Saxon Hill Sports Complex remains on target for December 2025 completion

Excavation at the 200-acre site located approximately three miles south of campus began in October. LeChase Construction of Rochester is serving as construction project manager, while the Olean, NY-based architectural firm of Clark, Patterson & Lee (CPL) is performing design services. Workers from LG Evans Construction of Avon, NY, the subcontractor for site construction, have begun the site excavation plan to make way for roadways, parking lots, and utility lines and, ultimately, for the installation of athletic fields, an outdoor track, grandstands, and three accompanying buildings. Of the 200 acres at the Saxon Hill site, only 41 acres will be physically disturbed.

Last fall, the Alfred University Board of Trustees gave its approval for the construction of the Saxon Hill Sports Complex, a project that is expected to significantly enhance the University’s student recruitment and retention efforts. Once completed, it will have facilitated the addition of four new intercollegiate varsity athletics teams: baseball, men’s and women’s rugby, and field hockey. The Sports Complex will also positively impact roster growth for the men’s and women’s track and field teams as the facility will provide them with a home practice and competition facility. The Saxons are scheduled to host the Empire 8 men’s and women’s outdoor track and field championships in May of 2026.

The baseball team began competing last spring and will begin playing at its home field at Saxon Hill in spring 2026; women’s rugby began competing as an intercollegiate varsity sport this fall. Men’s rugby, formerly housed under student clubs, is now an official intercollegiate athletic team. Field hockey will begin competition in the fall of 2025.

In addition, Saxon Hill will provide valuable practice space for existing field sport teams—football, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer—that currently practice and compete at Yunevich Stadium on the Alfred University campus. An existing cross country course—which has been used primarily for training but has hosted competitive meets—will be retained and used for practices and competitions.

Once completed, the Saxon Hill Sports Complex will include:

• Saxon Sports Center: locker rooms; athletic training room; offices; assembly space; officials’ locker room; media room.
• Baseball Field: lighted, synthetic turf field with scoreboard; bullpens and dugouts. A two-tier building will house restrooms, a concession stand, team room, public address and game operations space.
• Track and Field/Multi-Purpose Turf Field Stadium: lighted 400-meter eight-lane track with jumps and throws areas; video scoreboard. The infield of the track will be a multi-purpose synthetic turf field which will be home to the future intercollegiate field hockey team and as a practice and competition facility for other outdoor field sport teams.
• Rugby Field: lighted, natural grass field with scoreboard. The women’s and men’s teams began play as intercollegiate teams this fall.
• Grandstands and Press Box: One set of grandstands will face the track and multi-purpose field, the other will face the rugby field. A dual-sided press box will feature public address and game operations booths for each competition venue and will include spectator restrooms and visitors’ team rooms.

Subcontractors have been chosen for the installation of turf for the fields (Chenango Contracting of Johnson City, NY); the outdoor track surface (Detroit-based Crafco Inc); lighting (Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa, IA); and scoreboards/sound (Toth’s Sports of Victor, NY). Bids for the construction of the Saxon Hill Sports Center, press boxes, and grandstand are being prepared for release in the coming months, with construction expected to begin next spring.

It is anticipated that site development—utilities, parking lots, roadways—will be completed by November 2025. The baseball field will be completed by October 2025, while the track and multi-purpose field, throws area, and rugby field will be finished by December 2025. Construction of the various buildings begins in March and is expected to be completed by December 2025.

The $30 million project will be funded by a combination of bonds and philanthropic gifts; more than $10 million has been raised through philanthropy.

Saxon Hill is expected to be a boon for student-athlete recruitment and student retention, with the University estimating it will increase enrollment by approximately 170 students over the first six years of its opening. The complex will complement nearby existing sports, recreational, and academic facilities located in the area atop Jericho Hill. These include the Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian Center at Maris Cuneo Equine Park, home to Alfred University’s world-class equestrian program, and Foster Lake, which provides the campus community with numerous recreational and co-curricular opportunities.

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