The Niss Athletic Center is scheduled to be open to athletes on campus by Nov. 1.

While not all features will be finished and available, approval from the fire and building departments will allow for immediate use.

The center features of the Niss include an 80-yard football field, batting cages and full track and field amenities, among other features.

“It’s designed to accommodate as many different sports simultaneously so it gets as much use as possible,” Rick Ewing, Vice-President of Operations and Planning said. “But most definitely, the primary impetus was to support the football and track programs.”

Not only would major sports programs such as football benefit from the Niss’s opening, but Ewing hopes that the new building is also used for intramural sports, concerts and ceremonies.

Ashland’s Athletic Director Al King is in agreement with Ewing on the importance of the Niss’s opening for student-athletes.

“It is going to change their lives remarkably,” King said. “As a lacrosse girl said to me, ‘No more freezing my hands in January.’ Between Cleveland and Columbus, you don’t have a lot of facilities like this. Our hope is it can do a lot for recruiting new students.”

The completion of the Niss was not without its setbacks however.

During its construction, supply chain issues have led to some minor delays. Most notably, the purple glass wall that is supposed to cover a corner of the building has been delayed by eight weeks and will most likely not arrive in time for the grand opening. In the meantime, the corner will be covered by plywood.

Despite the setbacks, the Niss Athletic Center is set to play a major role in Ashland athletics in the near future.

“It’s immense size is impressive,” Ewing said. “An institution of our size in, Division II, to have a facility of this nature is really unprecedented.”