College Athletics Construction Roundup: February 2015

The “College Athletics Construction Roundup” is a monthly series on the construction of intercollegiate athletics facilities. Each month we’ll provide a list of announced, in progress and recently completed athletic construction projects from around the country. You can view previous editions of the “College Athletics Construction Roundup” here.

Master Plan

Seton Hall unveiled new varsity locker rooms. With the expanded amenities, athletes will now each have his or her own locker for the first time. The 5,000 square-feet of space includes a high definition TV and audio system in each locker, as well as a Wi-Fi hub in each locker room.

Minnesota is moving forward on a $150 million athletic facilities effort that will touch its 25 sports programs. The initial focus will be on practice facilities for the football and basketball programs, as well as an academic building for student athletes. The $15 million Center of Excellence is expected to open in the fall of 2016.

Ball State has completed its fundraising campaign towards facility upgrades, which will benefit nine teams. Projects will include more locker room and practice space for basketball and volleyball, more meeting rooms and offices in the football complex and a golf practice facility. Work has already begun on the baseball and softball projects.

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Football

UCF will remove 1,200 seats in Bright House Network’s Stadium to install a beach-themed lounge on the east side of the stadium. The lounge will include an open-air sun deck, covered lounge area, flat-screen TVs, WiFi connectivity and private restroom access.

Rendering of UCF’s new East Side Club

Temple continues to think through the process of building an on-campus stadium and moving home games from Lincoln Financial Field. Using other schools that have recently moved on-campus, Temple is considering whether the stadium would boost student attendance and whether enough revenue could be raised to cover the additional yearly expenditures.

Syracuse opened a new $13 million indoor practice facility. The building frees the program from scheduling conflicts in the Carrier Dome and Manley Field House when inclement weather forced practices indoors. The facility will include locker room space.

Missouri Western’s Board of Governors approved a $7.8 million renovation to Spratt Stadium. The project is expected to begin in March and will include a new video scoreboard, new premium seating and an expanded press box.

Kentucky will spend $672,000 to put in turf at Commonwealth Stadium. Work should be completed by June. Other than the conference logo, field and end zone designs have not yet been decided.

Florida will build a $15 million indoor practice facility. The building will house a 120-yard field, camera platforms and a satellite training room. The school expects the project to be completed by September 2015.

Coastal Carolina will replace the grass surface at Brooks Stadium with “Teal Green Turf”. The $1.2 million project is expected to be completed by mid-April. Brooks Stadium is the home for the football and women’s lacrosse programs.

UCLA received a $1 million donation that will go towards the Wasserman Football Center. The facility will house a locker room, training area, offices, meeting and video rooms and a strength and conditioning area.

Baylor is working to complete an alumni locker room, located in the Simpson Athletic and Academic Center. The locker room will be a home to alumni players who want to return to campus to train in the professional offseason.

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Basketball

Utah is on schedule to complete upgrades to the Huntsman Basketball Center for the 2015-2016 season. The project includes a new media and press area, upgraded locker rooms for both basketball programs, film rooms and player lounges. When complete, the building will also feature a rooftop grill and fire pit (available to all athletes) area with views of the nearby mountain ranges.

Buffalo spent $105,000 on a mural redesign in the interior of Alumni Arena. The school wants to create a “wow factor” in the visual appeal of the concourse. Further plans include the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz Family UB Athletics Hall of Fame.

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Olympic / Other Sports

Duke christened the Kennedy Tower. The building is part of the university’s campus-wide Duke Forward campaign. The facility will house hospitality and game operations for Koshinen Stadium and Williams Stadium, providing benefit for six of Duke’s athletic programs.

UNC Wilmington received lead funding which will allow the school to move forward on a new baseball and softball indoor practice facility. The 14,000 square-foot facility will include hitting and pitching practice areas, a team meeting room and an umpires’ locker room.

Clarkson University has slated a three-year, $40 million expansion plan to Cheel Arena. The project is expected to progress in three stages to not force men’s and women’s hockey to find another home during construction. Upgrades include locker room improvements and pre-game conditioning areas. The student community will also benefit with a new weight room and rock climbing wall.

Coastal Carolina is ready to open its new baseball and softball complex. The $15.2 million baseball stadium, Springs Brooks Stadium, features grass berms, a 3,000 square foot locker room and 2,500 permanent seats (with total capacity expected to be between 4,000 – 5,000).

Oregon State dedicated the new Ossey Golf Center. The $600 thousand, 2,500 square foot facility features two driving bays, a 1,500 square foot putting surface and a team lounge.

South Dakota State opened the $32 million Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex. The 149,284 square foot facility features an eight-lane, 300-meter track which surrounds an 80-yard football field (with end zones).

Southern Arkansas University continues improvements to its softball facilities. The next project is a field house featuring a locker room, concession stand, press box and coaches’ offices.

Fresno State is installing a new playing surface on the home field of the soccer and lacrosse programs. The $800,000 project also includes locker room renovations. The turf will be ready in time for the spring lacrosse season. The locker room renovation is scheduled for this summer.

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Academic & Multi-Use Facilities

Marquette, in collaboration with the Milwaukee Bucks, will build a multi-purpose facility. In addition to indoor fields for lacrosse and soccer and an indoor track, the facility will feature a performance research function for sports performance, medicine and nutrition.

Kansas is ready to open Rock Chalk Park. The $39 million project will host the track and field, softball, and women’s soccer teams. Teams will share strength and conditioning and sports medicine rooms, but each time will have its own locker room.

The University of Nebraska Omaha is on schedule with the new, $75 million Community Arena. The facility will host UNO’s men’s hockey initially in fall 2015, but both basketball programs and volleyball will move home games there as well. The building will feature two sheets of ice, the second serving as practice for the hockey team as well as open skate availability and other community events.

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Other Notes of Interest

Colorado will be allowed to sell beer and wine inside the Coors Event Center’s Chip’s Corral Club and outside in two beer garden tents. The tents used this season have been operating under a temporary agreement allowing sales through March 1.

A complaint has been filed with the Office of Civil Rights alleging gender discrimination in Minnesota’s facilities master plan. The complaint is concerned with the future home of the women’s track and cross country teams. Possibilities for the new track facility include a site at the St. Paul campus, which is several miles from the proposed Bierman athletic village proposed in the university’s plans.

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