Forest Hills campus is receiving a complete makeover

By Jaxon Carner | Staff Writer

Augusta University’s athletic campus is currently under renovation with projects that will draw out until the spring semester. 

The Forest Hills Campus has been a work zone since this summer with projects being completed at Christenberry Fieldhouse, Jaguars Field (baseball), Jaguar Field (softball) and the J. Fleming Norvell Golf House. 

The biggest project by far is the exterior of Christenberry Fieldhouse, which is where basketball and volleyball host their competitions. The project consists of a full transformation of the exterior, with a new modern design style that incorporates Augusta University’s color palate. 

What Christenberry Fieldhouse will look like when the project is completed.

The interior of Christenberry Fieldhouse is also getting refreshed, with new locker rooms, a new weight room and a new sky box suite. The skybox suite will be used to host donors during basketball and volleyball games. The space will also be used to host events on non-gamedays.  

Jaguars Field which is home to the baseball team will also be receiving a full makeover, with new seating, a true press box, an updated scoreboard, covered batting cages and a new outfield wall. Since moving the baseball team from Lake Olmstead Park and back to the Forest Hills Campus, there have been few seating options. 

What the baseball stadium will look like once completed.

Since the move, fans have sat either in metal bleachers or their folding chairs, up on the hill away from the action. The new seating will allow fans to sit right behind home plate and have an impact on the outcome of games, which has been missed for a very long time.   

According to Athletic Director, Ryan Erlacher, the construction of the baseball field should mostly be done in a month. Some projects involving Christenberry Fieldhouse will be done within the next few weeks while some will not be completed until the latter half of the spring semester. 

The projects are being funded by private donors, state funding and the athletic department budget. 

Erlacher is excited to see what the future holds for athletics and wants to use these renovations to bring in larger crowds to games and bring in better recruitment classes for each team.  

“These renovations are going to propel our programs forward to a point where they feel they can compete with the best programs in the country,” Erlacher said. 

Photos of the renovation progress:

Contact Jaxon Garner at jaxgarner@augusta.edu.