New athletic center still on schedule

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Summer Wildcat Jennifer Etsitty/Arizona Summer Wildcat Senior UA defensive tackle Daniel Greer tries rushing the ball past freshman linebacker Shanga Wilson during an informal pick-up game at the football practice field. The players use the games and weight room training to keep in shape before official practices start Aug. 11 at Camp Cochise.

A rumor that the new UA athletic center's construction has been delayed is untrue, an athletic department official said.

"We hadn't really pushed the time back," said Steve Kozachik, athletic department director of facilities management.

Kozachik explained that the only change made was to include the trainers' room in the new center, rather than keep it in McKale Center.

"The lower level was originally just going to be a weight room," Kozachik said. "We've added the training room to the plans."

Despite claims that construction of the center is still on schedule, many University of Arizona football players aren't holding their breath for the chance to use the center before they leave the university.

"It won't mean much to me," said sophomore guard Marques McFadden. "It'll be for the future."

UA junior wide receiver Brad Brennan figures he might be able to use the center before his eligibility runs out.

"Twelve to 18 months, huh? Maybe I will get to work out there," he said, when told how long construction would take.

Kozachik said the plans for the center are still in the design phase and construction is still slated to start sometime in January.

"Contrary to what's been said, it's not going to be in the ground until after this football season," Kozachik said. "It'll take every bit of 12 to 18 months to finish."

All the current players agree that the center will have a major impact on UA football in the future.

"I just think for the future success of the program that's instrumental," said senior running back Kelvin Eafon. "I think it's very important in this day and age to have good facilities. With million dollar facilities, it translates to having a better program and better recruiting."

Senior fullback Jim Wendler said that the new center will give the UA a leg up on its main competition.

"I think all the schools in the Pac-10 have recent facilities," he said. "To recruit better we need one, too. A lot of kids look at facilities when they choose schools. UCLA and USC can recruit on tradition alone, but Arizona can't really."

Senior defensive tackle Daniel Greer said that most young players today focus solely on a school's facilities when making their choice.

"Young guys look at more or less what a school can give them," he said, "rather than what kind of an education they can get, what kind of coaching they'll have, and so on."

With that in mind, Kozachik said that adding the training room to the center was a logical move.

"We're going to be very unique in the Pac-10 in integrating the strength and conditioning room and the training room in the same area," he said. "It makes a whole lot of sense to do it. There are probably only a half-dozen schools in the country that have done this yet."

Kozachik said that no other Pac-10 school has such a feature, though Arizona State could alter its current plans for a new athletic center to match UA's.

Marcus Hill, UA strength and conditioning coach, called the addition of the training room "positive."

"We work with all the healthy and injured people, and having the training room in the same building will help everyone," Hill said.

Hill calls the current UA weight room "80 percent functional," with the lacking 20 percent focused mainly in square footage and recruiting ability.

Hill said his only main concern with the new center is that the weight room doesn't become "too fitness center or rec center-like."

When construction begins on the north lawn of McKale Center it will add to the mess that will have already been created by a number of UA construction projects, most notably the Integrated Learning Center on the Mall.

Kozachik said the biggest concern at present is how to allow traffic to flow around the UA, especially for the 1998-99 basketball season and the 1999 football season. He said a group of UA personnel, including representatives from the athletic department, will be discussing what to do over the coming months.

Kozachik did admit that the simultaneous construction of the ILC and the athletic center will "probably negate tailgating" for the 1999 football season.

While the athletic department busies itself with the final design and the impact that construction will have on the UA as a whole, the current football players are readying themselves for the fall.

With an eye toward the future, Greer said that the athletic center is key to the growth of the program.

"It is the best in the country," Greer said of the program. "But it'll be even better once [the center's] built."

Fast Facts

Construction is set to begin early next year on the North lawn of McKale, and will last for 12 to 18 months, ending sometime in 2000. The center will include a heritage hall, a weight room and a training room. The weight room will have 27,000 square feet of space, as opposed to the current McKale weight roomÍs 7,500 square feet. The cost of the center is currently estimated at $10 million. The old McKale weight room will likely be converted into additional womenÍs locker rooms.