes, while also offering another platform for our University to service its community," said University of New Orleans Interim Track and Field Head Coach Ben Hibbert.
This new facility will provide a huge lift to the New Orleans track & field program from not only a training and competition perspective, but also in recruiting allowing all of our running programs to continue their remarkable climb. Some highlights include:
"This will be an absolute game changer! To see what our program has accomplished over the past few years without these facilities, it gives me immense confidence that UNO is about to make the next big jump,"?said senior distance runner Kolyn Saltzman.
It is not just New Orleans Athletics that will benefit from the new facility. Residents of the local New Orleans community will also have access to the track.
As a priority five capital outlay project with no first-year funding for design and planning included in the 2023-24 state budget, it will be up to state lawmakers in future years to dedicate funding to the project in order for it to be built.
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