“These state-of-the art athletics facilities help establish the Meadows Neighborhood as a distinctive Princeton space that complements our historic campus,” said President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83. “They demonstrate the University’s commitment to our student-athletes’ pursuit of excellence as well as to the health and well-being of all our students, staff and faculty. We are deeply grateful to the alumni and friends whose vision made this transformative expansion possible.” 

The Meadows Neighborhood is a dynamic, mixed-use development that also includes graduate student housing and a 600-car parking garage. The Department of Athletics is playing a leading role in the evolution of this campus space on Washington Road, with facilities that will be the new homes of Princeton’s varsity squash, tennis, softball and women’s rugby teams as well as the primary home for numerous club teams and intramural sports. The redesigned Meadows Campus Cross Country Course hosted the 2024 Ivy League Heptagonal Cross-Country Championships in November 2024. 

“These new facilities stand as a testament to Princeton’s investment in the student-athlete experience, and we are excited that Athletics is playing a central part in the University’s future as it expands its footprint,” said John Mack, ’00, the Ford Family Director of Athletics. “We are appreciative of the generous alumni who have helped launch this next phase of Princeton Athletics, in which these championship-caliber facilities further inspire our student-athletes to achieve, serve and lead.” 

The centerpiece of the new athletic hub is the Racquet and Recreation Fieldhouse, a 180,000 square-foot base for Princeton’s rugby, softball, squash and tennis teams. The facility is designed so student-athletes can optimize their hours to fully develop their abilities while providing the support required for individual and team success. For the first time, these teams will have locker rooms, coaches’ offices, strength and conditioning facilities, and sports medicine space all under one roof. In the new lounge, student-athletes will be greeted by communal fueling station with nutritious options, just steps from locker rooms and coaches’ offices. 

The Princeton tennis teams practice and compete on nine indoor courts that are part of the Si Qin Family Indoor Tennis Center, named in honor of a gift from Si Qin, within the fieldhouse and nine outdoor courts that make up the Cordish Family Outdoor Tennis Center on the east side of the building. (The Cordish Family Outdoor Tennis Center is named in recognition of a previous gift that established the Cordish Family Pavilion, the home of Princeton tennis between 2011 and 2019.) There is enough seating for the indoor and outdoor courts to accommodate a total of 1,000 spectators, and several viewing decks and terraces have been named to honor alumni and friends who supported the construction of the new tennis facility. 

Inside the fieldhouse, the Princeton squash teams compete on 14 new courts, including two glass-walled exhibition courts with stadium seating. Spectators can view multiple matches at once by taking advantage of the upper-level walkway that spans the length of the squash complex. A ground-level gallery provides easy access to seating in front of each court and is an ideal space for squash program gatherings. 

The pair of glass exhibition courts are “Coaches’ Courts” and the first is named Bob Callahan ’77 Court, a tribute to the legendary player and coach who guided the Princeton men’s team to three national titles during his 32 years leading the program. Other courts and several adjoining spaces have been named to recognize supporters of the new squash facilities. 

The entire University community is welcome at the fieldhouse to use the Wilkinson Fitness Center, named in honor of a gift from Beth A. Wilkinson ’84 — who, while a Princeton student, had an ROTC scholarship and was a four-year member of Expressions Dance Company — and her husband, David M. Gregory. An extension of Princeton Campus Recreation’s programs, the center has more than 13,000 square feet of workout space, fitness studio and locker room that can accommodate more than 250 visitors at once. 

Haaga House, which became the field-side home to Princeton’s rugby teams in 2013, has been reimagined in its new location farther from Washington Road. The new 7,260 square foot facility, named for a previous gift from Heather and Paul Haaga ’70, includes locker rooms, shower facilities, team rooms, athletic medicine room, public restrooms and a portico for public viewing. In the center of Haaga House is a centralized gathering space featuring display cases and access to a separate upper-level porch area. Haaga House also has several spaces named to honor significant supporters of the program. Haaga House overlooks a new Rickerson Field, named in recognition of a prior gift that established rugby’s previous home pitch.

The Princeton softball team hosted Harvard on March 22 in its first game at the new Cynthia Lynn Paul ’94 Field. Paul, a member of the 1991 Ivy League champion softball team, and her husband, Scott Levy, made a gift to the Venture Forward campaign in 2020 to help build the team’s new stadium. The field, the first Princeton athletic field to be named by an alumna, features synthetic turf, stadium seating for 300 spectators, a press box and concourse, batting cages, lights for night games and a new scoreboard. 

Below the softball field and other Meadows field spaces are stormwater management systems and 500 geo-exchange bores that advance the University’s sustainability goal of carbon neutrality by 2046. The geo-exchange bores are part of a thermal-energy network, connected by the central utility building (CUB), a single-story structure near the parking garage that uses stored water to heat and cool the entire Meadows Neighborhood. 

The new athletics and recreational facilities at the Meadows Neighborhood will be formally dedicated during an event on April 25. For a complete listing of all the new named spaces and facilities at the Meadows Neighborhood, visit the Athletics website.