Looks like construction is about to get underway on the new football-only complex. I imagine this thing is going to be the AU Schiznitz. From Auburn Undercover.
AUBURN, Alabama—A decision has been made on where Auburn University officials want to build a new football complex and it is not expected to be long until heavy equipment begins moving dirt for the new facilities.
Headquarters for Auburn’s football team is expected to move across the street (Biggio Drive) from its current practice fields to the site of the old Wilbur Hutsell Track and Field. The football program has been interested in that land since Tommy Tuberville was head coach in the early 2000s.
The new site for the football complex includes land currently used for 13 tennis courts located just north of the old track and field.
The university’s board of trustees will have to approve finalized plans for the facility and then approve a bid before construction of the buildings can start. Auburn has not announced when that could happen, but has awarded a site preparation contract to Batson-Cook for approximately $3.9 million. Sources tell
Inside the Auburn Tigers the goal is to have the project completed prior to the start of the 2022 season.
The current complex that houses the football locker rooms, weight training area, two outdoor fields and an indoor practice field is expected to be used by other Auburn intercollegiate sports teams once the new facility is completed.
The new football complex is expected to feature two outdoor practice fields and one indoors as well as spaces for new weight rooms, locker rooms, an equipment room, offices for coaches and other support staff for the football team. It is also expected to provide amenities for players on par with what new football facilities have at other programs around the SEC.
Site preparation is expected to start during the university’s fall semester at the old track and field, which is currently used by joggers and for parking on home football game weekends. The track was built in 1970 as the new home for the Tigers after the previous track at the football stadium was removed as part of a seating expansion. The old track is accessed via an entrance on Biggio Drive, which is scheduled to be closed to traffic on August 24th.
The old Hutsell track has plenty of space to build a new football complex. (Photo: Mark Murphy, Inside the Auburn Tigers/AUTigers.com, 247Sports)
Last June the university’s board of trustees announced that getting the facility designed and built was a high priority. “We all agree we need to do it,†board member Charles McCrary said at that time. AU officials have been raising money for the facility prior to the board of trustees discussing the project last year with the hopes of getting it ready as soon as possible.
Coach Gus Malzahn, who has pledged $2 million to the project, also spoke at the board meeting last June and said, “I really appreciate your support for this project. It is not big just now, currently, but more importantly for the future and it will allow us to continue to have a good chance to compete for championships so this is really big.â€
The university formed a working group, led by its Chief Operating Officer, Lt. General Ron Burgess, to push the project forward.
Since abandoning the old track in 2006, the men’s and women’s track and field squads train and compete at the Hutsell-Rosen facility, which is named in honor of former AU coaches Mel Rosen and Wilbur Hutsell. The track and field teams share a building with the women’s soccer team, which has its home field on the opposite side of the building from the track.
The university is expected to construct new tennis courts for physical education classes and recreational use on the western side of campus. The varsity teams are located off-campus at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, jointly managed by the university and city of Auburn.
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