Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Home of USA Field Hockey at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It was an afternoon full of heightened emotions as many involved in the project, followed by several members of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Head Coach David Passmore, and U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach Harry Singh, all swung their shovels in a ceremonious “groundbreaking” on the dirt that will soon be the new home of USA Field Hockey.

The new USA Field Hockey field, supported by the United States Performance Center (USPC), will be located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). The field and its infrastructures will be fit to house both national teams and provide them with the high-level facilities needed to continue their training for a heightened caliber of international play.

The ceremony included speeches from a few prominent faces involved with the project, including the UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber, USPC Co-Founders Ike Belk and David Koerner, and USA Field Hockey’s Executive Director Simon Hoskins. The group also heard words from Passmore and current USWNT athlete Amanda Golini.

"This is going to be a world class high performance center," said Hoskins. "The support and belief in our program from the state of North Carolina, the University, and the USPC is just so amazing."

With the ceremonial groundbreaking concluded, the construction of the field is underway and is expected to be complete by September of this year. The USWNT will utilize the USPC for full-time training, while the USMNT will use it for training camps. The new facility is supported with the elite high performance services from the USPC, which includes strength and conditioning, athletic training, physical therapy, mental wellness, sport psychology and sports medicine resources.

As for the field surface itself, the new Poligras Paris GT Zero will be installed. This caliber of turf, widely regarded as the best field hockey turf in the world, is the same surface that will be used at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The new home of USA Field Hockey will field its first international games this fall and winter, if construction goes according to schedule. Meanwhile, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams will continue to train for these matches and more for 2024 and beyond.