UChicago athletes will be able to kick off the new year with a brand new sports field on the south side of campus. The new Campus South Athletic Field, located at 61st and Woodlawn, will replace the former North Field that was removed to begin construction of Campus North. Development of the synthetic turf field, bleacher seating for up to 50 spectators, a 1,250-square-foot service building, and a smaller field for warm-ups and intramurals was completed in June.

The field is designed to accommodate club and intramural sport competitions, including flag football, soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee. Likely to be busiest in the autumn and spring seasons due to varsity sports practices, it will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight on Mondays–Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.

However, the construction of the service building adjacent to the field has encountered delays. Because the lights of the field are powered through this service building, nighttime events are not yet possible. John Barlow, the Facilities Services Assistant Project Manager, indicated that the building, and the lights with it, will become operational sometime next month.

The reservation process for using the Campus South Field is also still in development. Brian Bock, the Assistant Director of Athletics in charge of Intramural, Recreational, and Club Sports, wrote in an email, “As a controlled-access facility, the new field is currently only available to those recognized programs within the Department of Physical Education & Athletics (such as varsity sports, intramural teams and sport clubs). With that being said, however, we plan on making it available to recreational groups in the very near future (via a scheduling process and subsequent key check-out). Reservation details/procedures should be finalized in the upcoming days.”