New Practice Facility

[Buckskin86]

Athletic Department: Basketball practice facility needs $17.4 million more
By Blake Williams
williams.3012@osu.edu
Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010



Three years ago, the Ohio State Athletic Department began raising money for a $22 million basketball practice facility that coaches Thad Matta and Jim Foster said is vital to their programs.

The facility, designed to be adjacent to the Schottenstein Center, was supposed to open this fall. However, the Athletic Department has raised just $4.6 million, said Pat Chun, associate athletic director for External Relations.

?When the economy bottomed out, that changed our planning,? Chun said.

The Athletic Department must have the entire $22 million committed before it can break ground, said Ben Jay, associate athletic director of finance.

?The folks who were able to support Buckeye Nation in the past have not been able to give at the levels that they have been doing,? Jay said.

The Athletic Department will not get any money for the project from the university, Jay said. OSU is going to be using its borrowing power for other projects, which Jay said include hospital expansion and student housing renovations.

The Athletic Department has its own priorities, as well. Jay listed a 3,500-seat sports pavilion, a new weight room, a rehabilitation center and locker rooms among the things competing with the practice facility for funds.

So, a facility that originally was to open in a few months is on the department?s back-burner, Jay said.

The Lantern - Athletic Department: Basketball practice facility needs $17.4 million more

Basketball facility would provide practice area, award storage
By Blake Williams
williams.3012@osu.edu
Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Ohio State Athletic Department is attempting to keep pace with programs around the country.

To do so, it is in the process of fundraising for a new $22 million practice facility for men?s and women?s basketball.

The facility will be one of a kind, the only one in the country with two full practice courts for the men?s program and two full practice courts for the women?s program, said Pat Chun, associate athletic director for External Relations.

Having multiple courts for each team will increase their flexibility. Practice times are constantly changing in the current setup, which is difficult because there needs to be a three-hour time lapse between men?s and women?s practices, women?s Coach Jim Foster said.

The new facility will allow for more leeway in practice scheduling as opposed to one practice in the morning and one in the evening, said Ben Jay, associate athletic director of Finance and Operations.

?This will help us with class scheduling for student-athletes because it?ll give us a little more flexibility,? Jay said.

The new practice facility will not only be beneficial in terms of practice and class scheduling of current athletes, but also in the recruiting of new athletes.

?From a recruiting standpoint, coach (Thad) Matta is competing against Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State and Kentucky for all these tier-one recruits,? Chun said. ?This facility is at par with those facilities.?

The Lantern - Basketball facility would provide practice area, award storage

[fanaticbuckeye]

I just sent $5 and a box of old Robin Yount and George Brett baseball cards to help out with the fund-raising. I hope that closes the gap significantly.

[Jaxbuck]

Originally Posted by fanaticbuckeye

I just sent $5 and a box of old Robin Yount and George Brett baseball cards to help out with the fund-raising. I hope that closes the gap significantly.

You should at least ask them to name the building after you if you are going to pay for it.

[fanaticbuckeye]

Originally Posted by Jaxbuck

You should at least ask them to name the building after you if you are going to pay for it.

I am not in it for the fame. Just doing my part.

[coastalbuck]

I've got a George Brett signed golf flag, I'd hate to part with it though...

[LitlBuck]

Not going to happen anytime soon without a much bigger increase in the profit area.

Buckeyes back in black financially
Friday, May 28, 2010 2:50 AM
By Bill Rabinowitz

When the economic downturn hit two years ago, Ohio State's athletic program instituted austerity measures in hopes of keeping the Buckeyes among the few Division I programs in the black financially.

That budget discipline will likely allow Ohio State to achieve its goal - barely.

Ohio State expects to make a profit of about $23,000 for the 2009-10 school year, according to Ben Jay, senior associate athletic director for finance and operations.

"That's our best guess," he said yesterday.

For an athletic program with a budget of $118 million, such a modest profit might not seem like a monumental achievement, but it was made possible only by various cost-cutting measures.

A year ago, Ohio State lost $148,000, according to numbers supplied to the Associated Press.

"I think in this economic environment, it's a huge achievement," Jay said. "To break even is a great thing, considering we're still having softness in other revenue lines," such as concessions and merchandise sales.

He credited an adherence to a budgeting process that aimed to keep expenses flat from the previous year.

More

Buckeyes back in black financially | BuckeyeXtra

[LitlBuck]

Ohio State has raised less than half of the $22 million it needed before it could proceed with a planned expansion of the basketball facilities at Value City Arena. So the Buckeyes are considering a smaller project that would cost $10 million to $11 million.

Senior associate athletic director Ben Jay said alternatives are being evaluated by the architect, including a new, two-court practice gym, one floor of new offices for coaches and a redesign of the existing locker rooms and strength and conditioning room.

The original project proposal included a new gym, offices, teaching theaters, training areas and a hall-of-fame exhibit area.

Jay there is no timetable for the revamped facility. A number of other Big Ten programs, including at Indiana, Purdue, Michigan and Iowa, have opened or are building facilities to entice recruits.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...1.html?sid=101

[CHU]

Just for the long term, I understand the compromise but do not like it (or agree with it). Considering what the competition is doing -- this is an Arms Race afterall -- downsizing may not be the best idea for the long term (unless the new plans call for negligible differences).

