New athletic center aims to improve UA sports

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat The site of the next athletic center - the field north of McKale Center. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1998 on a two-story center that will include a 22,000-square-foot weight room.

"Our weight room compares tremendously to the University of Montana's," UA track and field coach Dave Murray said. "We're in the same league as the Big Sky and some of the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) schools (in terms of weight room size)."

That being said, construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1998 for a new athletic center at UA, which will include a new 22,000 square foot weight room.

The current weight room measures just 7,500 square feet.

The plans call for a two-story, 46,000 square foot facility that will include the new weight room on the first floor and a "heritage hall" on the second.

"I think it will be one of the most significant steps in the athletic program's history since I've been here," UA volleyball coach Dave Rubio, who is in the midst of his sixth season at Arizona.

Murray said the construction of a heritage hall for UA is long overdue.

"Our trophies should be sitting out where people can see them, not sitting here in my office," he said.

Football head coach Dick Tomey said he thinks the new center will benefit other teams besides his own.

"I think it's wonderful for the whole athletic department," he said. "It won't put us above anyone else, but it will put us on par with other schools (in the Pac-10)."

The center was approved on June 26 by the Arizona Board of Regents. The $10 million required to build it will come from private donations, said UA athletic director Jim Livengood.

It will be built on the north lawn of McKale Center, with construction expected to be completed about 18 months after it begins.

Steve Kozachik, the athletic department's director of facility management and capital projects, said the UA has selected an architect and is in the "design phase" while the specifics of the contract are being worked out.

All told, Kozachik said the design phase should last about six months, after which construction can begin.

"We're anticipating having it ready by the end of 1999," he said.

The athletic department also hopes the center will aid in recruiting.

"I think it will help, definitely," UA men's basketball assistant coach Rodney Tention said. "It will help athletes on an individual and team basis, as well as helping us bring in more recruits."

Tomey has seen the effect the current weight rooms have had on potential recruits.

"It will make a huge difference," he said. "There's no question about it that we've had athletes (visit) our campus who've looked around and then decided not to come here because of the facilities we have right now."

Rubio believes the major sports will benefit first, with the smaller sports grabbing more recruits later on.

"I think what happens is there will be a domino effect. It will affect football recruiting first, which will bring in more people into the stands and put Arizona on TV more. Then that will bring in more recruits for the other sports," he said.

The new facility has already had an influence on football, according to a new member of the team.

"They mentioned there was going to be a bigger weight room (when they recruited me)," freshman defensive lineman Anthony Thomas said. "Yeah (it influenced my decision in coming here), you need to have good athletic equipment if you want to be able to compete against the best."

One of Thomas' teammates agreed that there will be an affect on recruiting as a whole.

"It'll be real attractive to new recruits," freshman center Steve Grace said. "When people see how good our school looks, they'll want to come here more."

When McKale was built in 1973 to replace Bear Down Gym, the UA's student athlete population was 140. At the time, the weight rooms built into McKale were of adequate size, Tomey said. The number of athletes has now jumped to 450.

Kozachik agreed with Tomey's assessment.

"We've outgrown what we have now," he said. "When the facilities were built we had 12 sports, but only football used it. Now we've got 18 sports and will probably add another one, and they all use it (the weight room)."

After completion of the new center, the plan is to turn the old weight rooms into locker rooms for women's teams, in addition to creating new computer labs and tutoring facilities.

"Our locker room situation is not very good," Rubio said. "We need the space down there, especially for the other women's sports. Women's basketball and volleyball are fine with the lockers we have, but the other sports could use more space."

Kozachik said the plans for the second floor have not yet been finalized.

"We might put some offices up there along with the hall to showcase all of our trophies and past achievements," he said. "Or we might just have an open area for people to sit around."

Rubio said history is the main benefit aside from having all the team trophies displayed.

"What we're lacking is tradition," he said. "At least not a visible tradition. You don't look at McKale and think of tradition, you think of a great arena. This will help our cause in preserving the tradition here at Arizona."