The Georgia Southern University women’s rifle team will soon have a new place to call home as today marked the groundbreaking of the new Shooting Sports Education Center.

Among the list of features the center is expected to boast: a 16-lane 25 meter archery center, two eight-lane 25 meter firing ranges equipped for competition and recreational shooting and two training classrooms.

With the addition of the center will come new classes geared toward gun-safety and courses to instruct students and faculty of the wide variety of shooting sports.

Gene Sheery, executive director of campus recreation and intramurals, explained that the building will be able to accommodate a wide range of experienced and inexperienced shooters.

“The comprehensiveness and versatility of this facility will allow for multiple disciplines of the shooting sports to come together and serve as a hub for education, training, competition and recreation,” Sheery said.

Among those in attendance to the groundbreaking was the rifle team to look on at the site of its future competitions.

Junior rifle team member Becky Collier hopes to still be apart of the program when the facility is completn but if not, she is still thrilled that others will get the chance to take advantage of it.

“I’m really excited about the team being able to use the range and the whole school having the opportunity to get a taste of any sort of shooting sport,” Collier said.

The Shooting Sports Education Center will be located at the corner of Old Register Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway behind the intramural fields.