Miami facilities in midst of upgrades

[PUNCICANE]

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- A rebuilding effort is underway at Miami in the most literal sense.



Ira Stanley, director of facilities at Miami, took me on a tour of the $16 million upgrade to Miami’s athletic facilities, including a new stink-free football locker room. That’s right, stink-free – there is a “shoe drying room” adjacent to the new locker room that is specially ventilated to dry wet shoes and shoulder pads after practice. Maybe that’s just a highlight a visitor would notice more, but there are plenty of perks in the new 30,000 square-foot addition, including a bigger, better academic center, a “gallery of champions” to display national championship trophies, an expanded training facility, a new hydrotherapy pool and an overall upgrade to Miami’s old-school building.

Construction on the Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence began in December 2011, and the finishing touches are being put on the locker room and academic center. They should be ready for use before spring practices are over, but the expanded training room and new pools will be done closer to August.

There is one very important detail in Miami’s new locker room -- the U is on the ceiling.

In the current locker room, the logo is on a giant carpet, and woe be to he who steps on it. It’s a tradition -- a sign of respect -- not to walk on the U. This won’t be a problem in the new locker room, which also features shoulder pad racks on each of the 115 lockers and outlets for each locker so the players can charge their phones. The locker room is shaped in a half-moon, so if Al Golden is standing under the U, he can see every one of his players as he’s talking, unlike in the old locker room, which has blind spots.

A few more highlights:
The new academic center has two 10-student classrooms, a conference room that overlooks the practice field, a lounge area for study groups, and two 20-person classrooms, along with a 117-seat auditorium.
There is a players’ lounge adjacent to the locker room that has four LED TV screens, and a kitchenette for snacks.
The hydrotherapy pools will include two thermal pools and two cold plunge pools, in addition to one larger pool that can adjust its depth to suit players’ rehab needs.

Overall, there’s no question Miami is getting an upgrade compared to its current facilities. The next step is an upgrade in the standings.

Below are a few photos I took while on the tour.
Tags:Miami HurricanesACCMiami (FL) Hurricanes

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=acc&id=53613

 

[jenniferurs]

I'm not seeing the photos

 

[UMJer026]

No one expects us to have the best facilities, but it's good to not fall too far behind.

 

[UMJer026]

I'm not seeing the photos

They're on the bottom of Dinich's blog (which is linked).

 

[jenniferurs]

I'm not seeing the photos

They're on the bottom of Dinich's blog (which is linked).

Yeah, that's what I meant; that they're not coming up for me in the link.

 

[nadiamufdi]

I want to **** punch every nole douche making comments on the bottom of the page

 

[caneman73]

if u scroll all the way to the bottom they are there with an arrow on the left to scroll through

 

[RiDLer80]

Looks good.

One less thing other schools can talk down on Miami about. No more poor facilities bull****.

 

[Port Knox]

Cool

 

[FullyERicht]

Glad they waited ten years after spending millions on a basketball stadium to finally spend some money on the program that actually matters.

 

[cryptocane]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

******* ******* *******

 

[valid]

locker room is fresh. I think we arguably will have the best facilities in state of florida in August.

 

[jenniferurs]

if u scroll all the way to the bottom they are there with an arrow on the left to scroll through

Must be the iPad. Still not there.

 

[cane33]

Just glad to see that we're getting a real cold tub and our players will no longer have to be sitting outside in rubbermaid tubs full of ice any longer.

 

[cane33]

Here you go Urs

 

[FullyERicht]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

******* ******* *******

What exactly is untrue about my statement? They spent a ton of money on a BBall stadium while we had high school level football facilities, and high school level coaches, and then wondered why the greatest program in the previous quarter century turned to a pile of ****.

 

[Consigliere]

Glad they waited ten years after spending millions on a basketball stadium to finally spend some money on the program that actually matters.

This guy is a FUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG Moron!

Please drop this BS routine.

 

[Consigliere]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

******* ******* *******

Tremendous Cack Sucker too!

 

[Picksix]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

******* ******* *******

What exactly is untrue about my statement? They spent a ton of money on a BBall stadium while we had high school level football facilities, and high school level coaches, and then wondered why the greatest program in the previous quarter century turned to a pile of ****.

HS level coaches? Like Stoutland who just won a National Championship with Bama and is now in the NFL? Or Panunzio who also just won a National Championship with Bama? Are these the HS level corches you speak of?

The problem was Miami gave Coker a contract extension prematurely and couldn't afford a better HC once he was let go. Facilities had nothing to do with it. Negged for stupidity...

 

[Consigliere]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

******* ******* *******

What exactly is untrue about my statement? They spent a ton of money on a BBall stadium while we had high school level football facilities, and high school level coaches, and then wondered why the greatest program in the previous quarter century turned to a pile of ****.

First of all the options weren't spend on the football team or spend on the basketball team.

Second, the stadium pays for itself because it generates REVENUE for UM. Besides the naming rights and ticket sales WE ALSO HOLD CONCERTS AND OTHER BS there. This generates revenue for the school because we own it outright.

An upgraded football facility (if we spent the money on football strictly) generates NO MONEY for the school since it is only is used for the football team to practice, study and workout etc. Sure we could have naming rights but what good is naming rights if no one is allowed to use it (i.e. like the Bank United Center with numerous people going in and out). So while the basketball facility pays for itself, the football facility is a direct spenditure with indirect returns.

Third, our facilities (yes I got to view them in 2006 and 2007 when I was a student) were very good. Were they the best? NO but they were very good and I was proud to get to be there. Could they use some upgrades? Maybe but these upgrades were not major like we're building now. In general, facilities have little to do with the overall performance of the team. The coaches and the players (attitudes, talent and abilities) have to do with the performance. You act as if we're working in some ancient fitness museum. Weights need to be lifted, the best facilities in America (Oregon or whoever) still require the athletes to do all the work. Somehow our ancient facilities produced Ray Lewis, Wilfork, Andre Johnson, McKinnie, Jon Vilma, ETC ETC ETC.

Finally, I hate fans like you. Why can't you just be indifferent to the basketball team? Why do you actively spew this bull ****? Only at the University of Miami do we suffer from this "***** THE OTHER SPORTS" attitude. Only at UM do we have fans say the following

I would take 50 years of losing records in basketball for another football title.

Can't you just hate the team in the closet? Why spew this BS on a canes messageboard?