HILO, Hawaii — The University of Hawaii at Hilo held a formal blessing for its new soccer, softball and tennis facilities over the weekend.

The UHH men’s soccer team followed up the ceremony with a 2-1 win over Cal Poly Humboldt in its debut on the new synthetic turf at the Vulcan Soccer Field in its 2022 season opener Sunday.

According to the university, the new soccer field is the only soccer-specific turf surface in the state.

The $5.3 million Capital Improvement Project got underway with design work in 2017 and broke ground in October 2020. They were the first new and upgraded facilities at Division II UH Hilo in almost 40 years, according to the school.

“We are so grateful for the support of our community and our island delegation for making this happen,” UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin said in a statement. “UH Hilo has outstanding student-athletes and now they have fields and courts worthy of their talents.”

The project included renovations to the Vulcan Softball Field, resurfacing of UHH’s tennis courts and construction of a building for bathrooms, concessions and storage.

Work on the softball field and tennis courts was previously completed in the spring.

The original target completion date of the project was September 2021.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.