Doerr Family Field – Cal Poly’s newest $4.8 million addition – is set for a grand opening Friday.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the field, set for 1:30 p.m., will open the field as the primary practice facility for Mustang football.
Construction on the project started July 2017. The final result includes a 140-yard synthetic-turf practice field, goalposts, two filming towers, lights and a scoreboard.
The new field is more accessible to football players, who previously had to travel one mile across campus to practice at the Cal Poly Sports Complex.
It could save the players 45 to 50 minutes a day, according to head coach Tim Walsh.
“Actually seeing [Doerr Family Field] when they started laying the green stuff about two or three weeks ago — I think that those guys’ eyes got pretty big and said, ‘That’s pretty cool,’” Walsh said.
The field is also open to most of Cal Poly’s 21 athletic teams and is closer to the locker rooms inside Mott Athletic Center.
Walsh said the new field on Slack St. might give the football team more visibility. According to Walsh, the Division I-level facility might even entice new players when recruits tour the school.
“This may be the single most impactful addition in our football history,” Walsh said in a press release.
The ceremony is open to the public. Primary donors Richard A. Doerr — Cal Poly alumnus and former Cal Poly football player — and Kathleen M. Doerr will be in attendance. Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman and President Jeffrey D. Armstrong will also be present to open the field.
“Thank you to everyone in the Mustang Family who supported us in this endeavor,” Oberherlam said in a press release. “This would not have happened without our football supporters and our campus partners. Doerr Family Field will be an asset for the entire Mustang Community.”