ITHACA, N.Y. — With help from alumni, Ithaca College plans to build a new outdoor track and field facility for use by intercollegiate athletic teams as well as the wider campus and surrounding community, the college said.

The project — with a total cost of $4 million — will include an eight-lane, 400-meter running track with a natural grass interior on the west side of campus on a field that has most recently been used for sports practices and recreation. The facility will include adjacent runways for jumping events, and small field behind Emerson Hall will be repurposed for throwing events.

Funding for the project will come primarily from Ithaca College alumni donors, with the rest from institutional capital funds.

“This is an important capital investment to improve the quality of campus facilities for both intercollegiate competition and recreation,” Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish said in a statement. “We are so grateful to our donors for recognizing the value this provides to our IC community, serving as a significant recruitment tool to attract the most gifted student-athletes and helping maintain the championship caliber of our track and field program.”

Clark Companies, which was also responsible for the college’s Bertino Field project, will manage the installation. Pending approvals from the town of Ithaca, construction is set to begin in early April with a projected completion date of early September. This will allow the college to begin using the facility this fall and for intercollegiate competitions to take place next spring.

The college has not hosted a track and field meet for nearly a decade. Its running track at Butterfield Stadium was removed in 2023 to allow for Bertino Field, an artificial turf field at the stadium. The new track will meet current NCAA specifications.

Ithaca College has an indoor track at its Athletics and Event Center.

“Current and future student-athletes will thrive in their pursuit of excellence because of this project,” Susan Bassett, associate VP and director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation, said. “This facility will beautify the lower end of our campus while providing athletic and recreational activity space for everyone.”