Despite the current state of campus, a vision of the future was painted on Thurs. Oct. 9 at the Athletics Groundbreaking ceremony.

Many were in attendance, including President Stephen J. Friedman, William J. McGrath (Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for Westchester), and Director of Athletics Mark Brown, who gathered amongst their peers, students, and alumni to celebrate a historical day.

According to President Friedman the new athletic facilities embody the very essence of Pace, which is the motto “Opportunitas.”
The construction of new facilities shows the “commitment to Pace Athletics and the goals for the program,” as noted by Friedman.

That goal, according to Friedman, is to have prospective students come to Pace with a competitive mindset for conference championships.

Pace has begun to reap the benefits of these new facilities with the recruitment of 190 athletes this past year.

“Imagine what could be done when there is an actual field and building,” Friedman said.

There is also the addition of women’s lacrosse and women’s field hockey teams, providing more opportunities for female sports.

Women’s lacrosse has brought in 20 new freshmen to Pace, including Najma Jones, a criminal justice major who spoke during the ceremony.

She noted that the opportunity to play lacrosse at Pace while also being a part of history is what ultimately drew her to the Setters.

The new facilities bring many benefits for student athletes including a new field house with locker rooms for the teams, a strength center, and a new training room. The multi-purpose field will include lights, seating for 1,000 fans, and an enclosed press box.

Peter X. Finnerty Field will feature new dugouts as well as lights and an artificial turf surface, while the new softball field will include a natural grass surface.

Completion of the baseball and multi-purpose fields are scheduled for the end of this year, while the new field house and softball field completion is scheduled for the fall of 2015.