CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati athletic department released details and renderings Thursday of the forthcoming $134-million indoor practice facility and performance center, which will officially break ground on May 23. Here’s what you need to know:
- The project will feature an 84,000-square-foot, climate-controlled practice facility with a full-length football field that is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2024 football season and can be used by other athletics programs.
- It will also feature an adjacent 96,000-square-foot performance center including football offices, performance nutrition stations, a dining hall, weight and athletic training rooms and mental health services. The performance center is slated to be completed prior to the 2025 football season.
- Funding for the $134 million project was spearheaded via a “transformational” gift from prominent boosters Larry and Rhonda Sheakley. It marks the largest single gift in the history of Bearcats athletics, according to the university.
Background
The facility, which The Athletic first reported on in Oct. 2021, is the tentpole project for the Bearcats’ Day One Ready fundraising campaign tied to the program’s official move to the Big 12 on July 1. It will be built on the site of the previous on-campus Sheakley Athletic Center practice fields, which are already in the process of being excavated.
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More than $88 million in funds have been raised to date for the Day One Ready Campaign, which is funding multiple facility projects and initiatives for Bearcats athletics.
Gensler and MSA Sport are serving as the architects and designers for the project, while Messer Construction is the construction manager.
✨ 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 ✨
Our new Indoor Practice Facility & Performance Center is coming in 2024 and 2025 thanks to Larry and Rhonda Sheakley's transformational gift––the largest in the history of UC Athletics.
📝: https://t.co/sm8XitPa98
GIVE: https://t.co/DwIwzarccI pic.twitter.com/7pTkGsL9lw— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 11, 2023
What they’re saying about the project
“These new facilities are essential for us to compete for championships in the Big 12 and immediately help us level the playing field as we enter our new conference,” said Cincinnati athletic director John Cunningham.
Required reading
Bearcats reducing locker room rebuild plan, eye new practice facility: Sources
(Rendering courtesy of Cincinnati Athletics)
