With the project officially beginning this week, the Wayne State College Athletics Department has expressed excitement towards the upcoming summer renovation of the Wildcat Track and Field.
The whole project is expected to last three to four months, with the official completion date set to be Aug. 3, just in time for the WSC football team to start up practice again in the fall.
According to Associate Athletic Director John Schwarte, the field is currently in its 13th year, and the track in its 24th. With decades of lifespan between the facilities, flashing squares in the game board and cracks in the surface of the track, it’s certainly time for an update.
“Getting a new surface on both will excite incoming student athletes but will also showcase our premier facilities Wayne State has to offer,” Schwarte said.
The track construction itself is only the first part of the summer plan. The renovation is set to have three parts: the track, the field and a new gameboard installation. These projects will be done in conjunction with each other over the course of the next few months.
Marlon Brink has been the WSC head track coach for the past 26 years, and in his time coaching in Wayne, he’s personally seen the state of the facilities both improve and begin to hit the end of their lifespan. He started just before the last time WSC fully redid the track and field facilities.
Brink said he’s excited to see the new track surface when it’s finished.
“They’re going to tear all of it out, get down to the subsurface and then build it back up from there,” Brink said. “They’ll have gold exchange zones and the gray track with white lines, so it’ll look really sharp.”
When the track is fully renovated, it’ll be quite apparent with a new color scheme set to be used as the surface.
“Long-term, it’s the best thing for the facilities that they’re getting replaced. It needed to be done at some point,” Brink said.
Brink’s thoughts about the facilities are shared by Athletic Director Mike Powicki.
“The track is something we’ve been wanting to do for the past three or four years,” Powicki said. “There’s always people out on that field, which I love. I love the fact that our stadium is open and people get to utilize the turf. They’re biking on it, they’re running on it, they’re walking on it, which is so awesome.”
Upon the completion of the new athletic facilities at the end of summer, the track and field will be better suited to serve not only students and athletes, but also the community.
