USD breaks ground on new track facility
· Yahoo Sports
VERMILLION, S.D. (KELO) - USD Athletics broke ground Friday on a new track and field facility in Vermillion called the Gassen Family Fieldhouse.
"This facility, this indoor fieldhouse, is going to allow those student athletes not only to be attracted to come here to Vermillion, but it's going to allow them to train at a level that wouldn't otherwise go to compete against some of the best competition in the entire country," President and CEO of Sanford Health Bill Gassen said.
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Stephanie Herseth Sandlin reflects upon father’s legacyPrevious practices took place in the Dakota Dome.
Now, the USD Track and Field, Cross Country, and Triathlon teams will have a new facility to call home.
"It's a new 100,000 square foot facility that'll take over 100 student athletes, staff and coaches moving in a full time. But it also allows us to turn Dakota Dome into a turf down facility year round. And and the impact that will have not only on our football program and soccer programs, the softball programs and others, but the Vermillion community," USD Athletic Director Jon Schemmel said.
The facility is named in honor of Bill and Jill Gassen, who both attended USD and were part of the Track and Field team.
"To have a small part in investing in them and being able to contribute to their future is not just student athletes, but as the great leaders here in the state of South Dakota, individuals who would go on to shape public policy, they'll be the community leaders," Gassen said.
Through building the Gassen Family Fieldhouse, USD wants to provide more opportunities for its students and future generations to come.
"What I do know is the University of South Dakota is one special place, and the Gassen facility and the future of the Gassen facility is going to be phenomenal. Here's what I'm telling you. We are South Dakota," USD Head Men's Track & Field Coach Dave Gottsleben said.
The project received $40 million in state funding authority, $20 million from the late T. Denny Sanford, a million from the Gassen family, and money from supporters.
The Gassen Family Fieldhouse is set to be complete in 2028.