The University of Houston, now a member of the Big 12 Conference, broke ground on the new $130 million Football Operations Center in mid-November.
Designed by DLR Group in partnership with Page, the new operations center is on the university’s main campus in the west end of TDECU Stadium.
The facility will serve student-athletes, coaches, trainers, staff and fans in new premium amenity spaces.
Encompassing 120,000 square feet, the two-story facility features a wide variety of amenities including a strength and conditioning space, sports medicine and hydrotherapy spaces, a training table, fueling station, locker rooms, equipment room, meeting rooms, an auditorium, coach and operations offices, academic and study spaces, and a student-athlete lounge.
The complex will also provide additional fan spaces to TDECU Stadium with 30,000 square feet dedicated to premium seating, including 14 suites, a 450-seat club section with access to a club lounge, and a 300-seat rooftop terrace facing inward to John O'Quinn Field connecting the north and south upper seating bowls.
The club lounge and suites replace existing seats and create a new viewing experience for end-zone patrons.
The center is expected to be completed by August 2025. [DLR Group]
The University of Texas has opened its new Alienware Longhorn Esports Arena.
The 3,400-square-foot arena, located in the Texas Union Underground, is a full-scale gaming space outfitted with 43 Alienware stations, a varsity room, a production center, a console game space and a viewing area.
The Alienware Longhorn Esports Lounge creates an elite gaming environment for students to play, train and compete at the highest level in esports competitions, locally and globally. The lounge is located on the main level of the Texas Union and features more than ten gaming stations and a multiplayer console area.
Alienware collaborated and invested in the design and technology of the arena, just as it did with the lounge. With these spaces combined, students now have more than 50 stations to use for gaming. [Universityunions.utexas.edu]
Rockford University has begun work on constructing a $3.5 million new baseball and softball fields, which are funded by a state grant.
On Tuesday morning, community leaders, students, and faculty gathered outside Sever Center on East State Street for a groundbreaking ceremony at Rockford University.
Thanks to a $3.58 million grant from the State of Illinois' Independent Colleges Capital Investment Grant, the university will be able to build two new state-of-the-art athletic fields.
Athletic director Jason Mulligan said the new fields will be the first baseball and softball dedicated turf field in the area. [WREX-TV]
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