AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's a defining moment in University at Buffalo history. On Tuesday, the school celebrated its brand new fieldhouse, named in honor of the Murchies, a family led by UB graduates who have donated so much over the last decade.
"It's gonna create a lot of opportunities for a lot of great people and young athletes," Brittany Murchie said. "It's also super meaningful because it's our legacy."
UB broke ground two years ago and standing in place of an empty lot is a more than 90,000 square foot building that will be utilized all year long.
"We want to put our best foot forward for all of our student athletes," UB athletic director Mark Alnutt said. "We feel we've done that."
While the majority of the facility is a football sized turf field, it's not just for football. There's batting cages that drop down from the ceiling, there's a long track on the one side and on the turf itself, there's lines for the soccer team to use. It's all about inclusion and making sure every UB athlete can take advantage of the new fieldhouse.
"We've actually had to come in here when it's thunder-storming outside and we were able to continue training when in prior years we had to cut practice right there and we would've lost three training days," UB soccer player Kara Daly said. "In the preseason, that's a huge deal."
While current athletes are reaping the benefits, the school is paving the way for the younger generation to choose UB.
"You see a great facility like this, it's really enticing to come to Buffalo because of that," UB football player Matt Otwinowski said.
