by Hannah Fair, Public Relations Writer
For the first time since its construction in 2003, Cedarville University's Doden Field House floor has been resurfaced — all 56,000 square feet of it. It was a massive undertaking.
Resurfacing the field house infield area meant gluing down a 7-millimeter pad, then pouring a self-leveling 2-millimeter urethane top coat. Resurfacing the track area included leveling the original rough track surface, then gluing down a 10-millimeter-thick rubber track surface. Once the new floors were in, the court and track lines and markings were painted. To view the resurfacing from start to finish, visit cedarville.edu/Doden-resurface.
The resurfacing project cost around $450,000 and took 34 days to complete. The task was completed by Connor Sports Flooringand features a Connor 10-millimeter ProTraxx surface on the blue, six-lane track, striped per NCAA Track & Field regulations. The gray infield includes a poured Connor ElastiPlus surface with game lines painted for basketball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer.
“The original track surface was very hard and caused too many injuries among our athletes,” said Mark Mathews, Director of Campus Recreation. “The additional cushion on the track surface and infield will help everyone who uses the facility, and will help reduce the number of injuries among track athletes who train the hardest on it.”
The track’s new blue top also better represents the University’s colors than did the previous red surface. “The new surfaces will aid in our recruiting efforts, as prospective students see and experience the beautiful and high-quality new indoor track. It should attract more high school and college athletes to our indoor track meets,” continued Mathews.
“Dr. White and administrators were concerned about the welfare of our students, especially our student-athletes who train on that surface,” said Mathews. “The decision to spend this much on the field house floor demonstrates the University’s desire to serve our students well by providing the best quality programs and facilities.”
"I am very excited about our new track surface,” said Head Track & Field Coach Jeff Bolender. “I am thankful to the University's commitment and to those key people who contributed in making this happen. This type of track surface provides us with an outstanding practice and competition venue.
“We have enjoyed hosting numerous collegiate and high school meets, including G-MAC and NCCAA Championship events. This new surface ensures we can continue to host top-quality meets inside the Doden Field House."
“This is another example of Cedarville University's desire for excellence,” noted Cedarville Athletic Director Alan Geist. ‘The new track will be very beneficial for not only our track & field student-athletes, but for our other teams, all students, and the general community.
"I appreciate everyone who had a part in making this a reality, since the entire process took almost a year to complete. Thanks to the University Administration as well as Mark Mathews, Chris Reese ’89, and Jeff Bolender for all they have done as a part of this project," Geist added.
Doden Field House opened in March 2004, providing year-round training for multiple Yellow Jacket sports and enhancing the school's popular intramural program. Cedarville moved its graduation ceremonies into the facility in 2004, providing seating for up to 7,000 people.
The Yellow Jackets will officially break in the new track when they host the Cedarville Collegiate Invitational on February 2 as well as the Richey Indoor High School Tune-Up February 3. The NCCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will return to Cedarville February 16–17.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,963 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.