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There is good news for the countless number of students who have grown weary of the seemingly ever-present construction sites on campus, and great news for fans of Utah Athletics. By this September, the U will see the completion of over $41 million in construction projects—ranging from renovations to Rice-Eccles Stadium addressing its need for more bathrooms, to the completion of the outdoor tennis facility at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
In addition, two new athletic training facilities will be open— coinciding with the end of what many considered to be Utah’s most successful year in athletics since joining the Pac-12 five years ago.
One of the projects has already been completed. The Sorenson Legacy Foundation High Performance Center is a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide student athletes with the latest equipment and resources for strength and conditioning training, rehabilitation and dedicated nutrition stations.
The new facility is a massive improvement over the old HPER building, where the weight room suffered from old flooring, had no windows and was too small to accommodate the number of student athletes who used it. The task of fitting multiple teams into the HPER building to train was a constant challenge only made possible by the training staff’s hard work and ability to work well together.
“The biggest impact is that it will allow us more flexibility and more variety in what we’re going to be able to do…and to handle more student athletes in a smaller time frame,” said Jon Webster, the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports.
The new High Performance Center has twice the number of weightlifting stations as the old training area and a spacious turf area allowing the trainers to accommodate many more student athletes. Webster says that the new facilities and equipment will not cause the athletes to forsake the “bread and butter” of their training regimen, but will allow them to diversify their workouts in ways they were unable to do so before.
In the process of designing the facility, members of the athletic department drew inspiration from visits to highly-regarded athletic facilities at other universities such as Nebraska, West Virginia and Utah’s fellow Pac-12 members. Now that it is complete, Associate Athletic Director Kyle Brennan firmly believes that Utah’s High Performance Center is the finest facility of its kind in the Pac-12 and one of the best in the nation.
“We looked at all the [facilities] that were new around the country that were getting good reviews, and we wanted to make sure that we topped those,” said Brennan. “We feel really good about it.”
The most interesting feature of the building? Brennan’s pick is the AlterG anti-gravity treadmills. These machines place the user’s lower body in an air-tight environment and by changing the pressure inside the container, the weight placed on the user’s legs while they run is decreased. This allows rehabilitating athletes the ability to get cardio exercise while drastically decreasing the chances of being reinjured.
One of the driving factors behind the recent investments in such top-notch equipment and training facilities was the hope that the development would help attract elite athletes to the university. Since its completion, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation High Performance Center has helped attain that goal and is now a must-see destination for prospective athletes. The High Performance Center will also have special appeal to recruits in sports other than basketball and football. Since these two teams will have dedicated training facilities of their own, the HPC will have more space available to the U’s other teams.
The excitement and allure of new facilities has not been limited to this completed project. Neighboring the High Performance Center, construction on the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Center is progressing on schedule, and it is expected to become operational in September. The much-anticipated building comes on the heels of a successful ’14-’15 campaign for the Runnin’ Utes and their first Sweet Sixteen appearance in ten years.
“Both men’s and women’s basketball are bringing recruits through there. They’re loving it,” Brennan said. “In fact, for Jakob Poeltl, one of our current players, one of the big factors for him deciding to stay was that he wants to be a part of that building. So it helps to recruit some current guys too.”
It is easy to see the draw. The building has two gyms, common areas for press conferences and team meals, and two team areas consisting of a locker room, a lounge, a film room and coaches’ offices. It also boasts a “Legacy Hall”— an area that is a hybrid between a hall of fame and a grand entrance that highlights the defining moments of Utah Basketball for those who enter the building. On top of it all, there is a rooftop terrace complete with a garden, lounge area, fire pit and sweeping vistas of the university and the surrounding valley.
“We’re excited about the University of Utah moving forward with the growth that’s happening all over campus,” said Jon Webster. “And it’s not just in athletics, it’s in academics too. You’re going to see big things… better recruits, more recruits and a bigger pool of athletes with what we’re doing here with these facilities.”
If you are a student athlete reading this, congratulations. If you are not a student athlete, get ready to bust out your running shoes and start training because the new facilities are only accessible to athletes and athletic department personnel. Or, like most people, you may simply decide to relax and enjoy your summer while envisioning the effects these new facilities will have on the upcoming season.
@tylerfcrum
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