DENTON (UNT), Texas - University of North Texas officials will break ground at 2 p.m. Oct. 28 (Saturday) on a new track & field and soccer stadium for North Texas Athletics.

The ceremony will take place in Parking Lot 84, next to UNT’s Waranch Tennis Complex and complimentary parking is available in Lot 80, south of Apogee Stadium and Victory Hall. Light refreshments will follow the groundbreaking ceremony.

The new facility, a sand-based soccer field and eight-lane track, will be home to the Mean Green soccer and track & field teams, and provide opportunities to host Conference USA championships and other events. The stadium will offer permanent seating for about 1,500 spectators. An accompanying 14,000-square foot field house will include new coaches’ offices, locker rooms, a team meeting area and a student-athlete lounge.

The track & field and soccer stadium, to be located in Mean Green Village, is the first major construction project under the leadership of UNT Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Director of Athletics Wren Baker. He was hired in August 2016 and recently released the Mean Green Strategic Plan, a 20-year vision to develop student-athletes as champions and leaders.

"The completed stadium will be one of the best in the region and our conference,” Baker said. “It will vastly improve the experience for our fans and our student-athletes. We anxiously look forward to its completion."

Construction on the $13.6 million project is expected to begin in October with completion scheduled for August 2018.

The North Texas track & field teams have called Fouts Field home since 1952 and Mean Green soccer has played at the Mean Green Soccer Stadium on Bonnie Brae Street since 2006.