MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) – K-State track and field is getting a new home…at least, a new indoor home.

With K-State football working out in its brand new indoor facility, that cleared room for the track and field team to move into the old space. After decades of training in 70-year-old Ahearn Field House, the track team gets an upgrade.

“We’re going to be able to do those events… without having to compromise what we’re doing because of something else that’s going on. And that’s again, that’s kind of rare, it certainly was rare in Ahearn. It’s rare in a lot of indoor facilities. So that’s going to be pretty nice,” K-State track and field coach Cliff Rovelto said.

K-State athletic director Gene Taylor says that the move was planned as soon as the new football facility was announced.

“It was all part of the plan was soon as we knew we were going to build that one. We already started working on the design of the indoor track and putting the bank track we brought architects in to make sure it would fit,” Taylor said.

Apart from needing upgraded equipment regardless, the move puts Rovelto’s office and the indoor and outdoor facilities right next to each other. Before, it was a trip to campus to get to Ahearn.

“It’s more convenient, indoor and outdoor facilities are gonna be right next to each other with the Olympic Training Center going in, you know, weight room and training room, you know, now we’re basically in one location whereas before we were kind of across campus and having sometimes having to go back and forth in the same day just to get a you know, practice session and so so it’d be a lot more convenient for everyone coaches and athletes,” Rovelto said.

Now, with the exception of the golf teams at Colbert Hills, all of the athletic programs are within walking distance of Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

“With our new Olympic Training Center where the weight room is, you know, it’s just all right there that all the Olympic sports will be able to train and prepare and be ready and the Olympic Training Center. Walk over though the outdoor track,” Taylor said.

The transition has already started, with hopes of hosting meets by January 2024.

“There’ll be four lanes sprint lanes on the outside about 120 meters long so you’ll literally be able to run you know 100 meter hurdle race are kind-of, sort-of 110 meter hurdle race, you know, on a straightaway indoors which is I don’t know of anywhere else really where you can do that,” Rovelto said.

The move is a part of K-State’s “Building Champions” initiative, a $126 million facilities improvement. Now, donors will get to relax for a while.

“I think we’re gonna be done with major facility renovations for a while. I think we’re gonna give our donors a little bit of a break, which they probably pretty happy about, kind of refocus them a little bit and have them, you know, understand our needs from an operational dollars perspective,” Taylor said.