Sadly the doors were not open Saturday. However, it looks very impressive from the outside. Helen
On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 6:40 PM, Rick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > James W. "Bill" Heavener Football Complex Opens Doors > - Saturday August 30, 2008 > > By: Dan Apple, UF Communications > > Head coach Urban Meyer wanted to "wow" recruits and fans when they > came through the front door of the football facility. After an > overwhelming response from the Gator Boosters, that's exactly what the > new James W. "Bill" Heavener Football Complex will do. > > "This is the first athletic facility project in our history that, from > the planning stage, was to be funded 100% privately," said Phil Pharr, > Senior Director of Development for Gator Boosters, Inc. "In about a > year and a half, we had 16 donors step up and commit the entire $28 > million. Not many schools in the country have the fan base that could > pull that off. This is just one more (and an incredibly large) example > of what sets the University of Florida apart from most of our peers." > > James W. "Bill" Heavener made the lead gift for the project, and the > following people made contributions of $1 million or more: Bryan > Kornblau, Don & Irene Dizney, Tom Johnson, Ben Hill Griffin III, Tommy > Oakley, Joel Adams, Joe & Jeanette Chapman, Gary & Nancy Condron, Duke > Crittenden, John Frost II, Stumpy Harris, David H. "Bumpy" Hughes, > Gale Lemerand and Greg Masters. A 16th person made an anonymous > donation. > > "Think about it...16 people feel strongly enough about this program to > give (a minimum) $1 million to make sure we're providing our > student-athletes and coaches with all they need to succeed on and off > the field," Pharr said. > > After 18 months of construction, the facility finally opened in > mid-July, in time to showcase it during the upcoming 2008 season. The > new "Gateway of Champions" is a state-of-the-art, > environmentally-friendly building that will help the Gators on and off > the field. > > "What we had wasn't representative of a football program of this > stature, not just front-door wise, but office-wise," Athletics > Director Jeremy Foley said. "Our offices were abysmal, the meeting > space was horrible, the video space was even worse – we just couldn't > do our jobs. The weight room was the same way – it was just too > small." > > The new facility has addressed all these issues – the coaches' offices > have expanded and undergone a complete renovation, the weight room has > more than doubled in size, the new Gator Room will host recruits and > their families on game day and the Atrium entryway will highlight the > proud history and tradition of Florida Football. > > The first thing fans will see is the new "front door" of the facility. > Every consensus All-American has an 18" x 18" granite paver place into > the walkway; with their name and year they achieved All-American > honors. The seven Gators who have been elected into the College > Football Hall of Fame are also recognized in the area. A spectacular > 15-plus foot bronze Gator stands at the center of the entryway, paying > tribute to Florida's 2006 National Championship Team. > > "I saw the black granite bricks in the front with all the > All-Americans…I got emotional about it," Coach Meyer said. "Guys gave > their life and their soul to make this program great and now they're > permanently part of the history in the greatest stadium in all of > college football…out there where everybody can see them and embrace > what they've done. We're where we are today because of all the things > those guys did in the past and we wanted to honor them." > > As fans enter the facility, they walk into a two-story atrium filled > with trophy cases and hi-definition televisions, displaying highlights > from the Gators' national championships in 1996 and 2006. Front and > center are two crystal national championship trophies, and along the > right wall are three Heisman Trophies won by Steve Spurrier (1966), > Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Tim Tebow (2007). There are also tributes to > the seven SEC Championships that the Gators have earned since 1991. > > "What this has allowed us to do, which every big-time program in > America has, is a chance to honor our heritage," said Foley. "That's > how you build tradition." > > To the left of the atrium is the new 4,000 square-foot Gator Room, a > central location to house recruiting functions throughout the year. > The space includes seating capacity for meals up to 200 people and a > state-of-the-art audio and visual system, including a 20' HD > projection screen. This room is the most advanced audio and visual > room of its kind on any collegiate campus. > > "There is a reason for everything we do here," Coach Meyer said. "We > are making our front door a tribute to the great players and > teams…embracing our past but building forward to the future. Anything > we do, we do to motivate recruits. Any time when 18-year-old eyes' see > Jack Youngblood's name, Emmit Smith's name, Tim Tebow's name and the > way we honor our great players, our great teams…their eyes are going > to get wide because they know they can have a great career here and > they will always be remembered." > > Moving through the atrium, stairs lead up to the second level, which > houses the new coaches' offices. The space has been completely > renovated and expanded, allowing all of the coaches to be more > efficient and effective in their work. > > "It will totally change the way we do business," Foley said. "Coaches > were meeting on top of each other because we didn't have enough room > and the video people were spread out all over the place – it's not > conducive to a major college football program." > > Coaches now have plenty of space in their offices and meeting rooms as > well as the latest in technology. > > "We're on the cutting edge on coaching stuff," Coach Meyer said. > "Everything is in place to be very functional with the staff and then > going from the locker room to the weight room facility to the front > door and then to the office space – this is a cutting-edge facility. > This is about as good as it gets." > > While the coaches are working on their game plans, Director of > Strength and Conditioning Mickey Marotti will be using his new weight > room to get the players ready. > > "I did a little study on facilities in the SEC, mostly the weight > rooms and that sort of stuff, and obviously we needed an upgrade," > Marotti said. > > Marotti spent four years designing and planning the new weight room at > the University of Notre Dame, and was only there for about 30 days > after it opened before he came to Florida. He was prepared when it > came time to go through the process again. > > "When we had our first meeting [at UF], I had a list [of things needed > in the weight room] all ready to go, from the day I walked in here," > Marotti said. > > The new weight room is the crowning jewel of the new facility. The > first thing the strength and conditioning staff needed was more space. > The old weight room had less than 10,000 square feet and after the > renovation, it features close to 25,000 square feet at the staff's > disposal. > > "We can get more quality work done in a more efficient time," said > Marotti. "Now, instead of being smashed into a little area and waiting > on things, we have more equipment, more space, and can position our > staff in different places so the flow is one after another and they're > not wasting time." > > The Gators' new weight room includes an area of turf that is 50 yards > long, which also allows for multiple teams to use the weight room at > the same time. > > "We're doing that right now," Marotti said. "We've got three football > groups, a 6:30, 8:30 [in the morning] and a 1:30 [in the afternoon], > and at 7:30 [in the morning], women's soccer comes in, so we're > getting off the turf and they're getting on the turf. When we're done > with the weights, they come in right behind us. That's kind of how it > was designed, to work like that. It's as efficient as people can > imagine. We get so much done, it's amazing." > > There is also no shortage of technology in the weight room. There are > two stations set up that can take 360-degree video, which allows > players to go back and work on technique which Marotti can break down > on a telestrator. Add in a state-of-the-art sound system and high-def > TVs and this weight room has it all. > > "The kids love it, they're amazed by it all," said Marotti. "The > athletes have been shocked. Ex-athletes who have been in here the last > couple of weeks are completely mesmerized. It's kind of cool." > > The new facility is everything that Coach Meyer has hoped it would be. > The offices, locker rooms and weight room are just the tip of the > iceberg. When recruits come to visit Florida, they will no doubt walk > away impressed. > > "One thing about the University of Florida is when they do something, > they do it right," Coach Meyer acknowledged. "This is the way it > should be. This should be the best and classiest facility in college > football." > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
