New Home for Bronco Track and Field and Softball Dedicated ...

Dona Larsen Park, the new home for Bronco track and field and softball programs, was dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 15 that featured remarks from Boise State President Bob Kustra, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, Boise State Athletic Director Mark Coyle and others.

The project was launched thanks to an initial gift from the David and Debra Larsen Huber Family Foundation and the park was named for Debra?s mother Dona. The field is on the site of the former East Junior High School near the corner of Broadway and Warm Springs avenues. The site also will accommodate high school football games and other local sports. The first high school football game is Boise vs. Borah on Aug. 24.

The 14.5-acre site features a synthetic eight-lane running track with designated areas for field events, a collegiate-size football field with synthetic turf, and a grass softball field with fencing, batting cages and dugouts. Also located at the site are approximately 5,200 bleacher seats, a football/track and field press box, support buildings ? including concessions and restrooms ? and 85 parking spaces with additional off-site parking available.

The site originally was an athletic field named Cody Park, built in 1911. The Boise School District purchased the land in November 1924 and renamed it Public School Field. The field was used for many athletic and community events until the construction of East Junior High School in 1953. Boise State took possession of the site on July 1, 2009.

Dona Larsen is a former teacher and coach who spent 30 years at East Junior High positively influencing countless lives in the community. She was a stay-at-home mother raising her 10 children, all of whom graduated from East Junior High and Boise High School. She was heavily involved with local athletic teams, spending seven years running the girls? summer softball and basketball programs for Boise City Recreation, coaching many of her children?s teams. She began teaching physical education full time at East Junior High in 1970, as well as coaching girls? track and volleyball. Her teams won many city championships before her retirement in 2000 at the age of 72.

Dona Larsen Park will become the ninth in Boise?s ?Ribbon of Jewels? parks. The Ribbon of Jewels is a collection of parks and trails that run along the Boise River, all bearing the names of outstanding women in the Boise community.

Other Ribbon of Jewels parks include Julia Davis, Ann Morrison, Kathryn Albertson, Bernardine Quinn Riverside, the Bethine Church River Trail, Alta Harris, Esther Simplot and Marianne Williams.

Source: http://news.boisestate.edu/update/2012/08/15/new-home-for-bronco-softball-track-and-field-dedicated/

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