As the University Athletic Association prepares to open the Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field next month, they are already laying the groundwork for the autonomous football program complex at the former ballpark.
For Chip Howard, associate athletic director of UF, which oversees operations and facilities, there is no rest time between projects.
“You know what school athletics is like,” Howard told The Sun. “If you stand still, it’s getting ahead of you. “
More than three decades have passed since the structure of McKethan Stadium and Howard in place for the inaugural season in 1988. He began his career at UAA the following year.
“My brother, an assistant baseball coach with Joe Arnold, so I’m here for the first season with the Mac,” Howard recalls. “We haven’t opened a new stadium for baseball in over 30 years, so our enthusiasm is out of the ordinary.
“We have a really competitive team, a very smart home schedule with 36 home dates. And the opportunity to attract enthusiasts after being around this structure all summer and all fall, despite everything, is really rewarding for everyone here. . “
The top-ranked Gators open the season at home on February 19 with a three-game series against rival Miami. Florida’s approximately $65 million stadium ended in early August.
Howard said enthusiasts will appreciate the stadium’s wider corridors, advanced concessions and seating options, adding a front row much closer to marble.
“McKethan settled a little behind, ” said Howard. ” The seats are now much closer to the action and everything is so low, much to the chagrin of some baseball coaches. But from the fan point of view, it’s going to be good.
“And if you need to be out of the sun, you can sit in the back shaded back seats. The objective of the club will be something unique, as well as the free-flowing spaces near berms and food trucks. And never lose vista. de a game with the 360-degree lobby. »
McKethan Stadium demolished in late July to make way for new James W football school. “Bill” Heavener $85 million. UF has partnered with Parrish McCall and Hellmuth, Obata Kassabaum (HOK) to build the 140,000-square-foot facility.
“It’s going great,” Howard said of the independent community. ” I started this assignment in 2015 and watched it, even though it all came off the court, it’s exciting, more for the football show. From an allocation point of view, we’re pouring concrete.
“We did a lot of application and infrastructure painting as soon as McKethan was still demolished. And that’s how it all ended. We’ve already started placing some of the limerock for parking. They are laying the foundations and the sna on the floor will probably be around March 15 and soon after, he began to see that the metal was rising ».
In addition to the team’s changing rooms, meeting rooms and coach offices, the Heavener Football Training Center will feature a shed-style swimming pool, basketball court, recording studio, hairdresser, lavish restaurants, rehydration room and rehabilitation facilities. hydrotherapy, indoor pools and more.
Howard held an assembly Monday with Florida coach Dan Mullen and his team to update them on the new site.
“We gave them a presentation because we didn’t really have time during football season to do it,” Howard said. “That all the staff and coaches were together, that Dan led the way and watched them as we walked through the facility, they refused with their heads, they couldn’t, and they’re coaches who have been everywhere.
“And then the enthusiasm that is being built in this room will now be recruitment, will continue in spring practice and continue next fall as we prepare to move there in the spring of ’22. . The way the new facility will now integrate and mix directly into the fields of practice and the interior is actually what it had to be at all times. It’s taken a long time to get there. “
Facilities plan
The independent community is part of Florida’s third plan to reorganize facilities. The first two included the Otis Hawkins Center in Farrior Hall, the Exactch Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center, renovations at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium and Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field.
“My favorite component of the procedure is the grand opening. It’s about seeing other people walk through the door,” Howard said. “I don’t forget that the Hawkins Center was a great day when we opened it and saw student-athletes come to be in the lobby of the O’Connell Center when enthusiasts first walked in and watched them enjoy a basketball game much more. For me, it’s the rewarding component. “