New Era for NJIT Athletics: Highlanders Open Multipurpose Facility

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NJIT Highlander Athletics will enter a new era this Fall after the completion of its highly anticipated outdoor multipurpose facility, Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.

The state-of-the-art facility will be the home for NJIT men's and women's soccer and men's lacrosse programs. When paired with the Wellness and Events Center, it gives the Highlanders one of the elite athletic venues in the Northeast.

The three teams will play on-campus for the first time since November 7, 2015, with women's soccer hosting the first match in the new facility on August 22 against UMBC.

"It has been a long time coming but we are very excited to have this field project come to fruition," Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan commented. "As the recently opened WEC enhanced the campus and benefitted the entire NJIT community, this athletic field will do the same. Not only does it give our varsity lacrosse and soccer teams a proper on campus home field, it will also serve as a new home for our intramural and recreation programs."

Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium features FieldTurf's CORE surface, the world's first multi-layer dual-polymer fiber for sports turf that is reinventing the playing field and redefining the player experience. The CORE's proprietary design optimizes the system's performance, delivering a more realistic, textured, grass-like shape with optimal durability and resiliency.

"We'd like to thank the New Jersey Institute of Technology for their trust in FieldTurf" said FieldTurf President, Eric Daliere. "We're excited to see the Highlanders compete on our new CORE system and look forward to building a long-term relationship with the program." Features of Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium include: a digital videoboard capable of displaying live video, animation, player headshots, graphics and statistics; a scoreboard, Musco LED Lighting; and field level seating for spectators. The facility also meets broadcast standards for potential NCAA Regional hosting opportunities.

An enclosed spacious press box with high-speed internet access and seating for media and radio broadcasters, as well as athletic training and locker rooms are located next to the field inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center, which opened in November 2017.

Both soccer teams will begin their fourth season of competition in the ASUN Conference while the men's lacrosse team will begin its first season in the Northeast Conference after competing as a Division I Independent for the past four seasons.

In addition to intercollegiate athletics, the multipurpose turf field will be used by intramural and club sports, and student activities.

What They Are Saying

Ally Nick, Head Women's Soccer: "Our players and coaching staff are really looking forward to having a place to call home this fall. More importantly, we are excited to have such an amazing atmosphere to build a tradition. The environment that the Wellness and Events Center and the stadium will create on campus will be one of the best."

Emily Heckman, Senior Women's Soccer Athlete: "I think the field is a symbol of a new era for NJIT athletics. We're very excited to finally have a true home field advantage. While watching the construction during workouts, we dreamed about the goals and wins that would take place on that field. We're ready to finally make those things happen."

Travis Johnson, Head Men's Lacrosse: "After four years and 243 practice shuttles, to say we are excited would be an understatement. Having the ability to walk out of our athletic building onto the practice field will be an amazing feeling for our players as well as the coaching and support staff. The opportunities for our players to practice and work on their game outside of team practice within steps of our athletic building will greatly help us continue to develop as a program. The athletic building combined with the field will rival Power 5 programs."

Fernando Barboto, Head Men's Soccer: "We have had to wait but we think it’s the best facility now in the Northeast. We look forward to working hard to defend on our new home field."