USU athletic complex nearing completion
UTAH STATE¹S ATHLETICS COMPLEX NEARING COMPLETION
LOGAN, Utah With the start of the 2008 football season less than twomonths away, construction on Utah State¹s Athletics Complex located inRomney Stadium is in the final stages after receiving funding andauthorization to finish the three-story, 69,000 square-foot building inMarch, 2008.
In all, 413 Aggie alumni and friends have donated to the building including120 former student-athletes.
“This initiative is unique in that nearly 32 percent of the total projectcosts thus far have been covered through in-kind and volunteer support,”said USU Athletics Director Scott Barnes. “This speaks mightily to thewonderful support we have received from our Aggie faithful. We have hadgreat success in selling out our game day suites, yet much work is stillneeded in generating new cash donations and pledges.”
“The first immediate impact of the new facility is that it allows us, ascoaches, to teach football,” said fourth-year head coach Brent Guy. “Havinga team room, position rooms and coaches¹ offices not only in one location,but on one floor, is something we¹ve never had before here at Utah State.With having a constraint on how much time we can spend in meetings and infilm, allowing us to have more time to teach instead of shifting fromdifferent locations is invaluable.
“Additionally, having the athletic training room, the sports medicineresearch center, the equipment room, the locker rooms and the academicservices all under one roof is an ideal set-up for not just the footballplayers, but all of the student-athletes to benefit and prosper from,” Guysaid.
Entering the second week of July, the facility is approximately 92 percentcomplete with full occupancy expected by early September. The second floor,which the football coaching staff will utilize, is getting the finishingtouches applied to it and furniture will start being moved in during themiddle of the month. The floor should be in full use by July 28.
The third floor, which will serve as an academic center, is on schedule forcompletion by the end of August as a full-time crew of 15-20 workers alongwith numerous volunteers continue to paint walls, lay carpet and attachhardware.
The state-of-the-art facility is home to the 11,000 square-foot DaleMildenberger Sports Medicine Complex and the Dr. John Worley Sports MedicineResearch Center, along with a 7,000 square-foot equipment room. The firstfloor is also home to the Steve Mothersell Hall of Fame, along with lockerrooms for football, women¹s track and field, softball and women¹s soccer.Coaches’ offices and conference rooms are located on the second floor, andthe academic center is on the third floor with classrooms, computer labs andtutoring rooms for all 325 Utah State student-athletes.
“I have worked in the Big 12 and Pac 10 and can tell you that our facilitywill rival what several of the institutions in those conferences have,”Barnes added.
The Athletics Complex will serve to meet the academic and athletic needs ofall 16 Utah State University intercollegiate sports.
A ribbon cutting ceremony and public open house are being planned for thisfall.