Colorado University Athletics
Practice Facility Structure Soundly In Place
A "Topping Out" ceremony was held to anchor in the last structural piece of the new $10.8 million facility. Those in attendance were able to sign the final support beam before it was raised and set in place by PCL Construction which has been working hard on the facility since ground was broken back in March.
Taking advantage of gorgeous Colorado weather this summer and fall, and no major construction related setbacks, the facility is well on schedule to meet its target opening date of August 2011, just prior to the beginning of fall training camp for volleyball.
The significance of this is immeasurable," head volleyball coach Liz Kritza said. "It's going to allow our players to have better schedules, with their class work, with their volleyball training. For volleyball, we're a program that's growing and we have a lot of teaching to do. The more efficient we can be and the more time we can spend with our young ladies means the greater possibility of success we can have."
With the structure of the facility now firmly in place, PCL Construction workers have began to work on completing the fa+ºade and outer layers of the building. Soon after the outside is finished, the construction workers will be able to work all winter on the interior of the building.
"We were really able to sell our practice facility this year in recruiting," head women's basketball coach Linda Lappe said. "This was a huge deal (to recruits). Not only because it's going to be an awesome facility, but because it shows that our athletic department is putting a lot towards men's and women's basketball and volleyball and helping us get our programs to where we want to be."
The facility addition will sit directly adjacent to the north side of Coors Events Center and will add approximately 40,000 square feet of space and feature two dedicated basketball/volleyball courts, modern locker rooms, coaches' offices and team meeting rooms for the women's volleyball team. When finished, the structure will match the campus architectural Charles Klauder theme, a northern Italian, rural Tuscany influence, with varicolored sandstone and red-tiled roofs to match the other 200-plus buildings on the CU-Boulder campus
"Most importantly it's going to help (our players) get better," head men's basketball coach Tad Boyle said. "It's a practice facility for a reason; they will have access to it, be able to get in there and work on their game and get better. It will improve all our programs, and that's the bottom line, that's what we're here to do at this university; to help our players get better in every aspect of their lives."