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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Weston Athletic Complex at Williams College will be dedicated on Saturday, Oct. 11, during a day of sporting events and celebrations. The events, which are free and open to the public, include varsity soccer (Cole Field), field hockey (Williamson Field), and football (Farley-Lamb Field) games; a community-wide tailgate lunch; and a post-game reception with longtime coaches Dick Farley and Renzie Lamb.
"We're all so excited about the completion and opening of the Weston Athletic Complex," says Lisa Melendy, director of athletics. "I couldn't be more pleased with the final product and all that it means to our students and community."
Lee Track and Williamson Field will be dedicated at 1:00 p.m. before the start of the start of the 1:30 PM field hockey game, and Farley-Lamb Field, the football and lacrosse field, will be dedicated during halftime of the football game. The presentation of the 2014 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup will also take place during the halftime ceremonies.
Lee Track is named for Beth and James B. Lee '75/'75 and their children Lexi '04, Jamie '06, and Izzy '12. Williamson Field is the new home of the Williams field hockey team and is named for Sarah Keohane Williamson '84. The Lee family and Williamson are generous supporters of the Weston project. Farley-Lamb Field honors two Williams legends. Farley coached football and track and field for 35 years and, with five perfect seasons and the best coaching record in Williams history, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Lamb was head coach of men's lacrosse from 1968 to 2003, assistant football coach for 30 years, and head coach of women's squash for 10 years.
A renovation of Weston's athletic fields was long planned and put on hold in 2008 in response to the global financial crisis. In the intervening years, the project was re-imagined to create a complex that could best foster Williams' approach to athletics—with its focus on broad participation and excellence within Division 3—and put a greater emphasis on green design and environmental stewardship.
Momentum for the project grew in 2012, when John A. "Jack" Luetkemeyer, Jr. '63, P'89 made a transformative gift to the Weston project. Luetkemeyer's gift, which inspired other alumni and parents to lend their support, was made in honor of his class as it approached its 50th Reunion.
The resulting complex provides safe, inviting facilities for varsity field hockey, football, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's track and field, as well as a recreational destination for the campus and community.
The new Weston includes a grandstand that seats 1,400, a concessions stand, restrooms, and lighted turf fields. A team support building between the two fields provides much-needed facilities for athletes and coaches.
"These facilities provide our coaches with the best classrooms possible," Melendy says. "The location of services in the team support building—equipment, sports medicine, locker rooms, and meeting rooms—will allow for more efficiency in a comfortable setting."
