While in Boise for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Ohio got a taste of something it could get used to — other than winning in the postseason, that is.
The Bobcats practiced at Boise State’s Caven-Williams Sports Complex, a state-of-the-art indoor facility designed with football in mind.
The 78,000 square-foot fieldhouse kept the Bobcats warmly indoors during their week in Idaho’s chilly capital.
“We want the teams, as they prepare for the last three days of practice, to be in a climate-controlled area where they can have good practices and get ready for game day,” said Kevin McDonald, executive director of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. “We think it’s something the teams really enjoy, and it really helps prepare them.”
Come 2013, Ohio might be taking its first steps in its own facility before traveling to any potential bowl game. The Bobcats are on track to have their own building, a yet-to-be-named multipurpose center, before the 2013 season opener against Louisville.
Taking two days of snaps in the Broncos’ complex allowed Ohio administrators to look forward to the day they will break ground on their new facility, which will be located in the current site of the Bobcat Student Park.
“In terms of its scope, the size of the building is pretty similar to what we’re looking at,” Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said of the Caven-Williams Complex. “It was excellent. It was really cold there and being able to practice and play like that, it definitely got you thinking about ‘Gosh, wouldn’t this be great to have a facility like this.’”
Ohio Athletics has had such a project in the works for five years, Schaus said.
Robert and Margaret Walter, Ohio University alumni, donated $8 million to kick-start fundraising for the planned facility. Since receiving the gift, the athletic department has collected almost $1.7 million more in pledges from donors both large and small.
Schaus and athletic department fundraisers have been chipping away at the projected $11 million cost of building the facility since last fall. But Ohio Athletics still has a large amount to raise before it can provide a final picture of what the multipurpose center will look like and what features it will include.
The athletic department will close its fundraising process later this spring, as securing pledges will take until at least the end of March. Originally, the department had hoped to meet its fundraising goals by as early as February.
Until then, Schaus said Ohio Athletics will send out a mailing to Bobcat Club members, former student-athletes and season ticket holders, among others, to try to replicate the $200,000 in donations raised through a previous mailing.
Once the final donations come in, the athletic department will be able to provide more concrete numbers as to how much the final project will cost and will begin bidding on contractors.
The facility still might include additional features, such as a track, that were not included in the initial $11 million projection.
The final renderings will depend on the total amount raised for the project. That total has not been determined because fundraising is still in progress.
“For that base model, that $11 million might be $10.5 million or it might be $12 million,” Schaus said. “I’m not expecting gigantic swings in that, but you want to be sure as we’re getting closer, we have all the things we want in it.
“The bottom line is we’re going to raise all the money we possibly can, and we’re going to build the best facility we can with the resources that we have.”
The process is estimated take about a year from groundbreaking to opening.
“It’s a very high priority to me, and there is a sense of urgency to move the project along because the sooner we have it, the more of a benefit it would be,” Schaus said.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
