Abilene Christian University will begin building an on-campus football stadium

Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, has received approval to begin construction on its first on-campus football stadium in more than 50 years.

KTXS-TV reports that the university will break ground on Feb. 19 for the new Wildcat Stadium.

Abilene Christian had set a goal of raising $30 million for two facilities—Wildcat Stadium and Elmer Gray Stadium, a facility for soccer and track and field that opened in April 2015.

University president Phil Schubert announced this week that the school had surpassed its goal and had raised $37 million. An additional $13 million is need to cover the costs of the two stadiums.

The university says the stadium will seat about 8,500 people and overall wll have space for about 12,000. The facility will enable the football to play its home games without leaving campus. Officials also envision the stadium benefiting the greater Abilene community by playing host to high school games and other events.