ABILENE ? ACU's student-athletes will return in the fall to one new practice facility, one renovated facility and an improved workout area as both are part of the university's summer construction projects.
The ACU football team ? which last year finished 8-3 on its way to the program's first NCAA football playoff berth ? will be able to practice on a new 70-yard synthetic turf field just north of the Teague Special Events Center. Also, the Eager Tennis Center is undergoing a facelift. And all ACU student-athletes will enjoy an almost-10,000-square foot Powell Fitness Center when it opens later this summer.
The practice field ? which will be regulation width and will be lodcated on the far east side of the football practice fields on campus ? is an approximately $300,000 addition to ACU's athletics facilities. ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said the field ? which will be made of FieldTurf, the same surface on the field at Shotwell Stadium ? will be readyAug. 1, one week before the 2007 Wildcats report for fall practice.
The field will be lined and will be in use year-round no matter the weather situation.
"We wanted a top-of-the-line turf practice field, and that's what we're getting," said Thomsen, who was the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year in 2006. "Performance is a result of a lot of preparation, and this will allow us to get ourselves prepared to play to the best of our ability.
"These new facilities are a sign that we're going to give our student-athletes ? all of them, no matter which sport ? top-of-the-line facilities in order to go out and compete for championships," he said. "This shows a huge commitment by the university to our student-athletes and recruits."
Thomsen the next part of the project would be to add fencing around the entire football practice facility, entryway and lighting. That project, however, is still on the drawing table.
The addition to the Powell Fitness Center will take the facility from its approximately 4,800 square feet to almost 10,000 square feet. The facility, which opened in 1993, will be outfitted with new weights and exercise equipment.
"The growth of our athletics facilities necessitated a larger workout area," Thomsen said. "This bigger facility will give all of the coaches on our staff to get their entire team together at once and get their work in."
At the Eager Tennis Center, each court will be re-surfaced and receive new nets, while new wind screens will be installed on the fence surrounding the complex. The facility will also be expanded by 18 feet to the east so that bleachers can be added courtside between courts 3 and 4.
