Alumni and students donate to fund major renovations to Alumni Field

May 11, 2022

Representatives from Wilfrid Laurier University’s senior leadership, the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association (WLUAA), the Students’ Union (SU) and the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) gathered on Wednesday, April 27 for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of renovations to the heart of Laurier’s Waterloo campus, Alumni Field.

Renovations to Alumni Field are made possible thanks to principal gifts from the SU and the GSA of up to $1.25M, and an $800,000 pledge from the university’s alumni association.

“The university would like to thank the SU, the GSA and WLUAA for their significant, lead contributions that have helped to kick start the fundraising campaign for the rehabilitation of Alumni Field,” said Ivan Joseph, Laurier’s vice-president of Student Affairs. “Alumni Field plays an important role in the recreational programming needs on our Waterloo campus as well as in the proactive mental health and well-being supports for our student community.”

The enhancements to Alumni Field will increase the footprint of the largest greenspace on Laurier’s Waterloo campus. The new field will be FIFA-regulation size, making it more suitable for soccer, rugby and lacrosse sports. Other enhancements to the Alumni Field footprint include stands, a video scoreboard and a press box.

“Alumni Field is the heart of Laurier’s Waterloo campus and the alumni association is proud to be supporting its renovation,” said Ryan Smith, president of WLUAA. “I know of life-long friendships that have been formed on the field. And today’s Laurier students need this space to come together, get active with each other and build community, too.”

The renovations are expected to be complete in the fall of 2022.

“We know that Laurier students at the Waterloo campus are waiting for the day that they can get back onto Alumni Field, get involved with clubs and intramurals to play, compete and connect, and your SU and the GSA are thrilled to be supporting these vital renovations,” said Pegah Jamalof, outgoing president of Laurier’s Students’ Union and Ali Diebold, president of the GSA.