Westfeldt Dedication Set for Tonight
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March 21, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University will officially dedicate The George G. "Sunny" Westfeldt, Jr. Practice and Competition Facility this evening (Thursday) beginning at 6 p.m. in a ceremony involving Dr. Scott Cowen, University President, and Rick Dickson, Director of Athletics.
The event will be held at the newly-renovated facility, located behind the James W. Wilson Center on Ben Weiner Drive. Fans, students, student-athletes, supporters and members of the athletics staff, including Green Wave coaches, are expected to attend the event.
The Westfeldt Facility underwent a major transformation last summer, with work culminating recently with the installation of a new lighting system. The project included new fields and a track. The fields feature AstroPlay synthetic grass surfaces, which allow for year-round practice in all weather conditions. All told, the renovations totaled over two million dollars.
The Green Wave football team uses the full-size main field and the auxiliary field for all of its practice sessions, while the Tulane women's soccer team plays its home games and practices at the facility. The Tulane track teams also use the facility for practices and it will be the site of the 2002 Tulane Outdoor Track Invitational on Saturday, Apr. 6. In addition, all of the athletic programs benefit from the state-of-the-art six-lane track for training and conditioning purposes.
"We're extremely excited about the new field," soccer coach Betsy Anderson said. "It plays just like natural grass, but won't wear out with use or in the winter like grass. We can literally play all year long and in almost any weather condition."
"It's been a real treat for us to be able to practice all the time, even after a lot of rain," football coach Chris Scelfo said. "It is one of the best surfaces I've had the fortune to be on."
