This past spring, the Campus Recreation Department opened a new recreational field. The “West Campus Green,” located between the Humanities Building and Village B near Font Blvd., features an all-weather sports, artificial turf field intended to serve as extra space for intramural sports and casual recreation.

“There is an enormous need to have an outdoor recreation area where students can run, play, and hang out with their friends,” said Dean of Students Joseph Greenwell. “By using a turf field with lighting, the field will be able to be used more readily.”

Greenwell was a key sponsor to the field’s development and said he believes this field is an essential factor in expanding the student community.

“Just the presence of a place to play makes people interested in the sports programs here and I hope it attracts a lot more people to the intramural program, or a least to create a more active lifestyle on campus,” said 18-year-old freshman and cinema major Zoli Kauker. Kauker has become an active player in indoor and outdoor intramural soccer.

Until now, Cox Stadium has been the only recreational space on campus, which created stress for teams scheduling times for usage. With the addition of the new turf field, intramural leagues will have less scheduling conflicts with the athletic department.

“It’s a really positive thing that they’re building another field,” said Stephanie Vanni, the captain of women’s soccer team last spring. “We’ve had to share the field with soccer class and other recreation activities during our spring season. It was a pain to schedule times and maintaining a functional field.”

The funding for this area, while unrelated to the athletic department, has been undisclosed to students. Neither Greenwell nor Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Ryan Fester could provide any information about the funding and cost of the field.