UCLA Athletics receives $5M donation for new soccer-specific stadium
Both soccer teams have used Drake Stadium as their home field for matches. The new soccer-specific venue at the location of the current North Athletic Field will become the new home for the programs. (Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
By Tanner Walters
April 12, 2016 10:06 a.m.
Less than a year after unveiling the start of its One Goal initiative, UCLA Athletics announced a $5 million donation from the Annenberg Foundation that will go toward a new soccer-specific stadium at North Athletic Field.
The venue, named the Wallis Annenberg Stadium, will be used by the men’s and women’s Division I programs and club sports, and construction is projected to begin in fall of 2016.
Current plans include a seating capacity of 3,000, two team locker rooms, stadium lighting and a scoreboard.
The soccer programs announced the joint One Goal campaign May 16, 2015, which began fundraising efforts to renovate the teams’ current practice field. The initial plan for a soccer-specific stadium included a proposal for a 2,250 capacity venue.
The new project will be funded by private donations and could cost up to $10 million total, UCLA announced. The next steps for the university will be selecting an architect and continuing fundraising efforts.
Both teams currently compete at Drake Stadium, a nearly 12,000 seat facility in which the “locker rooms” are tents set up on opposite ends of the track.