Fundraising is part of the Director of Athletics job and Ohio State just gave Gene Smith a raise. Start fundraising with vigor.

It somewhat makes me irate that myself and my family donate a good amount annually and the athletic department is building a $5 million boathouse rather than filtering money to more viable sports.

However, I'm sure if Matta's team does well in the NCAA Tournament in the next few years, that would help in terms of fundraising.

[OmahaBeef]

Originally Posted by CHU

Just for the long term, I understand the compromise but do not like it (or agree with it). Considering what the competition is doing -- this is an Arms Race afterall -- downsizing may not be the best idea for the long term (unless the new plans call for negligible differences).

Fundraising is part of the Director of Athletics job and Ohio State just gave Gene Smith a raise. Start fundraising with vigor.

It somewhat makes me irate that myself and my family donate a good amount annually and the athletic department is building a $5 million boathouse rather than filtering money to more viable sports.

However, I'm sure if Matta's team does well in the NCAA Tournament in the next few years, that would help in terms of fundraising.

Define "more viable." Student athletes in sports other than basketball and football deserve opportunities to find personal growth through athletics.

[Buckskin86]

Q: Other top basketball programs have new or renovated practice facilities, which aid heavily in recruiting. How close is Ohio State to building a dedicated practice facility for basketball? - Jacqueline Chu, San Jose, Calif.



A: It has one: a two-court auxiliary gym in the northwest corner of the Schottenstein Center. The men's and women's teams share it. A renovated facility - with another two-court gym, new offices, training rooms, strength and conditioning area and hall of fame exhibit - has been on hold for several years because of insufficient funds. As a result, the project has been split into two phases, according to senior associate athletic director Ben Jay.

Phase 1 will include the new gym, expanded and renovated locker rooms, a new strength and conditioning area and video editing room, and storage areas. Cost will be about $11million, nearly all of which has been raised, Jay said. Construction can begin when that target is hit.

Phase 2 will include new offices for the ticket department and Schottenstein Center administrators and renovated and expanded offices for coaches. Estimated cost for this phase is $4million to $4.5million. - Bob Baptist

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...1.html?sid=101

[Buckskin86]

Phase 1
(estimated cost: about $11 million)

-- Build a new auxiliary practice gym over the current loading dock;

-- Build a new strength and conditioning area, video editing room, and storage areas between the existing and new practice gyms;

-- Renovate and expand the existing men's and women's basketball locker room areas (men's ice hockey locker room will remain the same).

-- Expand the training room.

Phase 2
(estimated cost: $4 million to $4.5 million

-- Build a new, two-story office building on either the east or north side of the Schottenstein Center for ticket office staff on the first floor and arena administration on the second;

-- Renovate the existing offices on the south side of the building to expand the two basketball office suites (men's ice hockey will remain the same) into the space previously occupied by the ticket office and administration.

http://blog.dispatch.com/hoopsscoops...ate.shtml#more

[Buckskin86]

Practice facility update

Our weekly "Ask the Experts" feature in the Sports section had another inquiry Sunday about "how close the university (is) to green-lighting the construction of the proposed practice facility? Are we talking months or years before starting construction, and is the program falling behind other basketball powers?"

My response:

"Because all funds for the project have to be raised before it starts, the athletic department decided last year to downsize the project and split it in two to hasten the start of construction. As of (last) week, $9.7 million of the $10.4 million needed to start the first phase (new gym, locker rooms, training area) has been raised, according to senior associate athletic director Ben Jay. When that target is hit, a new design will be commissioned. The earliest construction could begin, Jay said, is after next basketball season.

http://blog.dispatch.com/hoopsscoops...update_1.shtml

[Buckskin86]

Basketball: Design work to begin on Ohio State practice facility

Ohio State has won the Big Ten men?s basketball championship four of the past six years, and added the tournament title in three of those.

While setting that pace, though, the program has fallen behind the competition in the race to build state-of-the-art practice and training facilities. In the process, it might have compromised coach Thad Matta?s ability to recruit the nation?s best high-school players.

That will change soon.

Fundraising has reached the $11 million necessary to start the first phase of construction at the Schottenstein Center, where work will begin after this season. Completion of the 25,000-square-foot addition is expected by June 2013, said associate athletic director Miechelle Willis, who oversees the program.

The existing locker rooms, meeting rooms and lounges for the men?s and women?s teams will be expanded, and a strength-and-conditioning area, a second auxiliary gym and a video-editing room will be built north of the current gym, extending over the arena loading dock. Design work is to begin this week.

?We are extremely grateful for the hard work and vision the university has for the future of our program, as well as those people who generously contributed financially to make this possible,? Matta said.

cont..

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/s...-facility.html

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by Buckskin86

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/s...-facility.html

Glad to see this finally beginning get underway with 5 other BIG schools doing major improvements to their facilities. However, there will take those schools a little time to catch up with us talent wise so I guess we do have some time on our side

[DZ83CK]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

Glad to see this finally beginning get underway with 5 other BIG schools doing major improvements to their facilities. However, there will take those schools a little time to catch up with us talent wise so I guess we do have some time on our side

Well, those other schools might be making practice facility improvements and some renovations, but the Schott is still a lot more impressive facility than almost any other arena in the Big Ten.