HOLOGRAM FRANK BEAMER!
"We are good to go," said Tom Gabbard, Tech's associate AD for internal affairs and the man who oversees most of the athletics department's facilities projects. "The building and grounds committee approved it at the Board of Visitors meeting, and we're ready to go. We have our coordination meeting tomorrow [Thursday]. It'll be a total design review to take care of any loose ends, and then we'll get started."
More pictures and details are on HokieSports.com: http://www.hokiesports.com/indoorpracticefacility/.
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Comments
To calm everyone clamoring about how now we only have 1 full length field and it's indoors and that they have such a problem with this design, here is what's happening with the outdoor fields
I'm not sure I ever read anywhere that the plan would be for the entire side walls to roll up so that the field could be extended indoors, but it is mentioned that there are doors that roll up so the team can easily move inside in the event of bad weather. In reality, the idea of having 30 yards or so of turf after 70 yards of grass makes little sense unless they turned the entire practice field into turf. There would be the issue of the transition of one surface to the other that would make safety an issue during plays.
I think its ridiculously stupid that we cut our outdoor fields in half like that. Oh yippee, we have 2 half fields we can convert to a full size. We used to have 2 full outdoor fields where we could rotate as to not kill off the grass.
Makes me really think the end goal right now is to go with a field turf going forward. Its the only thing that makes sense to me. Otherwise? This is just beyond dumb, regardless of how stunningly nice the building truly does look.
If the choice is two full length fields, or a indoor practice facility + two non-full length fields... Imma take the latter.
I'm surprised there's any pushback from fans on the full length field issue. If only needed two full length fields in order to rotate and protect grass... Can't we rotate days with the indoor facility, and protect grass that way?
I see zero drawbacks to this plan. A homerun my book.
funny thing is we could have 15 full length fields around this thing and people would still moan and cry about it.
"beyond dumb"? c'mon, now. if it was truly that bad, the coaches would have pushed for more changes (moving the sand pit/walkway to Lane for instance). When you have a 120 yard indoor field immediately adjacent to (essentially part of) either 1 120 yard outdoor field or 2 65-75 yard fields, it's no different than using the 2 outdoor fields we have today. i think you'll see the staff using the indoor facility full time, even on nice weather days, as part of the overall practice complex. kids will rotate between indoor and outdoor stations interchangeably within the normal practice schedule. the field turf being used should work well for the same cleats we would use on dry bermuda turf if i'm not mistaken.
i just don't think it's the big deal many are making it out to be.
edit: removed Michigan comments. google maps shows me they have multiple outdoor fields a little further from the indoor facility, but still close. still doesn't change my mind on this being all we need for now.
There's the option to use Lane for a practice once a week, likely the walk through the day before the game for minimal impact. And considering we have a stellar grounds crew and turf grass management program, I think we can find a way that won't destroy the fields. It's not like the team used one field one day and a different one another day. They just spread out among the two fields and used all the space they could. They will be just fine.
Instead of having 2 100 yard fields, we now have 1 100 yard field, 1 75 yard field, 1 65 yard field. That is 3 fields to rotate on now. The team does not need to use 100 yards at a time unless they are doing STs. They can also still have 2-100 yard fields. I dont see what the issue here is at all...
Unless Special Teams is practicing punts after a safety than the 75 yard field even suffices for what they should need.
yeah especially since they move the kick-off spot closer to the opponents end zone every 5 years...before long all you'll really need for STs practice is a 50 yard field
http://hokieclub.com/forms/practicefacility.pdf
Regarding entire side walls. It wasn't clearly specified what height those doors would be but Item 9 of this document clearly states that there would be "over head doors - width of the fields".
So now we have neither height nor length.
anyway this was all hashed out before at length here:
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/january/10/new-indoor-practice-fa...
So far, I am not a fan of this location or building. I think it looks nice but I think the whole thing has been compromised too much for this to be called a great solution.
There are doors the width of the fields, just multiple doors, which I believe is the intent. To have 200 foot wide doors the engineering behind the columns would be absurd. I'm sure that was the issue. Plus, what is the advantage of doing this if 30 yards of your field is artificial and the other 70 yards is turf? Injuries waiting to happen at that interface.
agree with everything you just said. that's why I've never like the decision to locate the building here. Too many compromises. I know I am in the minority on that.
regarding the doors. It can be done, but yes, a cost issue.
Amazing that we will have this in the fall 2015!
Wow this thing moved along pretty quick. Maybe it was all the extra donations that we ponied up when Whit hired Buzz.
Looks awesome! Except for the fact that it's going to apparently be h-h-h-haunted!
haha..I don't think people would mind too terribly much if Franks ghost roamed around the football facility..
I always assumed that if Frank died, and Lane wasn't immediately haunted by his spirit, we had done gone fucked up in some way.
Those ghosts, they'll get after ya
I'm all for naming this facility the Frank Beamer TerrorDome. All in favor?
aye
looks like they have a huge picture of Sean Glennon on the left wall. I do not like this design now, or function! rabble rabble!
None of this would be possible without the ACC Championship MVP.
I know Glennon isn't popular among Hokie fans. I'd be lying if I didn't say he's not my favorite QB. But he's gone now and I don't think we should continue to bash him. He didn't have much help (swiss cheese OL) and his coaching was clearly sub-par (Thanks O'cain) so he was, in my mind, a victim of a really bad situation for QBs. If you look at the QBs who played in the same era as Glennon they were all much more athletic than he was and their athleticism masked a lot of the problems that our offense had. He didn't develop, and maybe he wouldn't have developed under any other coaching, but given some of the damning things we learned about O'cain through some comments LT3 made after being coached by Loeffler, I think it's fair to give Glennon the benefit of the doubt. He wore O&M proudly for his whole career, and he didn't transfer. He's still a Hokie and we should support him as such.
