Taken Sept. 2, 2025, this aerial view shows construction work taking place for the indoor tennis courts facility at App State’s Appalachian 105 property in Boone. The new facility marks the third phase of development for the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex. Click on the image for a full view. Photo by Wes Craig and Troy Tuttle
The Appalachian 105 Sports Complex 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. It will benefit student-athletes, App State Athletics and Mountaineer fans.
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 — is being developed into university-level, competition-grade venues for track, softball and tennis.
Additionally, the university is developing a new student housing complex — Mountaineer Ridge — which will be located on an approximately 21-acre site adjacent to the sports complex. The housing project is designed to meet increasing demand for on-campus housing from sophomores, juniors and seniors, including transfer students, and will include up to 850 student housing beds, along with approximately 1,000 surface parking spaces and infrastructure for additional student support services.
App State began exploring development options for the Appalachian 105 site through three interactive listening sessions, held in January 2018, which allowed campus and community members to share ideas for the property’s use. Among the proposed development ideas: campus parking facilities, recreation space for both university and community use, a multipurpose venue for events, university athletics facilities, student and/or faculty and staff housing, an academic facility, outdoor educational space, and child and/or elder care facilities.
View the property on Google Maps
A 180-degree view of the property. Video by Marie Freeman
Status
Construction is underway for the third phase of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, which consists of an indoor tennis facility that will feature six courts. The project is around 40% complete as of September 2025. Construction work for the facility began in spring 2025 and the facility is slated for completion in February 2026.
The construction of tie beams for the facility is ongoing, and workers are assembling the steel frame for the pre-engineered metal building. Once the tie beams are constructed and in place, workers will begin subgrade preparation — ensuring the ground beneath the facility provides a durable foundation for the tennis courts surface that will be installed. McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, designed the courts, and David E. Looper and Co., located in Hickory, North Carolina, serves as the contractor for the Phase 3 development.
A phased construction of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex 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. On Sept. 5, 2025, App State cut the ribbon on the John Weaver Honors Plaza located at the entrance of the Randy Marion Track and Field Facility, dedicating the plaza in honor of legendary App State track and field coach and university alumnus John Weaver ’71 ’82.
Phase 2 of the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex includes a team support building featuring locker rooms and public restrooms, the new Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium 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. An indoor hitting building for the softball facility was constructed in spring 2025.
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.
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. The project was designed by CHA Consulting Inc., of Raleigh.
This artist’s rendering provides an aerial view of the components 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, and the outdoor tennis courts (top center of rendering), team support building (center left of rendering) and softball facility (bottom right of rendering) were completed in fall 2024. The indoor tennis courts facility (center right of rendering) is under construction and is slated for completion in December 2025. 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
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?
App State student-athletes who use the new facilities at the Appalachian 105 Sports Complex, along with Mountaineer fans, will benefit from the project.
How does it support App State strategic priorities?
The Appalachian 105 project aligns with App State’s 2022–27 strategic priority of cultivating a university community focused on advancing student success, through providing both support and campus resources.
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:
- Wey Hall Renovation
- 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