UA Board of Trustees approves 3 facilities
The construction of three athletics-related facilities was approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees at their regularly scheduled meeting Thursday in Fort Smith.
Arguably the most successful programs on campus will be the beneficiaries of these projects, with new facilities to be built for the baseball and outdoor track and field teams, as well as a renovation and expansion for the indoor track and field teams.
No university funds will be required to help foot the estimated $43-55 million price tag, as the facilities will be entirely funded by athletic revenue, gifts and bond proceeds from a future bond issue, according to a press release by the UA. The release added that the Razorbacks Foundation is “close to solidifying lead gifts” for each facility.
“As we continue to focus on student-athlete success, we are pleased to be moving forward on three important projects to further support student-athletes in some of the most successful sports programs at the University of Arkansas,” athletics director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “Our baseball and men’s and women’s track and field programs consistently compete for SEC and national championships and we want to provide our student-athletes the resources they need to succeed.”
Yurachek detailed the three projects when he spoke at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club in early September.
The most notable of the projects is the construction of a Baseball Performance Center beyond the right field wall at Baum Stadium. It will be a multi-level facility that is about 40,000 square feet.
Batting cages and a pitching center will be located on the lower level, with a second level devoted to student-athletes, including a new locker room, team lounge, meeting areas, training room and strength and conditioning center.
Earlier this month, head coach Dave Van Horn also said there is a plan to have a “professional players” locker room in the facility for former players who come back to Fayetteville in the offseason.
“A lot of guys when they come back use our indoor facility and work out here and work out with our strength and conditioning coach,” Van Horn said. “You take it a step further and give them a place to put their stuff and their gear and I think it'll make a lot of these guys want to come back and be in this area.”
New offices for the coaches and additional meeting rooms would go on the third level and the UA is still working on a concept for loge boxes overlooking the bullpen, equipped with a sink, refrigerator and grill.
WER Architects/Planners in Fayetteville and Little Rock and HKS Architects in Dallas will lead the design team, while Kinco Constructors in Springdale and Little Rock will serve as the general contractor for the estimated $20-25 million project.
John McDonnell Field, the outdoor track venue, will get a 20,000-square foot “Track and Field High Performance Center” that is estimated to cost $8-10 million.
Located just south of the track, it will include new locker rooms for the men’s and women’s programs, as well as a shared team lounge, training room and strength and conditioning center. Yurachek said there was a “desperate need” for that in September.
“Our women’s program dresses in a locker room that has roughly 35 lockers,” Yurachek said. “That would be great if we had 35 student-athletes, but we have approximately 60 female student-athletes.”
Hufft in Bentonville will work with AECOM in Kansas City on the design, with Flintco in Springdale and Tulsa serving as the general contractor.
The third project is a $15-20 million renovation to the Randal Tyson Track Center, which is the site of the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Polk Stanley Wilcox in Fayetteville and Little Rock and Populous in Kansas City will lead the design design team and CDI Constructors LLC in Fayetteville and Little Rock serving as the general contractor.
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