Racers’ Busy Summer Includes Several Facility Upgrades

Important facility upgrades are happening this summer for a number of athletic facilities at Murray State.

“It’s always important to see facilities being upgraded for our program,” said MSU Director of Athletics Allen Ward. “It’s a critical part of keeping this program at a championship level.”

In the works for several years, the Stewart Stadium lighting project is underway. The new LED lighting from Musco will bring the stadium up to NCAA standards and provide significant energy and annual maintenance savings for the university.

“I’m glad we were able to generate the resources necessary to see this project through,” Ward said. “With today’s technology, it was becoming more and more wasteful to operate the lights.  The new lighting will not only improve our television and digital productions, but significantly reduce energy costs while eliminating costly annual maintenance for the university.”

Also coming to Stewart Stadium this fall is a new video board and instant replay.  The current scoreboard will be replaced with a new LSI 16mm video board measuring 18’9″ high and 33’6″ wide.

“We’ve been working methodically to raise enough funds to install a video board at Stewart Stadium,” Ward said. “And now that instant replay is being introduced this year in Ohio Valley Conference play, the timing is perfect. This will really add to the fan experience at Racer Football and provide a new revenue source for the program.”

Other projects that Racer fans will notice this fall include a new track surface, cleaner stadium walls and surfaces, a new stadium PA system, and facility branding.

“The track looks outstanding, Beynon did a great job and the track really needed attention considering how many folks use the facility,” Ward said. “And the stadium walls and surfaces are getting a good scrub down this summer.  I can’t wait to see the stadium without all of the black grime built up over the years.  And to top it all off, several facilities, including Stewart Stadium, are being enhanced by some key strategic branding initiatives.”

Across campus, new team dugouts are the latest upgrade for Cutchin Field, home of the back-to-back OVC soccer champions. 

“Cutchin Field is one of the most unique places to watch women’s college soccer and this program is positioned for long-term success under Coach Jeremy Groves,” Ward said. “These enhancements will build upon our recruiting accomplishments and continue to demonstrate our commitment to Murray State women’s soccer.”

And finally, the RFP process is underway to replace the 1998 original center hung scoreboard at the CFSB Center with a new state-of-the-art video board. 

“A new center hung 6mm video board will be in place for basketball season,” Ward added. “It will be a showpiece for an already outstanding arena, while the current corner video boards will be used for continual display of hustle stats.  Furthermore, DVSPort will also be introduced for instant replay this season thanks to an important OVC initiative.  It’s going to be an exciting season of Racer Basketball at the CFSB Center.”

Other improvements include new landscaping around Stewart Stadium and the new Reagan Field press box, thanks to the generosity of MSU alum Mr. Rob Stanfa of Rolling Hills Nursery.  The Racer Room, used for many special events throughout the year, is receiving a facelift and all three courts (CFSB, Bill Morgan Floor, and Volleyball) are being resurfaced and restored. And the Feasibility Study already underway for a new Athletics Center is progressing on schedule.

All-in-all, approximately $1.9M in improvements will be realized this summer.

*Courtesy of GoRacers.com