Plane

A plane featuring a banner ad for RWJBarnabas flies over Rutgers University's High Point Solutions Stadium prior to the Scarlet Knights' Big Ten game against Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016.

(Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The centerpiece of Rutgers University's athletics facilities plan will soon be getting a new name.

For now, the soon-to-be-built building that will accommodate the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball programs is called the Multisport Training Complex and Integrated Parking Facility.

But RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey's largest hospital and medical network, is expected to secure the naming rights for the multisport-training facility that's set to be built adjacent to the Rutgers Athletic Center on the university's Livingston Campus in Piscataway, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Although the deal is under attorney review, five sources familiar with the negotiations identified RWJBarnabas as the key naming-rights partner at a price tag exceeding $10 million.

An artist's rendition of the proposed addition to the Rutgers University basketball facility.

While Rutgers officials declined comment on this story, the sources said a formal announcement on the naming-rights deal is expected to be announced on Nov. 1, when the university holds a groundbreaking for the multisport practice facility.

During an address to the University Senate in September, Rutgers President Robert Barchi said school officials intended to announce their naming-rights partner in early November.

"I will be announcing shortly a major, major support contribution for this facility from a public corporation in our neighborhood both for naming rights and for the creation of some additional elements," Barchi said. "You will hear about that in the beginning of November."

A key component of the deal, according to multiple sources, is a plan for RWJBarnabas Health to take up residence in both the multisport facility and in the Hale Center, the Rutgers football team's headquarters attached to High Point Solutions Stadium.

What that means is Rutgers' 600-plus student-athletes will have unprecedented access to a team of specialty physicians and nutrition and wellness experts throughout the year.

Industry insiders say that would put Rutgers Athletics as a leader among college athletics programs nationally in providing healthcare service to its student-athletes.

The four-story Multisport Training Complex will include several basketball courts, practice areas for volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling, locker rooms, strength-training and sports medicine suites and coaches' offices. The facility is expected to take two years to build and operational at some point in the 2018-19 school year.

The five sources with knowledge of the negotiations credited Rutgers Athletics Director Pat Hobbs for the landmark deal, which was said to be keyed by Hobbs' long-standing relationship with Barnabas Health President and Chief Executive Officer Barry H. Ostrowsky.

Stephen K. Jones, the president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, also has been a longtime supporter of Rutgers Athletics.

One source with knowledge of the partnership called it "an unimaginable type of deal in terms of its long-term promise for Rutgers University.''

Another source labeled it "truly transformative'' and a third source said Hobbs' vision was to land a partner with "impeccable credentials'' for a "best-in-class practice facility'' while "marrying the RWJBarnabas and Rutgers Athletics brands.''

"This is a legacy-shaping deal for Pat,'' the source, who has no internal ties to Rutgers, told NJ Advance Media.

While Rutgers put the price tag for the naming rights to the multisport complex at $10 million earlier this year, two sources with knowledge of the deal said the total payment to Rutgers will be well north of that figure. The sources said formal negotiations between RWJBarnabas and top Rutgers officials began in early September.

The partnership is expected to provide RWJBarnabas with a significant marketing and branding presence across Rutgers Athletics' various platforms, including ad time on the Rutgers Radio Network, on its live-stream network, and on various radio and TV shows for coaches Chris Ash, Steve Pikiell and C. Vivian Stringer, as well as dozens of signs both inside and outside the Rutgers Athletic Center and High Point Solutions Stadium.

Prior to merging with Robert Wood Johnson Health System in March 2016, Barnabas Health partnered with Seton Hall in 2013 to serve as the official healthcare provider for the university's athletics teams.

Hobbs had just completed a stint as Seton Hall's Interim AD and was the university's law school dean when the partnership was formally announced, which was said to result in Barnabas Health offering student athletes access "to a dedicated team of health-care professionals who would provide specialty services, including screenings, health tips, prevention seminars and nutrition and wellness options on campus.

Last March, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center named Barnabas Health as their official health care partner of their hockey team and sports and entertainment arena. The announcement included the unveiling of a new name for Prudential Center's practice facility, now called the Barnabas Health Hockey House.

Hobbs has strong ties to both the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center, having served as chair of a blue-ribbon commission that keyed the construction of the Devils' hockey arena in downtown Newark in the mid-2000s.

"As our mission has changed towards keeping people healthy and serving as an innovative resource for the communities we serve, this is a perfect match bringing together New Jersey's team and the state's finest health care system," Ostrowsky said while announcing the partnership with the Devils.

Earlier this week, Ostrowsky told NJ Advance Media that RWJBarnabas intends to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to help catapult Rutgers' medical schools into the "Big Ten'' of research and educational institutions in the nation.

He said the partnership between RWJ Barnabas Health, the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the New Jersey Medical School is still in negotiations and an announcement detailing the arrangement is planned before the end of the year.

LISTEN: Episode 5 of NJ.com's Rutgers Football podcast

Rebuilding Rutgers: From The Ashes takes you inside the new football regime. This episode is about Rutgers' attempt to catch up to the rest of the Big Ten in nutrition and conditioning.

NJ Advance Media reporters Adam Clark, Ryan Dunleavy and Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.