FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana Tech has finalized its purchase of the Don Ross Golf Course, located at 7102 South Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne, and will begin construction on an athletic complex on the back nine holes of the course May 1, with a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Thursday, May 3, university officials announced recently.
 
Phase one of the construction project will include a softball stadium, outdoor track & field complex, and a multi-purpose athletic building that will house a wrestling gym, coaching and administration offices, locker rooms and a laundry/equipment room.
 
The 55 acres of land comprising this portion of the course would also allow enough space for additional athletic facilities in the future at Indiana Tech Warrior Park, the name of the new complex.

The new facilities added during this $15 million project are expected to be ready for use by spring 2019. The facilities will include:

• A softball stadium: The collegiate competition-level stadium will be lighted and have 350 seats, an artificial turf infield and outfield, batting cages and a digital scoreboard. The stadium will be available for Indiana Tech practices, games, collegiate conference tournaments, and Fort Wayne-area high school and other tournaments.
• A track-and-field complex: The 400-meter, eight-lane track will have a natural grass infield, sites for field events such as discus, shot put and hammer throw, and bleacher seating for 350 people. The complex will be able to host Indiana Tech practices and meets, collegiate conference and national meets, and community track and field events.
• A multipurpose athletic building: The 25,000-square-foot building will contain space for wrestling home meets and practices; sports medicine, treatment and training rooms; and men's and women's home and visitor locker rooms; two team meeting rooms, and a welcome center for Warrior Park visitors. The building also will contain coaching and administration offices, locker rooms and a laundry and equipment room.

"Not only are we happy to provide top-notch athletic facilities for our student-athletes, we are excited about the additional opportunities this complex could bring," said Indiana Tech President Dr. Karl W. Einolf. "We could host national championships for track and field and softball, which would be huge for our university and our city."

The ceremonial ground breaking will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 3 at Indiana Tech Warrior Park, 7102 South Calhoun Street, Fort Wayne, IN  46807. Parking is available in the lot of the Don Ross clubhouse and the groundbreaking will take place immediately across Calhoun Street from the entrance to the clubhouse. An open house with light refreshments will be held in the golf course clubhouse immediately following the groundbreaking.
 
The front nine holes of the course will be untouched and the course reopened on April 11 as the Indiana Tech Donald Ross Golf Club. For more information, visit here and here.
 
In October 2017, the university announced its intent to purchase the golf course and develop the back nine into a new collegiate athletic complex once its due diligence and site assessment have been satisfactorily completed.
 
The softball stadium and outdoor track and field will be finished by this fall, allowing both programs to have games and practices starting in the spring of 2018.
 
Indiana Tech president Dr. Karl Einolf commented, "We're excited about the possibilities created by repurposing the Donald Ross Golf Course, and look forward to completing our site assessment. It seems like both a great fit for the needs of our student-athletes, and a positive use of the property for the entire community."
 
For more information, visit here.