Queen’s has launched a new website dedicated to the Richardson Stadium revitalization project.

The site, www.queensu.ca/connect/richardsonstadium, will provide a forum for sharing information and engaging with the Queen’s and Kingston communities as the stadium revitalization process moves forward.

“With board approval, we are able to begin looking at more specific aspects of the stadium’s design, and engaging with a variety of people about different elements of the revitalization. That engagement with the community is very important to us,” says Leslie Dal Cin, Executive Director, Athletics and Recreation. “We will post information and regular updates about the project to the website, and our hope is that people will also use the website as a way of providing feedback.”

The website includes a contact page with a comment form, as well as an email address people can use to send comments or questions regarding the revitalization. Answers to common questions will be added to the website’s FAQ page.

Richardson Stadium has been a fixture at Queen’s for nearly 100 years. The original Richardson Stadium was built in 1920 and located on what is now Tindall Field as a gift of James Armstrong Richardson, Queen’s chancellor from 1929 to 1939. In 1971 the stadium was rebuilt on its current site at West Campus, and was intended to be a temporary structure. More than four decades later, the stadium is showing its age. In May, 2013 an engineering report recommended the removal of several sections of bleachers, and later that summer temporary seating was installed at the field.

The revitalization of Richardson Stadium is not just the building of a new stadium; it is the building of a strong varsity sports and recreation program for Queen’s, and a strong university overall. The project, a priority within Queen’s $500-million Initiative Campaign, is the next step in the university’s efforts to enhance its athletics and recreation facilities to promote the health and wellness of all students. Other recent projects include the Athletics and Recreation Centre, the re-opening of the gymnasiums in the Physical Education Centre and the redevelopment of Tindall, Nixon, and Miklas-McCarney fields.

Construction of the stadium is expected to begin after the 2015 football season and be completed by the start of the 2016 season.