Olson Field
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Named for alumni Chip Olson, Olson Field is home to multiple sports teams. It occupies an ideal spot on campus between the gymnasium and several of the larger residence halls. This makes it easy for athletes to get to games or training, and for students to watch games. Go Eagles!
Images
An aerial view of Olson Field and the Auxiliary Field.
Mock-up of Olson Field's turf
Old grass soccer field
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Opening in October 2005, Olson field is named for alumni Chip Olson '90 who is the president of the Olson Research Group and serves on Eastern Universities Board of Trustees. Olson was also a major donor to this project, donating a significant amount of money to have this turf field built. During his time at Eastern, Olson was a soccer player. He is in the Eastern University Athletic Hall Of Honor for his time on the field, so it is fitting that this field is used for soccer. This field also allowed Eastern to reintroduce Men's Lacrosse to campus. This field has also been used by the women's teams for both soccer and lacrosse.
Eastern's Men's Soccer was the first team to win a game on this field. This occurred on October 8th in 2005. It was a 3-0 over Gwynedd Mercy's soccer team.
In 2018 the field was resurfaced with a more durable and 'modern' turf, as well as upgrades to the netting system. Padding was added to the retaining wall in 2021.
Olson Field is right next to the Auxiliary Field which is primarily used for Field Hockey.
Notably, Olson Field occupies an ideal spot between residence halls. It's easy for students to find a shady place under a tree to watch their friend's practice; or they can peek out of the window to see who is winning as they hurry out to find a better vantage point.
Sources
Eastern University [@EasternU]. (2018, July 11). ICYMI: The St. Davids Athletic Complex got a fresh new look this summer with all new turf on both fields! Along with a new logo, Olson Field's turf is specialized for soccer and lacrosse while the Auxiliary Field now has a surface specifically designed for field hockey. [Post]. X.
Eastern University. Olson field. Eastern University Athletics. Retrieved September 24, 2024, from https://goeasterneagles.com/facilities/olson-field/2
Field named in honor of alumnus. (2007). The Waltonian https://waltonian.eastern.edu/archive/field-named-in-honor-of-alumnus/
Archives
Archives