Facility Projects
Butts-Mehre Football Expansion
The Butts-Mehre Football Expansion renovates and expands the majority of the areas used by the football student-athletes and football staff on a daily basis. The project is conceived to be constructed in 20 months. The remaining field will be reconstructed as a full sand based field.
In all, 22,400 sq. ft. will be renovated and 53,975 new sq. ft. will be added, bringing the total square footage of football space at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall to just over 100,000 sq. ft.
The breakdown of the new and renovated areas is as follows:
1st Floor (33,850 sq. ft. new and 21,600 sq. ft. renovated)
The training room will shift locations and will almost double in size from 4,000 sq. ft. to 7,600 sq. ft. The relocated area allows for a new state of the art hydrotherapy room that includes a rehabilitation pool with an entire pool floor that is a treadmill, a rehabilitation pool with a deep well and a treadmill, a hot plunge pool and a cold plunge pool. The two rehabilitation pools have the latest underwater video assessment technologies that allow the users to view under water movement on monitors in the pool area. The training room will have new therapy tables, taping tables, exam rooms and other rehabilitation equipment.
2nd Floor (21,200 sq. ft. new and 800 sq. ft. renovated)
The existing 2nd floor football offices will be vacated and the space will be occupied by other Athletic administrative functions. From the existing 3rd floor museum area, there will be a new grand staircase that will lead visitors from the 3rd floor down to the 2nd floor through a new glass connector. Upon arriving on the 2nd floor, visitors can easily tour the existing Larry Munson trophy room as well as the new graphics and archive display areas that lead to the new football offices. The football offices will relocate from approximately 9,000 s. f. to a new office that doubles in size that will be located on the existing 2nd floor plaza.
More About the Butts-Mehre Expansion
1st Floor Information - Continued
There will be new position meeting rooms, all with the latest audio/visual technologies:
- 70 seat, tiered lecture style meeting room for Offensive Team and shared with the Offensive Line
- 70 seat, tiered lecture style meeting room for the Defensive Team and shared with the Defensive Backs
- Defensive Line
- Tight Ends / Specialists
- Quarterbacks
- Wide Receivers
- Running Backs
- Line Backers
- Defensive Ends
The existing team meeting room will be renovated and expanded to increase the seat count.
The existing strength and conditioning room will be vacated and will be housed in a new space that increases in size from approximately 8,700 s. f. to 12,400 s. f. that includes dramatic views to the grass practice fields through a long curved window wall that will fill the area with natural light. There will be all new strength and conditioning equipment and the new space will allow for twice as many workout platforms.
Expanding out towards the grass practice fields, will be an approximate 10,800 s. f. multi-purpose room with a curved ceiling that averages about 25 feet in height. It will have a synthetic turf floor with field markings of 20 yards by the width of a football field with a large G logo in the center. A divider curtain will split the space into two zones. The new offensive and defensive team rooms have been strategically placed so that after reviewing film, the student-athletes and coaches can go directly to the multi-purpose room and walk through the plays they have just reviewed. The room has canted glass walls along the field side providing stunning views and natural light. There will be sliding doors that open the multi-purpose room up to the grass fields. The room will also be able to seat about 500 for a meal and will be used for various events like coaching
Clinics, hosting recruits and their families on home game days as well as the entire Athletic Association Staff. The space will have audio / visual presentation technologies and an adjacent catering kitchen.
The football locker room will have a new lounge space that will afford more space and amenities for student-athletes.
New public restrooms will be located near the main Butts-Mehre elevators and off of the public restrooms will be new staff locker rooms.
2nd Floor Information - Continued
The office area includes new:
- Video Editing Suite with cutting edge video assessment infrastructure and equipment, raised computer floor, large format multiple viewing monitors
- Recruiting Suite
- Head Football Coach Suite including administrative assistant, office with bathroom and shower, views to the practice fields, balcony overlooking fields and living room to meet with recruits and their families that over looks into the multi-purpose room
- Offensive coaches offices
- Defensive coaches offices
- Offensive conference room
- Defensive conference room
- Head Coach conference room
- Football Operations offices
- High School recruit staff offices and video / digital storage
- Graduate Assistant office for Offense and Defense
There is a new second floor outdoor plaza that will accommodate around 400 seated for a meal. This space is accessible from the new glass connector and the new office areas. As before, it offers great views of the practice fields.
