The University of California, Davis, will formally welcome the new Aggie Stadium into its family of facilities on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m. Dedication ceremonies will feature campus leaders and both past and current student representatives.

The dedication, which will be held on the west side of the stadium, is free to the public and will precede the "Battle for the Golden Horseshoe" football game between rivals UC Davis and Cal Poly set for 1:30 p.m.

Among the scheduled speakers at Saturday's dedication are Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, Vice Chancellor Fred Wood, former ASUCD President Scott Reed, former Aggie Pack leader Brian Rocca and current ASUCD Senator Molly Fluet. Director of Athletics Greg Warzecka will serve as master of ceremonies.

Aggie Stadium, home to both the women's lacrosse team and the football team, opened last April to a winning outcome when the women's lacrosse team beat Saint Mary's College 17-5. The lacrosse team played the remainder of the season there, while the football team has played at Aggie Stadium twice so far, including its 28-10 win over Northeastern University on Sept. 22.

Student funding

The dedication is the culmination of a dream that began with undergraduate students passing the Facilities and Campus Enhancement (F.A.C.E.) Initiative in 1999, providing a majority of the funding for the $31 million facility. The F.A.C.E. Initiative also helped fund the Ted and Rand Schaal Aquatics Center -- located adjacent to the stadium -- along with the Activities and Recreation Center and other facilities.

Aggie Stadium was designed by Ellerbe Becket and built by Brown Construction of West Sacramento. Construction began in 2005, leading to this past spring's first events. The stadium features seating for 10,743 fans in both fixed seating along the west and east sides, and grass seating in berms behind each end zone.

Features

An artificial playing surface of more than 100,000 square feet of Sportexe Synthetic Field has received positive reviews from those who have played on it. A mammoth Daktronics scoreboard named for Dorothy and Melvin J. Olsen with a sideboard sits on the south end of the stadium. Many concessions, abundant restrooms, fan assistance centers, the Aggie Pride Outlet and other amenities have made Aggie Stadium very fan-friendly.

The press box features seating for nearly 20 media members in its main area in addition to a television booth, three locations for radio stations, and coaching and operations booths. The concourse level is home to the Bruce Edwards Club Room, which will be used for social events throughout the year.

Paying tribute

Two prominent former head coaches will have areas of the stadium named after them. Jim Sochor, the all-time winningest coach at UC Davis and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, will have the field named in his honor. Bob Foster, a longtime assistant coach who led the Aggies to three conference championships during his four-year tenure as head coach from 1989-92, will have the team center named for him. The team center features three locker rooms, meeting space and an equipment room.

Several areas of the stadium have been named for generous donors who have helped raise funds for Aggie Stadium as part of an ongoing capital campaign. A current list is included below:

Aggie Stadium naming

• Jim Sochor Field
• Bob Foster Team Center
• Main Entrance Gate -- anonymous
• Dorothy and Melvin J. Olsen Scoreboard
• Bruce Edwards Club Room
• Bill Streng, Dave Taormino and Bob Warren Aggie Grove
• Erna and Orville Thompson Main Entrance Plaza
• Pat and Dick Raycraft Reserved Entrance
• Ann and Rudy Kadlub Team Meeting Room
• Shari and Nick Alexander Media Entrance Gate
• Babe Slater Hall of Fame (by Marilyn and Dick McCapes)
• Larry Swanson Performance Stage (by Carol and Hal Sconyers)
• Merrill Dubach Men's Locker Room
• Margaret Hoyt Women's & Visiting Team Locker Room
• Bernice & Woody Wilson Press Room (by Genia and Jim Willett)
• Mits Nitta Press Room (by Fran Nitta Barnes)
• Amy and Gregg Ames Media Room
• Joseph Castagnola Media Room
• Sandy and Ron Van De Pol Media Room
• Carol and Hal Sconyers Media Room