Excitement builds as you turn into the parking lot, but finding a spot to park is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Stadium lights shine brightly through the night.  Dots of purple cover the bleachers and all you can hear is the deafening roars from the crowd. Reporters and photographers line the field that hadn’t been there a few months prior.

One bleacher at a time, progress is being made on Liberty’s new outdoor sports facilities.

Hundreds were in attendance for the grand opening of Liberty’s football stadium on September 14th, making it a hot spot for both students and other members of the  North Liberty community.

Liberty’s Football stadium was ranked as one of the top 10 in the state by the Des Moines Register. The Register describes how the field has first class amenities such as a shock pad, a concussion pad that helps reduce the force of impact players have with the field.

“I think obviously it’s a drawing card for people to move to our area. I think right now it’s really just the facilities are designed to meet our needs as we continue to grow,” said Athletic Director Mike Morrison.“It is important for us to have a Friday night football event to establish and have a sense of community.”

The grand opening of the stadium was a purple out game and drew a big crowd. The game’s theme was organized by the Liberty Difference Makers club to raise awareness for children who are battling diseases.

Having such a big crowd left football players with mixed feelings.

“I was nervous just playing in front of that many people, but it was a  really cool experience,” said Varsity Quarterback Drake Woody, junior.

Although the football field is complete, the soccer field, baseball and softball diamonds, and tennis courts are still in construction.  

According to Morrison, all of the future practice fields will have advanced features that separate them from other facilities.

“The soccer field will have a special sand capped field designed specifically for only soccer, so that’s a nice feature that a lot of people don’t have the luxury of,” said Morrison.

A sand capped field is a field constructed on top of a sand surface, allowing for better drainage. The baseball and softball fields will have lights for night games. The athletic department is also working on getting lights for the soccer field.

In the past, not having a field at Liberty has been an obstacle for teams trying to practice.

Softball coach Jeff Kelley stated, “It made it very challenging for the girls to have to drive to practice and then pack up and then drive to another field to finish practice.”

Baseball coach Tom Cronk agreed that transporting a team from one location to another was very difficult, although his team did a great job with this task.

Both coaches said they are looking forward to the completion of the facilities. When everything is in one place, running a practice won’t be such a challenge.

The anticipated date for completion of all other outdoor sports facilities was October 15th. However, due to weather complications and the amount of rain this fall, this date has been pushed back.