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Brooks Field at Achilles Center

Formerly the home of the Union College men's and women's ice hockey teams for 50 years, Brooks Field at Achilles Center will be the new indoor home for several Union athletics teams beginning this winter.

The space will provide Union with an on-campus indoor turf facility for the first time, allowing for Union's varsity teams to practice indoors during the winter. Combined with the existing Memorial Fieldhouse, the facility will allow coaches more flexibility in scheduling practice times, helping to alleviate the need for off-campus practices during the winter and limiting the need for early-morning or late-night sessions. The new turf also will create an additional space for Union's club sports and recreational offerings.

Also as part of the renovation, the upper levels of Achilles Center will be converted into additional spots for student-athletes to train, including dedicated batting and pitching areas for the baseball and softball teams.

In addition to the new turf, Achilles Center also houses the Travis J. Clark '00 Strength Training Facility, a state-of-the-art workout area exclusively for the use of Union student-athletes, as well as the College's primary sports medicine facility. As part of the renovation, several Union teams and coaches will also move their locker rooms and offices into the new space, and a new lounge area will be created for student-athletes to complement the Garnet Room in the lower level of the building.

Originally opened in 1975 as Achilles Rink and named in honor of original benefactor Rev. H. Laurence Achilles, Sr., the rink was renovated in 2003 and renamed Messa Rink at Achilles Center in honor of Frank L. Messa '73, whose generosity made the renovation possible. Beginning in 2025-26, the hockey teams are moving to the brand-new M&T Bank Center across Erie Boulevard, which will open up Achilles for use as a turf field as well as indoor batting cages and other amenities for use by Union students.