Informing, entertaining and inspiring t li e E Ion U ni vers i ty c o m m u n i t y s i n c e 1974
Volume; XXIX ISSUE: 6 D A T E ; 9 / 22 / 0 1 w w w . e I o n . e d u / p e n d u 1 u ni
Years of planning pay on
at opening of new stadium
Mandie Danielski
Reporter
Take one-tenth of the Elon
Vision, add a $2 million donation
from Dusty and Peggy Rhodes, mix
in internationally renowned
architect firm Ellerbe Becket, plus
260,000 bricks and one eager
Phoenix football team and you have
Elon University’s Rhodes Stadium,
the first home stadium in the
institution’s history.
It took seven years of planning
and 18 months of building to realize
the 90-year-old dream of an on-
campus stadium for Elon. It also
took a total of $12.8 million.
But it’s certainly a well spent
sum. That price includes 160,000
square feet of playing field, 102
tons of re-bar steel, 5,550 cubic
yards of concrete, 8,250 seats, four
VIP boxes beside the president’s
(which has room for 49 of his
closest friends), 12,000 feet of
plastic drainage pipe and 116
toilets.
Okay, so maybe the stadium’s 10
bathrooms with a total of 70 sinks
isn’t as impressive as the 25,000
yards of imported rock blanketing
the drainage network below a 12-
inch root zone composed of a blend
of silica sand and peat moss. (Did
you get all that?)
That sand-based, oh-so-green
Tifsport Bermuda grass playing
surface just happens to match the
surface the Carolina Panthers play
on in Charlotte at Ericsson Stadium.
(Larry Rhodes, son of trustees and
donors Dusty and Peggy and
landscape manager for Elon,
decided to use the Tifsport brand.
The stadium design itself mirrors
many NFL stadiums, including the
Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami.
McGovem Sports Fields, Inc., of
Ft. Myers, Fla., installed McKinnon
Field, named after trustee Bob
McKinnon and his wife, Ray. The
company explained that the
elaborate drainage network beneath
the turf allows for up to two feet of
rain per hour - an amount that
would delay game time only one
hour.
Architect firm Ellerbe Becket
held the reins of design for Rhodes
Stadium. The firm, based in
Minneapolis, is famous around the
world for sports complexes like
Madison Square Garden in New
York, Lambeau Field in Green Bay,
Wis., Bank One Capital Ballpark in
Phoenix and the1996 Centennial
iwiejo Opening Day
iMsStadiuni
hisforic day in Elorft|n^ersify% history.
Todcg^ for the R0t time the foot
the home field dcfeintage. the pBrosie, Here comes
Elon, now carries a whole new sense of pride
This edition will take you step by step through the
vision of the stadium to where you can tailgate. En
joy the game and welcome home.
Emily HudsonI Photographer
An view of the impressive Rhodes stadium shows the culmination of the Elon Vision, the seven-year
plan initiated by former Elon president Fred Young.
Olympic Stadium in Atlanta.
Elon’s bowl-shaped stadium,
however, was not the firm’s only
endeavor at this northwest-comer
of campus. Construction included
expanding the Koury Field House
for additional lockers and training
rooms, relocating the soccer field,
xpanding other practice fields and
adding roads and some parking.
(Though wouldn’t you think that
19,817 square feet of stadium [not
including the playing field] would
be enough work?)
See STADIUM
page 3
Annie Reilly!Reporter
Dusty and Peggy Rhodes have been active donors at Elon.
Donors make stadium possible
Jennifer Guarino
Managing Editor
The contributions of many spe
cial donors helped the dream of
Elon’s new stadium become a real
ity. A $2 million gift from Peggy
and Dusty Rhodes, two of the larg
est benefactors in Elon’s history,
served as the catalyst for this grand
on-campus stadium.
‘The Rhodes’ influence at Elon
has been transformational,” says
Leo Lambert, Elon president,
“Their generosity has helped us
reach goals that many believed
were beyond our reach. And they
have matched their philanthropy
with a personal community in
volvement that has provided vision
ary leadership. The Rhodes, and
their family, are great supporters of
Elon.”
“Investing at Elon, you can
make a difference and see what
your gift does,” Rhodes says. “If
you gave [money] to some large in
stitution, you would never see it.
But at Elon you can immediately
see the results. It’s veiy gratifying.”
Rhodes has served on the board
of trustees since 1997 and the
couple has made numerous gifts
and pledges, supporting building
projects, academic programs and a
variety of scholarships.
The couple grew up in Fremont,
Ohio. After quitting high school in
1946, Rhodes enlisted in the U.S.
Navy and spent four years inter
cepting Russian communications.
After his discharge in 1950, he re
turned home and married Peggy, his
See DONORS
pages