ATHENS, Ga. -- We've known for awhile now that plans were in the works to expand Georgia's Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, the university's athletics hub. We were provided with some details back in the spring but on Friday, at Georgia's fall meeting of the athletics board, a number of specifics were reveals.

"At the Athletic Board meeting on September 6th," Ryan Nesbit said in an email to the Athletic Board members, "UGAA would like to seek apprvale for the expansion and renovation of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. As we discussed previously, the estimated project budget for this expansion and renovation is $80,000,000 and will provide new locker room space, a state-of-the-art sports medicine facility, a new weight room, team meeting areas, and coaches' offices."

The project is set to begin in January of 2020 with phase one. Expected completion is April of 2021. Phase two is expected to wrap up in January of 2022.

UGA has already completed a couple of major projects under fourth-year head coach Kirby Smart. A $30.2 million indoor practice facility was fully functional in spring of 2017 and was later named after William Porter Payne and Otis Porter Payne. It's now referred to as "The House of Payne."

The Bulldogs also completed a renovation of the west end zone at Sanford Stadium just prior to the start of the 2018 season. That renovation included sprucing up the common areas and concession stands on that end of the stadium in addition to the installation of a player locker room and recruiting lounge. That project carried a price tag of $63,000,000.

The new locker room finally gave the football program a spot to dress in full at the stadium rather than having to use a smaller, inadequate space in the east end zone. The recruiting lounge gives the coaching staff a space to host recruits before, during, and after games as well as on recruiting weekends.

UGA's plan to come up with the $80 million is the same as it was for the indoor facility and west end zone project. It plans to raise half of the funds via private donations and use funds from reserves and the operating budget to pay for the other half. A $50 million line of credit will be opened for bridge funds.

Almost $16 million is still owed on the line of credit UGA used for the west end zone project and the athletic association is committed to paying that balance by the end of the 2020 fiscal year.

Approximately $1,450,000 was returned to the reserve fund from the money raised to pay for that west end zone project. That's supposed to go to future projects. Reserve funds we allocated for the design study for the Butts-Mehre expansion and renovation.

The new weight room is expected to increase the number of lifting platforms from 16 to 32 and it will also double in size from 11,000 square feet to 21,900. There'll also be a strip of turf running through the new weight room on head strength and conditioning coach Scott Sinclair's request. The number of showering areas in the new locker room is also expected to double. The site will be where Georgia's upper grass practice field is currently located, adjacent to the indoor facility.

A nutrition facility is also included as well as an all-purpose room to set up tables and host recruits at the football hub. It'll include a new team meeting room and 11 individual meeting rooms, one for each of the 10 assistant coaches and another for the scout team.

During construction for the project, Georgia will lose the services of one of it's two lower grass fields. The one closest to Lumpkin Street will be out of commission but the oe one perpendicular to the indoor facility will be operational and the team will be able to move back and forth between the indoor and grass field.

J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity has stated previously that he believes that football facilities at UGA will be in a constant state of improvement and evolution.

"I think you'll always have something ongoing in football," McGarity said. "Our goal right now is to finish the west end zone, our fundraising for that, and then we'll go to the next project after that. Needless to say, there'll always be something working with football."