JONESBORO — A two-level football operations building and 76,000 square-foot indoor practice facility in ASU Stadium’s north end zone are included in Arkansas State’s $22 million football facility project, which was announced Thursday morning.
“This is an exciting day,” coach Gus Malzahn said in a release. “This is something we’ve been thinking about really since the first week I was hired. I’ve got a vision for this program to take it to the next level, and this is one of those monumental steps that we’ll look back on and say, ‘That was one of those defining moments.’”
Initial discussions about a possible project began Feb. 2, a day after the Red Wolves announced their signing class, according to the release.
The football ops building’s first floor will house A-State’s locker room, state-of-the-art strength and conditioning and sports medicine centers, a players’ lounge and equipment room. The second floor will feature coaching and administrative offices, team meeting room, a history and heritage showroom and a team film room with theater seating.
The indoor practice facility will run east and west and be connected to the north side of the operations building. A brick exterior and outdoor plaza facing the field on the building’s second level will be included.
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A-State chancellor Tim Hudson said the project will put the Red Wolves in position to be a perennial top-25 team.
“This day is just another signal that we are going to be an aggressive university — that we are going to push the limits of where our university has been historically and that we’re going to have a university that is strong on all levels,” A-State system president Chuck Welch said. “As we’ve said many times, this facility is just another example of where we want ASU to be.”
Brackett Krennerick Architects will head the project with advisement from Sparks Reed Architecture and Interiors.