Note: This is the second installment of a three-part series on Florida State's consideration of building a football operations center.
Part 1: Making the case: 10 key reasons why a new football facility is needed
Part 3: Where a new FSU football facility might be located and the challenges the Seminoles face before making it a reality. (Coming Wednesday)
While the need for a standalone football facility might be a relatively new topic to the Florida State athletics community, numerous programs across the country already have either built one or in the process of doing so.
Clemson, of course, grabbed national headlines in January when it unveiled its new $55 million football complex, complete with a slide, barber shop and player village. But the Tigers merely spruced up the concept; they didn’t invent it. More than half of the programs in the Southeastern Conference already have football-dedicated facilities, and many other programs around the nation are following suit -- if they aren’t already there.
Why is the trend picking up so much steam?
One primary reason is efficiency.
“From what I’ve seen, the best setups are at these schools that have a football-dedicated building,” ESPN college football reporter Chris Low said in an interview with Warchant.com this week. “They have everything they need in one place -- the weight rooms, the meeting rooms, the locker room -- and then the players funnel right out onto the practice fields. They don’t have to go to meetings in the stadium and then walk all the way to the practice fields. It’s all right there.”
Low, a veteran reporter who has visited many college campuses and recently spent two days at Florida State, said he was impressed with the Seminoles’ facilities overall. But he added he could see how they could end up at a disadvantage in recruiting, with so many other schools dedicating the funds to build separate football centers.
“A lot of these kids will come on visits with their parents,” Low said. “So, say on the same trip they go to Tennessee, Clemson, Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida State – and everybody but Florida State has a football-only facility. What Florida State has is nice, but everybody is keeping count -- the moms and the dads, the kids and the grandmas. They’re all looking for player amenities.
“And if you’re Florida State, you’re competing for players with Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, Clemson and the state schools. The facilities matter. Everybody’s keeping count.”
FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher has told university officials that the school needs a football-only facility to keep pace with the competition, and the Seminoles have hired architects to begin working on potential plans. Where and when the facility would be constructed -- and how it would be funded -- have yet to be determined.
In the second installment of a three-part series on the subject, Warchant takes a look at some of the similar facilities that are being constructed, or are already in place, at schools across the country: (Note: This is not a comprehensive list, but instead a sampling of what is occurring on other campuses.)
