The building, to be located adjacent to the west side of the Coliseum,
will include two practice courts, a players’ lounge, study area,
meeting rooms, staff offices, locker rooms, training facilities, weight
room and main entry - with a Hall of Fame. A special floor designed to
reduce the risk of player injury is planned, and the building will be
designed with many sustainable “green” elements for energy
efficiencies in mechanical systems, lighting and electrical components.
Construction of the facility will take about 18 months, officials say.
The Board authorized WVU’s president to approve the bidding process
once a funding plan and sufficient resources are in place and
recommended by the vice president of administration and finance in
consultation with the director of intercollegiate athletics.
WVU Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong said he was appreciative of the
Board’s support, noting, “This practice facility is important for
our quest to win a national championship.”
Men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins also commented: “The practice
facility is very much a need, not a want. It will allow us the
flexibility of practicing every day in the same facility and also allow
the student-athletes the flexibility to work out as their busy schedules
permit. For us to stay in the upper echelon of college basketball, the
practice facility is a must. It also allows us the opportunity to honor
the great tradition and the great athletes that comprise West Virginia
basketball.”
Women’s basketball coach Mike Carey also applauded the Board action.
“The new practice facility is a huge benefit for both basketball
programs,” he said. “It is more than needed because of all the
scheduling conflicts that currently arise in the Coliseum. It will give
our players the chance to play and practice whenever we would like. Most
of the major Division I programs around the country have a practice
facility, and it will be major benefit in recruiting here at West
Virginia.”
Construction on the new facility could begin as early as January 2009, pending commitments of money for the project.