An aerial view of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, pictured March 11, 2025. Visible at right is App State's new softball facility, and at bottom center is the team support building. The site adjacent to the team support building is being prepared for the construction of a new indoor tennis courts facility. Click on the image for a full view. Photo by Wes Craig and Chase Reynolds
Appalachian 105 is one of several major projects underway at Appalachian State University to enhance the App State Experience.
The phased project supports App State’s strategic priorities, as well as and the university’s goals and metrics associated with the University of North Carolina System’s strategic plan. The entire campus community will benefit, beginning with students and athletics.
About
Watauga County transferred ownership of the former Watauga High School property, located off Highway 105 in Boone, to App State on Sept. 29, 2017. The acquisition of this property, now called Appalachian 105, allows the university to make deliberate choices about growth and build an intentional community.
The property consists of 75 acres and was appraised at $16.7 million.
A portion of the property — the 34 acres that comprised the former high school's track, softball and outdoor tennis courts — has been subdivided with efforts focused on redesigning and upgrading this area to university-level, competition-grade venues for track, softball and tennis.
App State began exploring options for development through three interactive listening sessions, held in January 2018, allowing campus and community members to share ideas for the property’s use.
Read a summary of themes and ideas
View the property on Google Maps
A 180-degree view of the property. Video by Marie Freeman
Status
In October 2018, the UNC Board of Governors approved App State’s requests to designate the Appalachian 105 property as having millennial campus status and to move forward with the conceptual design process. In March 2019, the UNC Board of Governors approved the authority to spend money for the competition and training facilities for the university’s track and field, tennis and softball programs.
The university requested April 29, 2019, that the Boone Town Council and Town of Boone Planning Commission rezone part of the Appalachian 105 property, from B3 to E1 — which means educational without residential. The project was designed by CHA Consulting Inc., of Raleigh.
A phased construction of the project began in May 2021, when Barton Malow was awarded the contract to create the new competition track and field and address underground stormwater retention. A final inspection of the track and field competition/practice area took place the week of March 13–17, 2023, and a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the new Randy Marion Track and Field Facility was held April 28, 2023.
Phase 2 of the project includes a team support building featuring locker rooms and public restrooms, a new softball facility, outdoor tennis courts and an access road. App State secured Greene Construction of Boone as the contractor for Phase 2 development, and construction work for the second phase began in June 2023 and concluded in November 2024. The outdoor tennis courts were completed in summer 2024, and the team support building was finished the week of Sept. 9, 2024. The new softball facility — the Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium — was completed in November 2024, and work to add an indoor hitting building for the softball facility is taking place this spring.
The project’s third phase consists of the construction of an indoor tennis courts facility, to feature six courts. Construction work for the facility began this spring, and workers are installing foundations and retaining walls. The university selected McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the designer for the courts, and David E. Looper and Co., located in Hickory, North Carolina, serves as the contractor for the Phase 3 development.
App State and the Town of Boone have received approval from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to have a traffic light installed at the Appalachian 105 property’s entrance along Highway 105, and the university is working to secure a contractor for the installation. This measure would help ease ingress and egress to the site, as well as assist in improving left turn safety at the intersection of Highway 105 and High School Drive.
This artist’s rendering provides an aerial view of the components planned for the phased development of App State’s Appalachian 105 property, including a team support building, a new softball facility, outdoor tennis courts and an indoor tennis facility. The new track and field competition/practice area, shown in the top left corner of the rendering, was completed in March 2023. Image courtesy of CHA Consulting Inc.
This artist's rendering provides an interior view of the indoor tennis facility that will be completed as part of Phase 3 construction at Appalachian 105. Note, designs for the facility are still in development. Graphic courtesy of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
An artist's rendering of the indoor tennis facility and adjacent team support building at Appalachian 105. The tennis facility is set to be named in honor of the late Mildred F. Southern, a 1943 alumna of App State, when it was known as Appalachian State Teachers College. Southern took up tennis as a recreational player at App State and was inducted into the Southern Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1992. Note, designs for the indoor tennis facility are still in development. Graphic courtesy of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
A rendering of the finished athletics projects. Image courtesy of CHA Consulting Inc.
This schematic design shows further planned developments for the Appalachian 105 property, including a new softball facility and outdoor tennis courts, as well as an access road. Image courtesy of CHA Consulting Inc.
How is it funded?
To date, the App State Board of Trustees and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors have authorized nearly $15.8 million in funding for Phases 1 and 2 of the Appalachian 105 project. This funding is supported by private donations and gifts made to the university, including those made as part of App State Athletics’ A Mountaineer Impact: A Drive for Excellence fundraising initiative, as well as revenue generated through App State Athletics.
At its February 2023 meeting, the Board of Governors granted approval for App State to move forward with the project’s third phase of development — the construction of an indoor tennis courts facility. In September 2023, App State received the board’s authorization to issue special obligation bonds for up to $10 million to fund this development phase, to be repaid via debt service fees and donations and gifts to the university.
Who will benefit?
The entire campus community eventually will benefit from this project. Since the property is being developed in phases, the first groups to benefit will be students and athletics.
How does it support UNC System Goals and Metrics?
An enhanced campus designed with students, faculty, staff and the public in mind supports recruitment and retention of all members of the university and local communities.
- Campus Construction Projects
- State Funding Support
- Master Plan
- Glossary
- Parking and Transportation Messages
Major current projects:
Major completed projects:
- Holmes Drive Parking Deck
- Dining Facilities Renovations — Central Dining Hall and Trivette Hall
- University Bookstore Renovation
- Residence Halls
- Child Development Center Expansion
- Kidd Brewer Stadium — North End Zone
- Career Development Center relocation
- Sanford Hall Renovation
- Blue Ridge Way
- NPHC Plots and Garden
- Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences
- Founders Plaza
An aerial view of areas receiving millennial campus designation at Appalachian State University. Video by Marie Freeman