Image Credit: UAA

Back in September, the Florida Gators announced a $100 million proposal to bring forth significant changes in the Gators’ athletics facilities, including the first standalone football complex in program history.

You can read that announcement and what that means for baseball and softball by clicking here.

On Thursday, the university released a 56-page “Football Operations Project” report providing previously unknown details about the proposed football facility. OnlyGators.com scoured the document to share with you every detail we could about the facility.

1. Cost: The University Athletic Association has planned $59.96 million in funds for the standalone football complex, including $4.7 million for designing, planning and construction management; $46.0 million for construction; $4.48 million for furniture and equipment; $4.77 million for “contingencies;” and $0 for artwork, which was somewhat curious and unexplained.

2. Timeline: Let’s just say this complex will not go up as fast as the indoor practice facility. The total time of completion for the project is listed as 2.6 years. If all goes as planned, construction would begin in December 2017 and be completed by May 2019 with the facility opening in June 2019, presumably before the start of summer workouts.

3. Size: The complex will be a tiered three-story building spanning approximately 130,000 gross square feet. (It was initially projected to be 100,000 square feet.)

4. Location: It will be placed north of the James G. Pressly Stadium and the Percy Beard Track, due west of the Sanders Football Practice Fields. This will force some parts of the track facility to be relocated.

5. Design: While the interior will certainly be modern (see early renderings below), the exterior must match the red brick that unifies buildings across the University of Florida campus. “The use of ‘Gainesville Range’ red brick for the major portion of the exterior finish is required in order to serve as the primary visual element consistently used in unifying all campus facilities. The use of ‘accent’ brick is discouraged. Other unifying architectural treatments should be considered that reflect modern interpretations of the collegiate gothic style as expressed in the character-defining features of existing campus buildings, particularly those buildings within the vicinity of the project.”

6. Three stories, plenty of space: The ground floor of the complex will include the lobby, strength & conditioning complex, players lounge, recruiting lounge, “gator room” (of which there are no details), NFL/football alumni locker room and dining hall/food service area, the latter of which will be open to all student-athletes.

FIRST FLOOR

Entry lobby (2,950 sq. ft.): “A sculptural stair will link the floors of facility and will be designed as a signature feature of this facility. An environmental graphics and technological component will also be included in the entry lobby. Both of these items will be designed to reinforce the UF Athletics brand while engaging recruits.”

Strength & conditioning complex (15,000 sq. ft.): “Sized to accommodate the football teams conditioning program. 60 yard sprint lanes will be located in this area to allow for player warmups, plyometric training, and sprint training. Other new features will include a cardio mezzanine.”

Athletic dining hall (13,255 sq. ft.): “While the existing dining hall is undersized and dated, this space will be sized to accommodate [450] student athletes from all sports. Additionally, a full service kitchen and commissary will be included as part of this area.”

Players lounge (4,100 sq. ft.): “Designed to accommodate a multitude of games and activities from pool to X-Box. A sports bar themed nutrition station will be located in both the locker room and the players’ lounge.”

Recruiting lounge (750 sq. ft.)

NFL/football alumni locker room (Not listed)

The second floor of the complex will include the players locker room, training center and hydrotheorapy room along with spaces for the coaches locker room, staff locker room and equipment managers.

SECOND FLOOR

Players locker room (8,875 sq. ft.): “Designed to accommodate 125 players with state of the art lockers. An open meeting area will be included in the locker room so the coaching staff can communicate with the players as needed. The toilets and shower area will have the appropriate amount of fixtures and the finishes will be designed to have a spa-like feel.”

Training room (7,880 sq. ft.): “The total training area will include eight (8) offices, two (2) exam rooms, an x-ray room, conference room and a new hydrotherapy room. ”

Hydrotherapy room (2,050 sq. ft.): “There will be a total of four (4) hydrotherapy tanks; 1 hot, 1 cold and 2 exercise. The space will have a spa-like feel.”

Football coaches locker room / staff locker room (1,075 sq. ft. total)

Equipment room (7,140 sq. ft.)

The third floor of the complex will include the coaches offices and team meeting rooms.

THIRD FLOOR

Football coaches suite (9,205 sq. ft.): “At the center of the football coach’s office layout, is the Head Coaches Suite with direct access to the coaches war room. The coordinators will flank the head coaches office to provide efficient communication. Both Offensive and Defensive Coordinators and coaches will have access to separate work rooms as well as be located adjacent to the assistant coaches. The administrators, volunteers, interns and pro scouts will also have new spaces at the third level in the coaches office suite. These spaces will be supported by the video suite, storage and copy room, and coaches conference room.”

Team meeting rooms (11,580 sq. ft.): “Position meeting rooms will surround the team meeting room to minimize the time between meetings.”