Thanks to support from board of trustees member John Lucken and his wife, Mary Thorson Lucken, Thorson-Lucken field was completed in September 2011. This new, $1.3 million dollar facility, is home to both the Augustana soccer and lacrosse teams. The field features:
- Seating for 300
- State-of-the-art playing surface composed of synthetic turf
- Dr. James Kopel and Family Press Box
- Scoreboard
Thorson-Lucken Field is a dedicated, stand-alone facility intended for use by both the Vikings’ lacrosse and soccer teams. The facility is located directly west of the PepsiCo Recreation facility on 30th Street. The new synthetic turf at Thorson-Lucken Field is 2-inch LigaTurf RootZone 3D3 Trionic Blend product, approximately 104,000 square feet. Work was completed in June 2022.
Although the facility is an athletic venue, there is a link to rich academic tradition at Augustana. A boulder sits on the Southwest side of the field and welcomes fans and players alike through the main gate. It is dolomite and was quarried from the same quarry as the stone used to construct Old Main over 100 years ago. Considering that John Lucken’s field of study at Augustana and his chosen professional field was geology, it serves as a fitting tribute in the link between student and athlete.
There is a plaque on the boulder that reads: Thorson-Lucken Field…”Dedicated to the Augustana tradition of ethics and excellence through good sportsmanship.”
