Ben Martindale, Sports Editor
Devynn Alston, Staff Writer
VCU Athletic Village, a 42-acre site which began construction in 2024, is officially in use for VCU athletics.
Since 1999, VCU sports have played home games at Sports Backers Stadium. VCU women’s soccer was the first team to play an official game at the new facility, falling 4-0 to North Carolina State University.
Development of the VCU Athletic Village is broken into four phases. Phase one was completed in January, according to VCU News. The phase included a 400 meter outdoor track, two long jumps, two high jumps, two pole vaults, circles for hammer throw, shotput, discus, two practice soccer fields and an NCAA game soccer field located inside of the 400 meter track.
Second-year defender Bo Price, thinks the new space is wonderful.
“The pitch is like a carpet,” Price said. “Really, there’s so many passes that you can play, and the ball never bobbles. So as long as we do our thing, it’s perfect.”
Rams’ players also pointed out the benefits of having a dedicated practice field.
“It’s really a blessing to have a practice field,” said fourth-year defender/middlefielder Brianna Lawrence. “We’re not ruining our game field so the grass is very fresh. The sprinklers are out every day which is nice. The ball moves across it nicely, so I think it was a really great adjustment from last year to this year.”
Head coach, and VCU women’s soccer alumna, Lauryn Hutchinson was thrilled with the new facilities.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hutchinson said. “Our training fields are like 10 yards away. Two beautiful ones, turf and grass. So, depending on who we’re playing that weekend, we train on grass or we can train on turf. The grass on the training field looks the same as the game field.”
A new stadium, built specifically for soccer, will be constructed in phase three of development.
VCU has not released construction dates for phase three but has stated that the dedicated soccer facility will be used by both the men’s and women’s teams.
The positive reaction from players and coaches is an encouraging sign for VCU, who committed to spending over 200 million to purchase the land and build the Athletic Village, according to WTVR Richmond.
“I wasn’t here last season so I never got to play at Sports Backers,” Price said. “But speaking to what it’s like back home, this is a top facility. Similar to the likes of facilities I played at like Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.”