By By Michael Beaven

University of Akron men’s soccer coach Caleb Porter has a new five-year contract.

Soon, he will have a new stadium to go with it.

UA Director of Athletics Tom Wistrcill said the first phase of a two-phase project has been approved for improvements on Lee Jackson Field.

Wistrcill said the finances are in place to build a new, state-of-the-art field and irrigation system, new lights and new fencing around the stadium. The changes are scheduled to be in place for the 2010 season.

The expansion and upgrade of the complex doesn’t end there.

Wistrcill said fundraising has begun for the second phase of the project, which he hopes will be completed for the 2011 season. That will include dugouts and a rest area for each team, a new grandstand, a new multipurpose press box/suite, concessions, public restrooms and event plaza. The Zips main locker room area is in the Stile Field House.

Porter said the new stadium project was pivotal in helping to continue to attract top players.

“That was something that was very important to me,” Porter said by telephone. “I think it’s the final piece that would make our facilities comparable to the other top programs. We’re very excited about that. It’s been a long time coming. The players, the fans, the program, and the alumni deserve this. We will have a new field and lights next fall and I am very confident that a new stadium will be immediately following that.”

The expansion and upgrades would bring capacity to “just over 4,000″ Wistrcill said with “seating for around 2,500 to 2,700.” There would be reserved seats, and berm seating which could allow people to stand or sit in the grass around the venue. There would also be the option to expand seating with temporary bleachers, if needed.

Each team’s bench area is scheduled be on the same side of the field as the grandstand and press box when the project is completed. The current bench areas are on the opposite side of the field.

Porter and his staff successfully recruited the No. 1 ranked class in 2009 and their 2007 and 2008 classes were tabbed No. 5.

The Zips won their first 23 games and finished the season 23-1-1 with a majority of the players coming from those three recruiting classes. UA also led the nation in goals per game (2.32)

Porter said he thinks his passion and love of soccer is spreading throughout Akron to soccer fans and novice soccer fans and that he hopes that will continue.

“I think that sometimes in this community and other communities, people will come and then leave thinking that the grass is always greener,” Porter said. “I am not sure that the grass is always greener. All that glitter is not always gold. Akron is a great place to live and we have an unbelievable amount of support from our president (Dr. Luis Proenza) and the fans and alumni in the community.”

Porter has a 68-12-8 record in four seasons at UA. He led the Zips to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament after UA was ranked No. 1 in the country by all five of the national polls for the final nine weeks of the season and were No. 1 in the final regular-season ratings percentage index (RPI).

In each of the past three seasons, Porter has been named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year and the Zips have made the NCAA Tournament and won MAC regular season and tournament titles. The Zips won the MAC regular-season title during his first season.

“It’s time for the people who don’t think of Akron as a special place to think of this as a special place,” Porter said. “We need people to think big and stop waiting for the worst to happen. We need to start thinking good things will happen.”

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