OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — The University of Mississippi is committing $3.5 million to build a new practice field for its Pride of the South marching band.
Chancellor Glenn Boyce said the university's commitment will pair with various gifts and major donations to the project totaling about $330,000.
“We’re thrilled to see this moment that we have been working towards for years come to fruition for the Ole Miss band. Our students deserve this investment in them," Boyce said in a statement Wednesday.
The new practice field will have drainage structures and lights, a new director’s tower, a storage building and proper field access. Construction is scheduled to begin in August and be completed by summer 2023.
The project was proposed nearly five years ago. At that time, the board that oversees Mississippi's eight public universities approved a design fee of $65,000 and the design professional was appointed. But the project stalled until the university submitted a new request for a revised budget of $3.5 million, which the board approved in April.
“The new practice field will enhance band practices and performances in many ways,” band director Randy Dale said. “The students will be able to work and learn in a safe and comfortable environment every day. The instructors will have everything they need to successfully train members, detect and correct problems, and facilitate efficient practices."
Band members said they are looking forward to rehearsing on the new field.
“I’m really grateful that we’re getting it so soon,” Jaquavious Lee, a sophomore percussionist from Olive Branch, said in a university news release. “The two years I’ve been here, we’ve practiced on a grass field that gets muddy and attracts bugs when it rains.”
Brandon Mitchell, of Meridian, said the news seemed almost surreal.
“The idea of a new practice field has been talked about off and on the entire six years that I’ve been here,” said the graduate assistant, who will receive his master’s degree in music education during graduation ceremonies on May 7. "This is my last semester, so I won’t be around to enjoy it. Still, I’m happy for everyone behind me and that it’s finally happening.”
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