Florida has unveiled its master plan for athletic facilities, including a stand-alone football facility.
On Friday, the UAA Board of Directors was presented with a proposal for a new capital improvement campaign that includes plans for a new stand-alone football complex, along with major renovations to the baseball and softball stadiums.
“Obviously, it’s a very ambitious project and we’re going to depend on our fundraising efforts to help us with it,” UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “Really, it’s a commitment to those three programs, those three coaches. The study also includes opportunities to enhance other facilities that are very important to us, but football, baseball and softball are what we’ve put as our highest priority right now.”
We're embarking on a $100 million facilities initiative. Click and find out more. #GoGators https://t.co/TQ99EUgzvB
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) September 16, 2016
Per the official release, the estimated cost of this new wave of improvements will be close to $100 million. This is in addition to the $107 million that the university will have already spent on facility upgrades by the end of the year, which went toward an indoor football facility, a massive addition to the Office of Student Life in the Otis Hawkins Center and a reboot of the O’Connell Center.
“The master plan is basically a road map for the future of our facilities,” said Chip Howard, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Internal Affairs. “We’ve identified needs and developed a plan by engaging user groups, but we’re still in the process of finalizing this plan. There will be some changes, no question, but we have a really good idea where we’re headed.”
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
