ENMU Students Approve New Stadium

By Wendel Sloan

Students at Eastern New Mexico University approved a student fee increase of $40 per semester for full-time students ($3.33 per credit hour for part-time students) to fund $4 million over 30 years of a proposed $8 million new multi-purpose stadium on campus.

The vote passed with an overwhelming 83% showing support for the facility (1,052 of 1,237 voted in favor).

The current Greyhound Stadium, located seven miles from campus on Highway 70 between Portales and Clovis, is 45 years old and needs extensive renovation.

The new facility will be located on the ENMU campus and will feature a synthetic turf field. In addition to the football team, the facility will be used by the track and field team, for Greyhound Sound marching band practices, and available for soccer and intramural competitions. The stadium will also be the home field for Portales High School. Concerts and graduation

ceremonies could also be held at the facility. “We are grateful to our students for having the vision and selflessness to approve the increase in student fees,” said Steven Gamble, ENMU president. “Even those who may have graduated by the time the new facility is completed understood that this project will move Eastern forward in staying competitive with other universities. It will be a point of pride for all current and future students, and will only enhance the already great value of having a degree from ENMU.”

Justin Aguilar, president of the ENMU student body, said, “The students saw the value in what the facility will do for their future alma mater. Even though it may not be completed before many of the current students graduate, it will still be a source of pride for the rest of their lives knowing that they contributed to enhancing the campus of ENMU. Someday some of them may bring their kids back to campus and can point to the new stadium and say they helped build it.”

The additional student fee will not be assessed before the fall of 2014 at the earliest. Construction will not begin until an additional $4 million has been raised, including contributions from ENMU and the ENMU Foundation. The ENMU Foundation hopes to increase its fundraising efforts to build an enhanced $12 million stadium.