Allen Acquires Land for New Stadium

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Allen University reached an agreement with Richland County for a piece of property at 1741 Cushman Drive off of Two Notch road on July 11.

The land will ultimately be developed into a stadium for the football program as well as facilites for the softball, soccer, and track and field programs.

AU president Dr. Ernest McNealey spoke with Steven Gaither of HBCU Gameday at SIAC football Media Day last Wednesday in Atlanta about the new stadium.

"Well, we have been trying to locate land to build a full-scale athletic complex for football, track & field, and soccer. The entire nine yards." Dr. McNealey said. "The county owns land, maybe two-and-a-half miles from the campus. We had been in an extended negotiation and it finally concluded last night."

Allen has been playing its football games at Blythewood's Westwood High School since re-starting its program back in 2018. The University has been working diligently towards securing the land for the stadium for some time and now it expects to move quickly.

Allen made the initial approach to the county last August and there were periodic conversations and exchange of documents.

Originally, Allen had anticipated playing football on the land this coming fall, but obviously were not able to conclude the transaction. However, by next fall, AU is expecting to have a brand new home for competition.

The new stadium would be the next step forward for AU athletics. The University is preparing for transition to NCAA Division II membership and recently completed the second-year of a three-year transition to full membership.
"Well, the SIAC is important, obviously," McNealey said. "Allen was in it previously. When I was hired there were probably four board members who had been student-athletes in the SIAC so they were very interested in the return of football and in becoming a part of the SIAC. We are obviously gratified to make that happen for them." McNealey was honored by the SIAC last Wednesday afternoon as a Hall of Fame inductee. He oversaw a similar transition at Stillman College in Alabama before coming to Columbia in 2017.

Allen University Director of Athletics, Jasher Cox, is excited about the news and what it means for athletics, as well as the university as a whole, "Acquiring this land marks a pivotal moment in our journey to build a groundbreaking athletics facility. With this strategic investment from the Board of Trustees and President McNealey, we are laying the foundation for a space where athletic dreams will come to fruition, and where the community will find a vibrant hub for excellence at Allen University."

"President McNealey wants to win and he wants to do a lot of winning," Cox continued. "What comes along with that is an enormous amount of passion that he has for the department of intercollegiate athletics. This transition going from NAIA to NCAA is not a mistake either. He knew by adopting such that it would improve a lot of areas on campus and a lot of pillars as well. And we've done just that."

The Yellow Jacket football program will open their season Sept. 2 at home at Westwood HS at 6 PM to take on Erskine College.