/rant over
It was a joke. I like Sean Glennon and have highlighted him in videos ive made in past. No need to rant. It was more of a tongue an cheek at complaints over the design and such
fair enough...that wasn't directed solely at you. There are others who bash him and I just wanted to get that off my chest. I've bashed him in the past and I'm not proud of it. This is my final stance regarding him and I wanted to share with the community.
have a leg :D
The Jim Weaver Indoor Practice Facility. Calling it now.
It would only open at noon then.
boom!
And only ECU would use it.
It'll close at 4 pm so you can get home to NOVA at a reasonable hour.
Absolutely no sugar cookies permitted in the facility.
It would be closed Thursday evenings.
And absolutely ZERO STICKING IT IN!
this is a stupid question, but if they're building the new facility before summer practice starts, where will they practice? split time between rector and lane?
i believe that is correct, i read somewhere that they would use lane to practice if needed
This question just came to me (11:38 pm Friday) and thought I'd pop over here to see if someone else thought of it. Good thing I checked before posting, thanks for the answer.
I bet someday there really will be a hologram Frank Beamer in there...c'mon technology!!
http://college-football.si.com/2014/03/27/minnesota-football-indoor-faci...
how much did our locker room facility cost? this is basically those 2 projects in one...
$18M for a 42,000 Sq.ft facility.
Lots of ghosts.
Is that the skipper cannon ghost at the 20 yard line of field 2?
could be...
Shadow people! AHHHHHH!
Something stirring up paranormal energy? Keeping souls trapped here? Unfinished business, perhaps? Native Hokie burial ground?
A week in and the tower is down, the fences and lights are down and the majority of the field has been dug up.
I know WM Jordan is the contractor but does anyone know some of the subs on this job? Site guy? MEPs? Are they all local boys or is Jordan brining some up from the beach? If anyone knows some of this info I am curious. Thanks and keep posting pictures!
First good rain and it will be a muddy construction site. Progress!
I haven't kept up with the facilities except for this and our actual locker room renovations. I was wondering, what does the team weight room look like? Has that been touched at all? I know a lot of kids love to see the huge weight rooms that Bama, Oregon, and other schools have.... When I first saw this project come out, I was expecting the weight room for football to be a part of this, but its not... So what is it like? Has it already been upgraded?
it was renovated in 2013
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/merryman.html
Awesome! Thanks for the info
Dude in the video was a little Chris Collinsworth-ish.
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/
A new video was posted on practice field construction status. The exterior will be almost complete by the end of the season. Steel will be going up in about one week. Can't figure out how to embed.
I wonder how many more people will donate after seeing the progress made. Any idea on if all the funds have been secured?
Risky opinion of the Day: Anyone who signed the "Save Stadium Woods" petition should have to donate at least $10 since it delayed and raised the cost of the project
There will be access to gate 7 for game day by going down the path along the woods. They will open the construction fence gates at each end.
It's really hard to project how fundraising will be impacted, because the folks responsible are completely different now, with a contemporary approach. Our old patrician approach under the last admin was easy (and disappointing) to predict. Now, with Whit it is a whole new approach and new results should follow.
http://www.hokiesports.com/webcam/
Webcam of the construction progress, for those who enjoy following these kind of things.
They must all be over at Souvlaki for lunch, I don't see anything happening.
Whit said last night that naming rights are available for the right price. I hope some rich dude gives enough to name it for Frank. it should be called the Beamer Fieldhouse.
I thought you meant - Frank's Fieldhouse. Almost sounds like a hot dog joint. On the serious side, I think the Frank Beamer appellation will go to Spring Road after Frank's retirement, and I think it will be initiated by Whit. Something along the lines of Frank Beamer Drive seems really appropriate.
Frank's Woodshed and Stadium Lane
And just post the schedule back there!
Just saw that Florida approved indoor facility, and they are expecting to finish it by start of 2015 season. When are we expected to open the indoor facility?
Should be good to go by the start of the season. My apartment is right next to it, and as far as I can tell, it's coming along pretty well.
Its slated to open by July as of now, and they haven't had any delays yet. All the structural work is done, so unless they get slowed by windows or electrical or something it should open in July.
I was impressed with the (SEC) speed at which Florida's is projected to be completed.
I'm sure they're sacrificing quality
They probably don't have to structurally account for the weight of snow and ice on the roof of it like ours. Then again, theirs would probably be more hurricane proof.
They probably also didn't have to shoe horn it into a space barely suitable for it while halving the size of the practice fields in an effort to avoid using the best space to appease the minority.
Actually when you look at their map, it shows that the geographic fit is very tight, and that they project to have two downsized outdoor practice fields, so the bitterness over us also doing that is misplaced & misguided.
They'll have one outdoor field that looks roughly half sized, and one that looks roughly 3/4 sized, while the indoor facility will be full length. Also, an impartial recognition of Florida not having to deal with winter weather (snow, ice, etc.) like Blacksburg would account for some quicker time frame for construction. The facility looks similar to ours, except without the open access to the fields. Or so the diagrams viewed this morning appeared.
As far as pretending an SEC school would build a cheaper quality football facility than an ACC school, that is pretty laughable.
Looks like typical metal building construction, hence the speed at which it can be built. The facility looks significantly smaller (mainly height-wise) than VT's.
Well, yeah, it's in the state of Florida, so....
The overhead concept picture of their total football faclity is impressive.
They oversigned contractors. They're gonna pull some bids at the last minute.
To tag along with what others have said it should all be done by July with majority finished by June 1st. Atleast that's what I heard.
My steel design class went and checked out the progress of the facility today and got to talk briefly with one of the guys from WMJ.