By Rebecca Dickman
On The Edge Editor
Sept. 23, 2022
On September 7, Edgewood College announced the purchase of land for an Athletic and Wellness Campus in Fitchburg, a Madison suburb about five miles from the Monroe St. campus.
The college paid $773,950 for the 40-acre parcel, according to records from the Fitchburg city assessor’s office.
College officials say that plans for the facility, including the timeline, are still in progress.
However, previous renderings for the facility, which were submitted to the City of Fitchburg last year, showed tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, as well as a soccer stadium.
Additionally, the land includes a wetlands area, which the college previously said would be reserved for use with the Environmental Studies Department.
Currently, Edgewood’s athletic teams compete and practice at several different facilities on and off campus. Al Brisack, Athletic Director and Baseball Coach, mentioned the various opportunities the new campus holds, including uniting these different teams.
“It’s been more than 15 years of searching to find such a great location with an amount of acreage that gives us options!” said Brisack wrote in an emailed statement. “This property has the potential to give us…much needed space to house the majority of our athletics teams in one place (competitions and training).” wrote Brisack.
Student athletes also voiced their excitement for future athletes and discussed the facility’s potential.
Estrella Figueroa, a sophmore and athlete on the Soccer team said she was excited for the facility.
“I honestly think it’s amazing for all Edgewood sports to be close together,” said Figueroa. “I’m kinda sad that I won’t be able to play soccer on it because it won’t be done on time.”
Irene Erhart, a sophomore on both the Track and Cross Country teams, mentioned how she hoped this new facility would help improve the teams.
“I would say I’m more excited as a track athlete because of the plans for a new track as well as space for different field events,” Erhart said. “For cross country, it’ll be nice for the team to have their own space for workouts instead of sharing with the highschoolers.”
The site is formerly a part of the O’Brien family farm. For generations the O’Brien family has had a connection with Edgewood as their cousin, Margaret O’Brien O.P., a Dominican sister, worked for many years at Edgewood College. President Manion thanked the family for their contribution.
“We are deeply grateful to the O’Brien family for their partnership and for their steadfast commitment to the community of Fitchburg, and to their vision for the students of Edgewood College for generations to come,” President Andrew Manion said in the college’s press release.
“Our vision for this wonderful resource aligns with our mission, the needs of the students we serve, and our call to continue to be good stewards of the gifts that have been shared through generations.”
Read previous OTE coverage of this story here.
Photo from City of Fitchburg
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