BOONE, N.C. - A new Kidd Brewer Stadium complex, indoor practice facility and competition venues for three Appalachian State University teams highlight the $32 million athletics facilities enhancement plan announced Saturday, Nov. 12 by ASU Chancellor Dr. Kenneth E. Peacock, athletics director Charlie Cobb and athletics facilities campaign chairperson Ed Broyhill. Construction of the 100,000-square-foot Kidd Brewer Stadium complex behind the stadium's east side stands is set to begin as soon as possible. The four-story building will benefit all 20 varsity sports at Appalachian. Among its features are spacious strength and conditioning, sports medicine and academic services facilities for all student-athletes, as well as new locker rooms for the sports that call Kidd Brewer home - field hockey, football and men's and women's cross country and track and field. The complex will also include offices for virtually every ASU coach and administrative staff member, bringing a department that has been spread throughout many buildings across campus to a central location. Only the men's and women's basketball and volleyball staffs will remain in their current home, the Holmes Convocation Center. For Mountaineer fans, the complex will offer a plethora of amenities to help bring even more excitement to the gameday experience at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Highlighting the new fan amenities are the addition of 10 stadium suites, a new Chancellor's suite and a spacious VIP club room, which includes 250 club level seats. In all, the project adds 500 seats to the stadium's seating capacity. Additionally, all fans entering the stadium will be able to enjoy a stadium plaza on the northeast side of the complex that will serve as the new gateway to Kidd Brewer Stadium. New restroom, concessions and merchandise areas will also be included. Also beginning immediately will be the construction of a new 2,000-seat home for Appalachian baseball, located behind the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on ASU's campus. The stadium is set to include locker rooms and indoor batting cages and will give the Mountaineers one of the top facilities in the baseball-rich Southern Conference. Following the completion of the 2006 baseball season, Phase I of the project will continue with the construction of a pair of firsts for ASU - an indoor practice facility and an on-campus softball stadium. Both venues will be built at the site of Appalachian's current baseball facility, with the indoor practice facility sitting in what is now right and center fields and the softball stadium occupying what currently serves as the baseball infield and shallow outfield. One-hundred-and-fifty parking spaces will be added in the current left field area to ensure easy accessibility to both facilities. The indoor practice facility will include an 80-by-60-yard artificial surface, taping and changing rooms and a stairway connecting it to the west gate of Kidd Brewer Stadium. It will benefit all of Appalachian's outdoor sports during inclement weather and be a hallmark for indoor athletics facilities across the region. Mountaineer softball, which has played off-campus since the program's inception in 2001, is slated to move into its new on-campus home in time for the 2007 season. Like its baseball counterpart, the 1,000-seat softball stadium will include locker rooms and indoor batting cages. Phase II of the project is scheduled to get underway in Summer 2006 and includes a new soccer stadium near the baseball stadium at the Broyhill Inn and an enhancement of the Appalachian tennis facility located behind the west stands of Kidd Brewer Stadium. The 1,000-seat soccer stadium is set to feature a natural-grass surface and locker rooms for ASU's men's and women's squads. Like the baseball and softball venues, the soccer stadium will also include plenty of parking, as well as restroom facilities for fans. ASU men's and women's tennis will be able to combat the elements when 3-to-6 of the courts at their current complex are covered. Locker rooms for both teams and seating and restroom facilities for 250 fans are also included in the project. Phase III of plan is expected to commence in Fall 2007 and includes identifying locations for and construction of new facilities for field hockey and indoor sports competition and practice. The field hockey stadium will include seating for 1,000 fans, locker rooms and restroom and an AstroTurf playing surface. The indoor sports facility, which could possibly include a renovation of Varsity Gym, will serve as practice space for Appalachian basketball, volleyball and wrestling, as well as a 1,000-seat competition venue. The fourth phase of the project has no timetable, as it consists of a possible seating expansion of Kidd Brewer Stadium. The timetable and plans will be determined based on ticket demand, but is not expected to start anytime prior to the completion of the first three phases of the project. For more on the facilities enhancement plan, including a timeline and architect's renderings, click here.