Semi-pro football team will call old Alderson Broaddus field home (2024)

by: Joey Rather, Barbara Ron

Posted: Feb 26, 2024 / 07:50 PM EST

Updated: Feb 26, 2024 / 07:50 PM EST

PHILIPPI, W.Va. (WBOY) — The former Alderson Broaddus University campus is coming back to life with plans of being a host to new businesses, events and even sports teams.

The campus’ new owners have said that the campus will reopen as Battlers Knob LLC with plans to offer its buildings and facilities for rent to just about anyone that can make use of the space.

On top of this, Battlers Knob has already secured a residency from a semi-professional football team that will play at the Multi-Sport Performance Stadium that briefly hosted the Alderson Broaddus Battlers.

The team that will soon call Philippi home is known as the Appalachian Thunder of the Tri-Point Football League (TPFL), a 16-team league that spans West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Thunder are one of three teams based in West Virginia, the other being the Tri-State Longhorns based out of Ripley and the West Virginia Leviathan based out of Buckhannon.

Semi-pro football team will call old Alderson Broaddus field home (1)

Owner Cherri Sturm said that the Battlers never played a game on the football field’s brand new turf field. Sturm said that the Thunder has already practiced on the field and will be playing its first game on May 11. Tickets will be $10.

“They’ll be hosting all of their home games at our field and we’re excited to be able to get people here and take advantage of that beautiful field,” said Sturm.

In addition to the first football game on May 11, there will also be a comedy show on the same day in the auditorium and Sturm said tickets will be going on sale soon.

Semi-pro football team will call old Alderson Broaddus field home (2)

Sturm said that before the campus became available, there were no plans to expand due to the owners filing for bankruptcy. She said she felt that acquiring the land would help out the community of Philippi.

“We like to see things happen in the small communities and we just felt that hopefully we can make some things happen here that will benefit the community, and the kids, we’re very involved with the kids. So eventually we like to get some kids things going in here as well,” Sturm said.

Some child-related organizations on the campus would include potential summer camps that make use of the former residential hall spaces. Currently, there are no plans to have a permanent residential area on campus though Sturm said that there is the possibility of adding an assisted living area in the former alumni center.

“We have a lot of hope, but again, a lot of work, you know. We don’t have anything in concrete right now that we want to see happen but we just want good things to happen,” Sturm said.

When the university was first shut down, there was initial concern over hazardous material in the science laboratory which could become a problem if left unattended. Sturm assured 12 News that there was no reason to be concerned and that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection had already properly disposed of any hazardous chemicals left behind. However, she said that several animal cadavers like pigs and frogs remain in freezers and that Battlers Knob is attempting to find new homes for them at other local universities.

Sturm said that she and her staff welcome any ideas and feedback that the community wants to provide about the venue. Battlers Knob has yet to get a phone number, but Sturm said that you can contact her and the venue through Facebook for any inquiries.