Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center - University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT
Construction Cost: $24 million
Area / Square Feet: 120,000 new; 20,000 remodeled
Occupancy Date: July 2013

The Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center was designed to contain everything the University of Utah’s student-athletes need for training, studying, nourishment and entertainment. Facility planning was a close collaboration of the director of football operations and the design team. The facility’s circulation was designed to be efficient and well-organized so as to maximize the players’ time during the day. The facility is so comfortable, in fact, that student-athletes enjoy spending a large amount of their free time in the building, leading to a sense of team unity and camaraderie that the program had not previously experienced.

The building’s 140,000 square feet houses a full-service cafeteria, a locker room, a players’ lounge (with gaming and a mini-theater), a barbershop, strength and conditioning space, offensive and defensive team meeting areas, a laundry and equipment-issue area, an academic study area, and a state-of-the-art sports medicine facility. A significant portion of the facility is dedicated to football student-athletes and is separated from areas designed for public functions.

The University of Utah football brand is integrated throughout. The recognizable logo and striking crimson color accents used consistently in each of the building’s spaces help facilitate wayfinding.