The newly named Western Alumni Stadium will be the venue for the 2024 Ontario Summer Games. Photo by Steve Andersen/Western Communications
Western's athletics stadium has been renamed Western Alumni Stadium following a $1.4-million donation from the Alumni Association.
Formerly TD Stadium, the sports venue is home to many of Western's athletics programs, including Mustang football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. In addition to the stadium's name change, the former Labatt Lounge will also be renamed the Alumni Lounge.
"Since opening for the Canada Summer Games in 2001, the stadium has drawn athletes, students, alumni, faculty, staff, and Londoners together for thousands of sporting events," Western president Alan Shepard said. "The Alumni Association's generous gift ensures it will continue to be an important landmark for the entire community for generations to come."
With a CFL-regulation-sized artificial turf playing surface, Western Alumni Stadium is bordered by an eight-lane, 400-metre running track. It also features modern facilities for competing and training athletes, as well as seating for more than 10,000 spectators.
Western recently invested $5 million on a series of stadium upgrades and improvements, including the installation of a new artificial turf field and a new running track. All planned improvements were completed this summer.
Of the $1.4-million donation from the Alumni Association, $1 million will be allocated for maintenance and regular upkeep of the renovated stadium grounds over the next 10 years, while $400,000 will be used for renovations of the newly named Alumni Lounge. This includes window replacement to improve sightlines of the football field, replacing the flooring, increasing the seating capacity and updating the audio-visual equipment. The new name for the stadium and lounge will be in effect for 10 years.
"The Alumni Association has always been a proud supporter of Western and the London community. The renaming of the stadium to the Western Alumni Stadium further signifies the alumni community's deep ties to Western and to the city, and we are excited to be part of this next chapter," said Mark Brown, president of the Alumni Association board of directors.
The stadium has played host to major national, regional and community events and is set to be the venue for the 2024 Ontario Summer Games.
"This generous donation from the Alumni Association is a great way to recognize and celebrate our homegrown athletes, and a testament to the alumni community's continued and valuable support for Western students and athletes," said Christine Stapleton, director of Western sport and recreation.
Mustang football head coach Greg Marshall said he is looking forward to playing his team at the Western Alumni Stadium during the 2021 football season.
"On behalf of the football team, we thank the Alumni Association for this incredible generosity in ensuring that Mustangs will always have a state-of-the-art athletics stadium that's one of the best in the country," Marshall said.
