URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A proposed football performance center at the University of Illinois is expected to cost about $79.2 million to build.
Senior Associate Vice President Mike Bass met with the UI Board of Trustees’ Audit, Budget, Finance and Facility Committee on Monday to discuss funding for the project, the News-Gazette (https://bit.ly/2ueG1oO ) reported. Action will be taken at a future meeting.
Athletic director Josh Whitman announced plans to build the three-level center last month. Whitman estimated the cost of the project would range between $60 million to $80 million.
Previous proposals for a performance facility were more expensive.
“In the end, it didn’t pass muster as we went through schematics and worked with the architects,” Bass said.
Bass said the purpose of constructing the performance center is to create an environment that gives players the opportunity for more success on the field.
“That’s what this performance center is to do,” Bass said.
The center will include a weight room, locker rooms, player lounge areas, athletic training rooms and outdoor practice fields. Design plans for the facility also show space allotted for bowling lanes. It’s expected to be completed by 2019.
The center’s designer, Tim Cahill, said the center is the first phase of a two-part project that also includes renovations to the university’s stadium.
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Information from: The News-Gazette, https://www.news-gazette.com
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