McDaniel College has announced a planned $1.7 million renovation for its outdoor track and field facility at Kenneth R. Gill Stadium in Westminster.

The donor-funded renovation was announced Saturday before the college’s Homecoming football game against Ursinus College. Construction of a resurfaced track, redone jumping areas and new fencing is expected to begin in May and conclude by August, said McDaniel Director of Athletics Jeremy Shepherd.

The condition of McDaniel’s track has rendered the school unable to host a meet since 2018, and Shepherd said the project is expected to help the school recruit athletes, once complete.

The stadium could also be used to host larger high school track meets or other events for the community.

“Lots of track meets are big,” Shepherd said, “so if we have multiple teams here, lots of people will be coming into town for the track meets and the events that we have there. That would be a really great thing, not only our student athletes, but Carroll County in general and the Westminster community.”

The stadium track was installed in 1980 and has not been resurfaced since 1995, Shepherd said. The track’s new surface will be green with gold exchange zones.

Kenneth R. Gill Stadium began as a turf field inside the eight-lane track in 2004, with lights added in 2010. The 1,434-seat grandstand and stadium were erected in 2012 and were dedicated at the college’s Homecoming game on Nov. 3 of that year, according to McDaniel’s website.

Renovations to school athletic facilities will be in honor of Dick Clower, a 1950 alumnus who served as the college’s director of athletics and professor of exercise science and physical education, now kinesiology.

A jumping area of the track project will be named for the late Sam Case, who was a coach, professor, provost, and dean of faculty at the school. Case graduated from McDaniel with a bachelor’s degree in 1963 and with a Master of Education in 1966, according to the school.

Clower was joined by Susan Case, the widow of Sam Case and a 1965 McDaniel alumna, at Saturday’s game to be honorary captains during the coin toss.

The dedication and role in the Homecoming game came as a result of multiple individuals making donations in honor of Clower and Casem as people who made an impact on their time at the McDaniel, Shepherd said.

“It shows that we have tremendous support for athletics at McDaniel,” Shepherd said. “Every time that there is a need in athletics, small or large, our donors have been very generous and willing to support projects, not only in athletics, but all across campus.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the way that the new track looks when it’s all done,” Shepherd said. “Aesthetically, it’s going to be great. It’s going to really enhance the way that the stadium appears. It’s going to enhance the experience for our students when they’re practicing and it’s going to be a great visual when we’re hosting competitions there for the first time in a long time.”

McDaniel College, founded in 1867, represents a community of 1,800 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students. According to the college, McDaniel offers more than 70 undergraduate programs of study and over 20 graduate programs.

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