Demolition of Murdock Stadium began a month and a half ago and most of us in the community are still feeling a sense of loss and sadness to see the stadium go.

Some are even angry, even though the project has been in the works for years and was continually put off until late December.

Right now, all Murdock is is a dirt pile. Students walk by it every day and that’s all they see. But a project that’s been in the works for so long will, in December 2015, prove that long, thought-out projects shine.

This construction project is a result of Measure E. The district issued $350 million in bonds and the current project, known as phase two of the athletic complex remodeling, has a $40 million budget. The money from phase one has already brought EC a new soccer field, volleyball court, and a playing location for track events.

According to the contractors working on the site, Sinanian Development, the new stadium includes a soccer and football field, complete with 8,000 seats and a 26,000 square foot field house.

“The project also provides associated team rooms, locker rooms, athletic training facilities, storage, restrooms, concessions and a press box,” according to Sinanian Development’s website.

Because of the construction, estimated to be completed at the end of next year, graduation in spring and athletic games in the fall will take place at another location.

Students should revel in all the things the new stadium will come to stand for. Murdock, for all its merits, was constructed in the ’50s, and was hardly fair to EC’s female athletes. Many of them have had to use locker rooms and restrooms set off from the stadium for years.

The new athletic complex, in accordance with gender equality laws, will provide for EC’s male and female athletes equally. We should take the opportunity to celebrate the steady progress our community makes towards an equitable future.

Like the renovations in Sochi, athletic environs are also the perfect excuse to introduce new and refreshed things. Stadiums are dedicated to communal gathering, a church of physicality and showmanship. Places like the Bird’s Nest, the Staples Center, and Fenway Park have become symbols as important as the teams and athletes that competed in them. The same could become true of EC’s new stadium.

As sad as those in the community were to see Murdock Stadium go and as many events that will have to take place somewhere else, EC is continually making the best experience for students and faculty.

It looks like a valley of dirt right now to any observer, but it holds a lot of memories.

Murdock Stadium, and the community, has seen it all. There have been games won, movies filmed, events hosted, and a sense of camaraderie felt in that stadium.

Last fall, the football team began the season with a win and also got a win in their last game in the old Murdock Stadium. This is just one example of the victories the stadium has seen.

Still, Murdock Stadium will be back soon and every Warrior, including faculty, staff, students, and those in the community, will be able to add to the memories we’ve all already had.