Misericordia University and its Board of Trustees have plans to construct a multi-purpose sports dome on campus.

The dome is expected to be completed between January and March 2023. With the university’s expansion in athletics and its athletic facilities being limited, the hopes is the dome will positively impact recreational and intramural time for the entire community.

“Were just so jammed up with practices and time that if we could enhance our recreational space, our athletic space and intramural space on campus, we could do this by putting a dome up,” said Misericordia’s Director of Athletics Charles Edkins. “All sports can have the opportunity to really benefit from this, also so can our community here, and then the Misericordia external community, like youth sports programs can come in here and play.”

The proposed 79-foot-high dome is expected to cost up to $2.5 million and will be constructed next to the Mangelsdorf Field in the university’s Anderson Outdoor Athletics Complex. It will consist of an artificial turf field and many other athletic accessories, such as a batting cage and sporting goals.

“The dome will benefit the whole campus community; having a place to do indoor activities year-round will benefit athletics, resident life and the Dallas community,” said head football coach John Davis. “It will also be a big admissions draw as people get on campus for tournaments that may have not heard of us.”

The dome will offer an opportunity for the Misericordia athletic programs to benefit from more practice space and time throughout the week. This addition will greatly benefit the outdoor sports programs as they will be able to hold workouts and practices in the off-season without having to share a facility with other sports, giving each team a better opportunity to have a set time throughout the week to practice.

“I am personally excited to give our athletes year-round access to improvement in fine motor skills,” said Davis. “Throwing, catching and sprinting are going to make all of our programs better. Throughout the country and especially in the region, there are not many domes on college campuses. This gives the university an advantage in many ways.”

It is expected the dome will benefit athletes and sport programs in inclement weather. Located in an area known for all kinds of winter storms and freezing temperatures throughout different seasons, the dome will offer the university’s outdoor athletes a place to practice and work out when they are having to deal with the weather conditions.

The dome should also benefit outdoor programs with recruiting.

“It’s a game changer; recruiting is a battle of facilities,” Edkins said. “If I am an outdoor sports student-athlete who is going deal with inclement weather at some point, hey, I have a place to go where it is not 20 degrees.”

As the university sports programs recruit athletes heavily from across the country in warmer areas, such as states like Arizona, California, and Florida, the dome gives those athletes another reason to want to attend and play sports at Misericordia.

The dome will also allow Misericordia an opportunity to help the community with more space for recreation and Misericordia will also get the chance to expand its intramural space. In addition to aiding sports programs in team building and recruiting, the dome will add more activities which will benefit the student body and resident life.

The university will also be able to host selected events and activities for the community, especially for youth in the area. These activities may include activities such as youth sports programs, leagues, camps and tournaments which will benefit youth, the community and the university as a whole.

“The other thing that is important to our mission is that we have the opportunity to help children who can come and have some recreational time and space,” Edkins said.

“I do not have a definite date,” Davis said of the dome’s completion. “But I have enjoyed watching anticipation build.”