“The players and coaching staff are thrilled to start the 2014 season under the lights of Bobby Campbell Stadium,” said women’s soccer head coach Cally Morrill. “This is a new feeling for our entire program, not just the freshman class, and there is a growing sense of respect and honor to play inside the stadium. The opening of this beautiful facility calls for new victories to be earned and fresh program goals to be achieved. We look forward to creating a product that the Lynn fans are proud to call their own.”
Adds men's soccer head coach John Rootes, “Having Bobby Campbell Stadium is a game changer for our program. We have one of the nicest facilities in the nation and we can now play night games. It truly gives us a home field advantage.”
Dedicated March 26, the stadium features expanded, covered seating for 500 spectators, a plaza for fans to gather and a lighted field for night games. Lynn’s new men’s lacrosse team was the first to compete there, on March 30 against Colorado Mesa University. The lacrosse team played two additional home games in April before closing out their inaugural season.
The stadium was made possible by a $1.2 million lead gift from Bobby Campbell, who never played soccer or attended college, but has a big heart for the sport and Lynn University, which he now calls his “alma mater.”
Other benefactors provided for key spaces within the stadium. An anonymous donor gave $1 million toward the naming of Malfitano Field in honor of Gregory J. Malfitano ’73, ’75, Lynn’s senior vice president for development and administration and a member of the Fighting Knights soccer team from 1971 to 1973. Mary and the late Harold Perper (who also named Lynn’s Perper Plaza, Perper Mailroom, Perper Tennis Complex and the future Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall) contributed $750,000 for the stadium’s grandstand.
