Facility expected to be complete for 2023 season
BRISTOL, Tenn., Dec. 21, 2021 — King University has announced plans to build a new outdoor track and field complex on its main campus in Bristol.
Expected to be completed in time for the spring 2023 track and field season, the facility will be located adjacent to King’s pond on the north side of campus and feature an eight-lane track with a synthetic surface, natural grass center, press box, and bleacher seating for 300.
“We are excited to announce this significant improvement to our campus and to our region,” said Alexander Whitaker, president of King. “Not only will it build on the noteworthy success of our track and cross country programs, it will offer all our students, faculty, and staff an ideal place to walk, run, and exercise. The field within the track will be designed so it can be used for multiple sports — varsity and recreational.”
In the last 10 years, King student-athletes have brought home five Conference Carolinas Women’s Cross Country championships, including in two of the last three years. The men’s team has also amassed six runner-up finishes at the Conference Carolinas Championships and made two appearances at the NCAA Championships. In that same time period, King has boasted four Conference Carolinas Track and Field Scholar Athletes of the Year, two Academic All-Region honorees, and an Academic All-American.
“Since transitioning to NCAA Division II and joining Conference Carolinas in 2011, King has experienced tremendous success in cross country and track and field,” said David Hicks, director of athletics. “This project will create a championship-quality complex that offers a premium training experience and can host conference events.”
King is working with an engineering and design firm on the initial concepts for the facility, which will be finalized and shared in early 2022.
“This facility will allow us to build on past accomplishments and solidify King as one of the top programs in the region,” Hicks noted. “It will also make our campus a premier destination for track and cross country athletes, not only in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, but in the southeastern United States.”