Vice President for Business and Chief Financial Officer Paul Pusecker gave the St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Board of Trustees an update on the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium project at the regularly scheduled meeting on Saturday, Feb. 1.
According to Pusecker, unusually wet weather for the region resulted in muddy conditions which hampered site work and the preparation of the foundation for the building. The project now has a completion date set for June 4, 2019, in time for the fall 2019 season. Plans are in progress for a dedication celebration honoring Jamie L. Roberts and her family on September 7, 2019.
Jamie L. Roberts, a St. Mary’s College class of 2011 economics major and three-sport star athlete, was tragically killed in June 2014 while riding her bicycle across the country in the 4K for Cancer event, which raised money for the Ulman Cancer Fund to support young adults impacted by cancer.
Once completed, the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium will consist of a grass athletic field, an artificial turf field surrounded by a running track, stands for 800 spectators per field, and a two-story stadium building which will contain team rooms, a training room, press boxes, concession stand, hospitality room, VIP box seats, and restrooms for spectators. A spectator concourse is featured on the second floor of the stadium. Budget for the project is set at $12.8 million.
Construction for the Phase I of the project, consisting of the stadium’s turf field was completed in August 2018, and has been in use by St. Mary’s College athletics for practices and games.
The Jamie L. Roberts family donated $2.2 million to the College, with a portion of their total donation enabling the College to complete its $2.5 million capital campaign. The completion of the campaign allowed the College to utilize more than $75 million in State of Maryland funding. The Jamie L. Roberts family gift is the single largest gift in the history of the College. The capital campaign will also support the completion of a new 52,289-square-foot academic building to house the College’s music department, a 700-seat auditorium, educational studies department, which includes the Master of Arts in Teaching program, and a multi-discipline learning commons area. Completion for this portion of the project is planned for 2022.
