CARLSBAD — Army and Navy Academy (ANA) officials and Carlsbad public figures auspiciously dipped golden shovels into pre-dug dirt to break ground on the school’s new $10 million sports complex on Nov. 10. The Duffield Sports Complex will replace ANA’s Maffucci Field and include a new stadium and press box, athletic field with synthetic turf and stadium lights, restrooms, concessions, and executive suites. The complex will also consist of a two-story 27,250-square-foot sports facility that will house a new gymnasium, locker rooms, weight training rooms, conference facilities and offices.
“Our first reaction (to the sports complex) was, ‘Really? What about the dorms and the classrooms?’” said ANAPA Vice President Tracey Borst. But she said that she came to realize that the sports facility would enhance the experience of all the cadets and the campus’s sense of community. “This facility and field are an extension of the classroom…these young men deserve this facility.”
An average of 300 cadets will use the facility each year for 11 interscholastic sports and physical fitness training.
“Today marks the first step in our master plan to modernize this campus,” said Chairman of the ANA Board of Trustees, Capt. Jack Wyatt at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The ceremony also marked the beginning of a capital campaign to raise about $4.5 million needed to cover rest of the project’s $10 million price tag.
The sports complex is named in honor of a $3.5 million donation from Dave and Cheryl Duffield the parents of two ANA cadets.
Sporting hardhats and gold shovels, ANA administration, board members, and committee members, as well as Carlsbad’s Mayor Pro Tem Ann Kulchin acted as “ceremonial shovel bearers” at the late morning event. Hundreds of ANA students, parents, and alumni attended the ceremony.
Kulchin said that City Council has supported the ANA’s addition since its first proposal. “Carlsbad is happy, pleased, proud to have the Academy as part of our city,” she said.
The ANA is a boarding school for boys in 7th-12th grades and was founded in 1910.
