State-of-the-art performance center is crown jewel of Ball State Athletics improvements

MUNCIE, Ind. — Some big upgrades are coming to Muncie and Ball State Athletics. Starting this spring, massive upgrades are arriving that will impact at least 80% of its student population.

The upgrades will start at Scheumann Stadium, home of the Ball State football team. New turf will be laid down after this weekend’s spring football game and is expected to be done in time for summer practices.

“When you’re dealing with turf, you need to upgrade it in a series of eight to 10 years,” said Jeff Mitchell, athletic director for Ball State Athletics. “We’re at lifespan there and we’re excited to get these projects started.”

Focus will then shift to the baseball and softball fields, where new turf will also be installed. For the softball field, players still run the bases on dirt and have a grass outfield. Once their season is over, that will soon change.

Worthen Area, home for men’s and women’s volleyball and basketball, will also be getting a facelift scheduled to begin in May. After upgrading the seats last year, the courts will be rebranded.  

“We’re also going to do a rebrand of our Worthen Arena floor,” said Mitchell. “That will happen after commencement in May. We’re excited to get this done and bring a new fan experience inside Worthen Arena.”

The biggest upgrade will be a new state-of-the-art building called the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center. Mitchell said this will be an $8 million project that will provide athletes with a new training center and a nutrition bar to help athletes recover.

“There’s improvements that are happening at other institutions, we’re certainly doing that as well,” said Mitchell. “Particularly, though, the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center was a need for the benefit of our student-athlete population.”

With all the new upgrades and renovations coming to Ball State, Mitchell hopes the university can attract new athletes to Muncie and enhance everyone’s experience.

“It certainly has a recruiting impact, especially the Eric Foss Championship Performance Center,” said Mitchell. “80% of our student athletes will have the ability to work out and train in the new facility. I believe the better we train, the better we will perform. And the more excitement our students and our community in Muncie and East Central Indiana can benefit from a more competitive team, then we all win.”

Mitchell said they are always looking to improve facilities at Ball State and enhance student-athletes’ experiences, as well as the experience for fans.