Planned Upgrade of Shillingford and Applebee Fields

Project Overview

Project Goals

Several years ago, Bryn Mawr’s then-athletics director requested that the College assist with a solution to the problem of several varsity sports teams needing to share one practice field, Applebee Field, which causes inconsistent team practice schedules. After discussing multiple options to address this problem, it was determined that the best solution is a competition-level turf field for field hockey in the location of Shillingford Field. Goals for this project include:

• Provide for fields more appropriate for each of our three field sports rather than the current multi use field that does not serve any of our sports well.
• Improve the safety of the field for athletes with upgraded state-of-the-art turf requiring fewer markings that are necessary for multiple sports – marks that cause the field to wear unevenly.
• Allow for all sports to practice on the same field that they are competing on and providing more practice space for all student athletes who comprise 15% of our undergraduate student body.
• Provide accessible spectator seating to allow the community to come together and attend live sporting events. Such gatherings have been shown to have a positive impact on well-being, bringing benefits to the entire campus community.
• Minimize the impact on the campus and adjacent properties.
• Conform to all Lower Merion Township ordinances.
• Support the College’s Excellence in Action plan, which calls for the campus to “strengthen recruiting and athlete/team development, with the goal of being consistently competitive in the Centennial Conference in the teams that we field” by addressing the deficit in our facilities required to sustain our intercollegiate teams.

Proposed Plan

The proposed plan to provide a second regulation field specifically for field hockey (the varsity sport with the smallest competition-level field footprint), allowing for a turf that is specialized for field hockey play. The plan provides space so that our intercollegiate varsity teams – including field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field – can practice at once on their own competition fields, especially during fall semester. And it also allows for the improvement of Applebee Field to better accommodate those sports with a more appropriate surface with fewer markings. 

The design also provides for "boulders" to be set into the slope to provide semi-formalized spectator seating with a level area to allow for accessible viewing. A new walking path from Canaday Library toward Park Science will be reset around the new field footprint and brought to ADA-accessible standards. This will connect a new ADA-compliant path from that side of Merion Green to the Shillingford Field spectator area as well as over to Park Science for the first time. The path is laid out to avoid major trees including Senior Row. Views from Senior Row will also remain intact as the field is set at a lower elevation similar to the current landscape.

The design also conforms to all Township regulations including maximum site wall heights and impervious coverage regulations. The field will drain to underground infiltration similar to Applebee Field. While other locations were studied, it was determined that this site was the only feasible site with respect to Township regulations and constructability. The field is a continuation of an existing use in this location.  It impacts less vegetation than the other options we studied and does not impact any neighboring properties. This location also avoids conflicts with underground utilities and has the shortest construction duration compared with the alternatives studied. While this location does impact a number of trees, as would any locations on site, particular attention was paid to the large copper beech that is beloved on campus. The tree however, must be removed in the near future based on its declining health regardless of this project. All removed plants will be replaced on site as part of the project.

Budget and Timeline

The total cost is projected to be $3.685 million plus $590,000 to replace the turf on Applebee Field that is beyond its useful life. This funding has been set aside from capital reserves for renovation projects. 

The construction on the field will begin later in 2023 once permitting is in place, likely no later than September. Once begun, the project will take approximately four months to complete. During the construction process, there will be a period of approximately three months when trucks will be actively bringing materials to the field. Disruptions to campus will be minimized to the extent possible by all contractors.