Under the hot June sun, students, faculty and community partners gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of Santa Fe College’s new Hitchcock Family Clubhouse for the softball and baseball teams.
The new facility will be located near softball and baseball fields and will serve as the college’s first-ever locker rooms space for its student athletes, according to Santa Fe.
It will also have umpire changing spaces, shower facilities, laundry capabilities and an improved training area.
The clubhouse is the first step in an ongoing project to redesign the ballfields. The college is planning to begin additional phases, such as adding cover for fans during games, after this construction is completed, according to Santa Fe.
Santa Fe’s student athletes said the new clubhouse will foster a sense of community and provide a space for athletes to feel comfortable getting ready for games.
Mckenna O’Sullivan, a 19-year-old psychology sophomore entering her second year on the Santa Fe softball team, hasn’t had a locker room since her sophomore year of high school.
“I've been changing in my car for the past three years, and it's not fun changing in front of 100 random people that are looking at you sideways,” O’Sullivan said.
She and other student athletes have had to do that every day for games — on top of carrying their gear a quarter of a mile from the parking lot and campus, she said.
The clubhouse will also serve as a shelter during inclement weather and provide some coverage for the athletes, which O’Sullivan said has been a problem in the past.
In addition to providing new services, the clubhouse also acts as a community space for the softball and baseball teams.
“We have really good team chemistry, and I think having a locker room will definitely make us closer, because we're gonna be around each other more,” O’Sullivan said.
The Hitchcock family has dedicated years of planning and fundraising to make the project possible.
Alan Hitchcock, the president of the Hitchcock Family Charity Foundation, said his family is honored to give back.
His wife worked at Santa Fe for over 30 years. Three of his four children attended the college, and his last child currently serves on the Santa Fe Board of Trustees.
“It means a lot to be able to give back and do things, and we've been blessed,” Hitchcock said.
His foundation also sponsors UF’s food pantry, he said, and there are more projects to come.
“I have a few things in my future that I'm working on,” he said. “I'm going to keep going as long as I can.”
Chanda Stebbins, the director of Santa Fe Athletics, said a lot of people came together to make the clubhouse possible.
“It's just going to increase safety, increase the student experience and overall [increase] the fan engagement as well,” Stebbins said.
She said the project is the first step in improving the experience for Santa Fe fans and athletes.
The Hitchcock Family Clubhouse is expected to be completed in Spring 2027.
Contact Tess Lippincott at tlippincott@alligator.org. Follow her on X @tesslippincott.
Tess Lippincott is a third-year journalism major, spanish minor, and meteorology and climatology certificate student. This is Tess' first semester at the Alligator and first time on the university desk. She also works as a deputy editor for WUFT-FM. In her free time, Tess loves playing pickleball, running, and reading. If she's not working you can find her with her roommates and friends.
