The Whitaker Sports Complex, UT’s newly-renovated outdoor recreational sports facility, will open March 7, according to an announcement from the Department of Recreational Sports Thursday.

RecSports said the facility will be open Tuesday for student use and club sports practices, while three intramural sports — flag football, 7-on-7 soccer and sand volleyball — will all begin play March 20, the Monday after spring break.

In October 2015, the outdoor facility closed for a $23 million complete reconstruction of the 35-acre property designed to make the facility safer and more environmentally friendly, according to Jennifer Speer, director of communications, assessment, development and IT for RecSports.

Speer said the renovation will re-establish Whitaker Sports Complex as “one of the premier outdoor sports facilities in the nation,” a distinction Speer said the facility held when it was originally built in 1980.

“This is now a destination for students to go to do more than just play games,” Speer said. “I know students are desperate for spaces to throw frisbee and kick a ball on campus, and we’re happy to provide that green space.” 

Speer said the facility has been redesigned to accommodate student organization meetings and informal outdoor activities.

The project was originally scheduled for completion in the fall 2016 semester, but weather and construction delays have kept the facility’s gates shut well into the spring. Most recently, the University awaited inspection and approval of the facility by the city of Austin to open to students.

A full RecSports staff of nearly 150 student employees has been unable to work in full capacity while the fields have been closed, as The Daily Texan reported earlier this week.

RecSports referee Jack Lytle said he’s relieved to begin working IM games and plans to use the facility often himself. 

“It’s something I think has been needed for a while and it’ll be fun just to go out and play,” Lytle said. 

Ten sports clubs have been forced to find alternative facilities to practice and host games because of the construction.

Daniele Brambilla, a civil engineering sophomore who plays goalkeeper for the men’s soccer club, said he is thrilled to have a proper goal to defend at practice for the first time in nearly 16 months.

“At Clark (Field), we didn’t really feel welcome there,” Brambilla said. “It was always up in the air whether we were going to have practice each day. We know when they open up (Whitaker) it’s going to be our field, our time, and we’re going to own it.”