GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman University officials announced Wednesday that Greenville entrepreneurs and community leaders Martha and Stewart Spinks have provided the capstone commitment to complete funding for a new field house at the university’s Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium.
The $1.6 million, 5,300-square-foot Spinks Field House will contain locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams, public restrooms, a concession stand and a second-story viewing deck. It will be located between the west end of Stone Stadium and Latham Baseball Stadium.
The field house project has been in development for more than three years and is part of the recently completed, $406 million “Because Furman Matters” capital fundraising campaign. All funds to support the construction of the Spinks Field House came from donor gifts.
The university will break ground for the new facility in the next few weeks, and construction is expected to take seven to eight months.
“We are very grateful to Martha and Stewart Spinks for allowing us to complete the $1.6 million funding for this campus project that so many donors have supported,” said Furman Interim President Carl Kohrt. “The Spinks family have been great supporters of Furman for many years, and this pledge is another example of their amazing generosity. We also want to thank Graham Seagraves ’00 and his wife, Jarrell ‘00, for making the wonderful pledge in 2012 that got this effort off the ground.”
“Our family has enjoyed a friendship with (Furman men’s soccer coach) Doug Allison since he came to Furman 20 years ago,” said Stewart Spinks, founder and chairman of the board of the Spinx Company, Inc., who has served as a member of Furman’s Board of Trustees. “We’ve seen the results of sustained excellence in the program, and more importantly, on the lives of the young students who have found success in their athletic and academic lives at Furman. Our hope is to see the programs continue to flourish on the national stage for many years to come.”
Graham Seagraves played for the men’s soccer team, and he and his wife made a major commitment toward the soccer field house in June 2012. Furman’s soccer pitch was officially dedicated as Seagraves Field that fall.
“Projects like this take commitment to a whole new level,” said Seagraves, “and Jarrell and I are proud that so many have come forward to support the program. It is especially gratifying to see that Martha and Stewart Spinks were the donors who pushed us over the top and made this dream a reality. It is exciting to know that Furman soccer is receiving this kind of support from within the Greenville community.”
Clint Hill, director of athletics development at Furman, said the original goal was to raise $1.5 million for the field house project, but another $100,000 was added to the total to reinforce the lower level so future expansion would be a possibility. He added that a proposed Phase II for the field house would enclose the upstairs area and include space for coaches’ offices and a recruiting area.
“As a former member of the Furman soccer team, this project has special meaning for me and it was a pleasure to be a part of pushing Furman soccer forward,” Hill said. “The Spinks Field House will make the game experience better for everybody. Furman and the visiting teams will have a place to dress and meet at halftime, while the fans will be provided with additional restroom facilities and an expanded concession area.”
Stewart Spinks founded the Spinx Co. in 1972. Headquartered in Greenville, the company operates 74 convenience retail stores in South Carolina and North Carolina.
For more information about the project, contact Clint Hill at 864-294-3732 or clint.hill@furman.edu.