A correlation of architecture.

A completion of an area as a block.

An addition of green spaces.

A new student hangout.

David Horning, senior associate athletics director, said he hopes Paul H. Derr Track will be these things and more after its completion.

Soccer and softball are being moved from off-campus locations to Derr Track.

“It’s close enough for students who live on campus to drop by,” Steve Bostian, project manager, said.

Horning said better attendance at the games will help the sport.

Bostian said before renovation, Doak Field was the worst in the ACC, and now it is one of the best. He said the same thing is going to happen with softball — the campus is going to transition from not having a softball field to having one of the “best in the league.”

The drainage systems on the softball and soccer fields will make them state-of-the-art, according to Bostian.

“The girls will be able to play softball about an hour after a severe rainstorm,” he said.

The field will be under drained with sand-based soil so water can percolate quickly, according to Bostian. On the soccer field, he said there will be thousands of linear pipes for drainage. The field will have a slight crown but will be “relatively flat.”

Bostian said the soccer field will also have a sophisticated irrigation system.

The softball field, soccer field and track will all meet NCAA regulations, according to Bostian and Horning.

Both fields will have lights, so night games will be an option and can be televised, Bostian said.

Horning said it will be a complete olympic village with a “symbiotic relationship of buildings.” Reynolds Coliseum, Weisiger-Brown Athletic Facility, Case Athletic Center and Derr Track will all be adjacent to each other, consolidating the athletics facilities.

Bostian said the renovation team is making a neighborhood.

The softball entrance — at the corner of Cates Avenue and Morrill Drive — will have double gates similar to the ones at Reynolds Coliseum, according to Bostian.

“We want them to look like they belong together,” he said.

A long brick wall will run along the side of Morrill Drive and a building with concession and restroom facilities will border the Cates Avenue side of the stadium, Bostian said.

The bricking and sidewalk along Cates Avenue will be done in an architecturally sensitive way to make it look like a ball field, according to Bostian.

“Whenever you drive by a baseball field or a beautiful stadium, it’s a neat thing to do,” Horning said.

He said Derr Track will be an enhancement to campus.

Bostian said they are trying to have the architecture of Derr Track reflect what the Athletic Department is trying do — “building the best to be the best.”

The campus is unique with architecture from different decades, according to Bostian.

The construction is disrupting nature as little as possible in that area, according to Bostian. He said they have kept the trees as best they could so the area won’t look barren when they are finished.

They are also focusing on Rocky Branch.

“We don’t want to damage the work of Rocky Branch,” Bostian said. “So far, so good.”

They are providing a non-conventional service road for Paul Derr Track to help protect Rocky Branch.

According to Bostian, the road will be made of paver stone, which is built two-to-three inches below the top of the dirt and pervious, so grass and water can permeate it.

“There won’t be direct runoff,” Bostian said. “It will protect Rocky Branch.”

This road will also appear to be grass, making it easy on the eyes.

“At the end of the day, [Derr Track] is attractive for campus,” Horning said.

Bostian said he is excited because the crew has been working on it for a long time.

“It’s going to be a fan-friendly place,” he said.

One way Horning said he wants to make it a more appealing place to fans is to have the amenities available, like the wireless Internet at at Doak Field.

“We want to make it inviting,” he said.

According to Bostian, it is in a prominent place because the intersection is busy.

The entrance to the softball field will have steel-mesh screening, like at Doak Field, so passersby can get a glimpse of what is going on inside but can’t stand on the street and watch a ball game for free, he said.

Once Derr Track is complete, Horning and Bostian said they think it will improve athletics and the aesthetic appeal of campus.