Construction continues at McDaniel College stadium

Fans planning on cheering for McDaniel College's Green Terror football team from the new grandstands may have to wait until mid-October to do so as construction on a new stadium continues.

The old grandstand and press box have been demolished to make way for a more up-to-date brick facility. The new facility will include upgraded and expanded seating, an enclosed press box, coaches' boxes, team rooms, concessions and public restrooms below.

The college anticipates that the main components of the project, including the new grandstand, will be completed for the first home football game against Muhlenberg College on Sept. 15, according to Cheryl Knauer, McDaniel's director of media relations. But, she said, it is likely that the stadium will not be fully functioning or have occupancy permits in place for the season home opener.

The college expects the $8 million project to be completed midway through the football season, according to Ethan Seidel, the school's vice president of administration and finance. As the new facility is completed and gets its permits, Seidel said fans will still be able to pull up their vehicles to the stadium's rim and watch the games.

The field will remain unaffected as the lights, scoreboard, play clocks and other features will be ready for the home opener, he said.

"[The construction] isn't going to keep the players from playing or keep the fans from coming," Seidel said. "But we may not have full access to the grandstand building itself until the middle of the season."

The college is already planning to provide temporary restroom facilities near the field, Knauer said. The new stadium road is nearing completion and will be open for students arriving back to campus in time for the fall semester, she said.

The new facility will be named the Kenneth R. Gill Stadium, after the trustee and stadium project chairman who contributed $2.25 million toward the building. Aside from the football team, the stadium will also be used by the men's and women's lacrosse teams and the women's field hockey team, Seidel said.

McDaniel is planning on dedicating the new stadium during the team's homecoming game against Susquehanna University on Nov. 3, Knauer said. The homecoming game is a good time to dedicate the new stadium because that's when the college will have the greatest number of alumni returning to McDaniel, she said.