Providence, R.I.--Just prior to the holiday break, RIC President Frank Sanchez met a number of student-athletes and administrators at the current home of Alumni Stadium. 
 
With a broad smile, Sanchez engaged the student-athletes in attendance with the words, "This is a great day for student-athletes, students and our athletic program." Passing out gold shovels to everyone in attendance, he proudly gave the directive to everyone, "This is great. Let's make this happen." The group proceeded to scoop out symbolic full shovels of dirt, designating the beginning of two new initiatives that are viewed as milestone projects and long overdue for the intercollegiate athletic program.
 
Director of Athletics Don Tencher noted how appreciative he was for President Sanchez's leadership, with not only this project, but with all the college is going through during the pandemic. He also wanted to thank Budget Director Rob Eaton, Vice President of Administration and Finance Stephen Nedder, Vice President of Advancement Kim Dumpson and Interim Assistant Vice President Kevin Fitta for their respective support in seeing this long-time project come to fruition. 
 
"These two projects are milestone projects that will support the college's recruitment effort of students and student-athletes, as well as being a source of great pride for our alumni and our campus community," Tencher stated. "These initiatives have been a long time coming and will not only provide us with first-class venues for our current teams, but will also give us the flexibility to add additional sports in the future."
 
The first project will be the installation of artificial turf at Alumni Stadium, the home to men's and women's soccer and women's lacrosse teams.  Additionally, with third-party funding, the facility will be enhanced with new fencing, walkways and a new video board. The finished stadium will be able to accommodate over 3,500 spectators. 
 
The second project in this initiative will be to construct a new outdoor track and field complex at the college's current practice facility, which is located adjacent to the college's throwing facility. Through additional fundraising efforts, this facility will eventually include seating for 1,000, lighting and a building complete with restrooms, concessions and a press box.
 
With the completion of ground-breaking, the college is currently engaged in the design phase of the project. The expectation is to complete construction in 2022.