Nearly a hundred spectators watched as the teeth of a front end loader tore into the walls of the old Biddle Field locker rooms and press box on Thursday, Feb. 7. The demolition was the first step of the college’s planned construction of the new Durden Athletic Training Center on Biddle Field.

According to the college’s website, the new facility, named after the college’s 27th President William Durden ’77, will include team-specific locker rooms, a state-of-the-art gym, a medical facility, an equipment room and a team meeting room. “We spent months working with the architects [at Gensler Architecture] so that all the needs of the athletic groups are met and that all of our facilities allow us to be competitive in our conference,” said Stephanie Balmer, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.

Balmer explained that the funding for the project, nearly $6 million, came from Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters, his wife. According to college archives, this renovation will be the first since 1974, when the Washington Redskins football team funded the expansion of the locker room.

The construction is planned to be completed by December 2013.