Lakeside Field is getting a makeover.
The home field of Eastern’s men’s and women’s soccer teams is finally receiving the amenities that the old Lakeside Field had: a grandstand seating area and permanent fencing.
The latest set of improvements is phase two of a long-term project to improve the playing field for both soccer teams.
In the summer of 2019, work began on constructing a new field. The old Lakeside Field had no drainage system or watering system, meaning it was incredibly difficult to keep the grass intact without the field becoming too muddy.
“In September and October, that field is not playable,” Eastern Deputy Athletic Director Mark Bonnstetter said. “Plus, no irrigation on [the old] field. So, the grounds crew have to water that field externally.”
Bonnstetter said not only does the new field have proper irrigation, but the field is designed to properly drain itself.
The work on the new field was completed in 2020, when both teams first set foot on it. Games started to be played there in the spring of 2021, during the COVID-19-shortened season, but Eastern was unable to progress the project until now.
The soccer programs have held fundraisers and received many donations. All the money spent on this project is entirely from fundraising efforts and donors, said Bonnstetter.
“We didn’t have the funding at the time to run a permanent fence, and we didn’t have the money to install a permanent grandstand,” Bonnstetter said. “Over the course of the last several years, our programs, especially [women’s soccer head coach] Dirk Bennett and his program have raised enough funds.”
This phase of the project costs about $60,000, according to Bennett. The first phase, making the actual field and new goals among other improvements, cost an estimated $20,000.
“These two [phases] were the most critical, and it took the better part of five years,” Bennett said.
This project, Bonnstetter said, is separate from the improvements made to Eastern’s baseball field, Coaches Stadium. He says the funding for that comes from an initiative from Eastern President Jay Gatrell and Vice President of Business Affairs Matt Bierman. The improvements to Lakeside Field and O’Brien Field are all through donations.
According to Bonnstetter, Bennett wanted to complete the vision of the former head coaches for men’s and women’s soccer, Kiki Lara and Jake Plant. Bonnstetter says they both spearheaded the funding for the project, and Bennett took it over when they both left.
Senior midfield captain Avery Richardson is hopeful that the increased seating will lead to more fans at games.
“I think it’ll encourage people to come out more, hopefully,” Richardson said.
Bennett is grateful for the progress made so far and said there’s plans for more improvements to Lakeside Field. He hopes to have sidewalk access to the field, which he estimates will cost around $30,000. He also hopes to get a new scoreboard and covered benches, which he thinks will cost about $15,000 and $10,000-$20,000 respectively.
“I’m just really thrilled and grateful to be where we are and looking forward to enjoying the result of our hard work so far,” Bennett said.
The grandstands are expected to be completed before the women’s soccer team’s Ohio Valley Conference home opener on Thursday against Lindenwood.
The fence will be completed sometime in the following weeks.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
