The Vision For Football
When all the work is done, it's the hope that Ross-Ade Stadium
will look something like the rendering at right: A full stadium with
passionate fans, a transformative facility in the south end zone and
permanent lights and video technology consistent with the year
2020.
But first …
Ground is expected to be broken for the new football
performance complex (above) in May 2016 with completion
expected by August 2017.
No student fees or state support will be used for the project,
and five football alumni and their families have already pledged
$12.1 million toward the project. Included in the donors: Drew and
Brittany Brees, Sandy Dauch (on behalf of her late husband Dick),
Doug and Maria DeVos, Bob and Amy Martin and Tom and Joy
Spurgeon.
The 110,000-square foot facility will be a three-level structure
that will include a locker room, team meeting room, position
meeting rooms, player development room, weight training facility,
sports medicine facility and coaches' offices. It will be built adjacent
to the north end of Mollenkopf.
Early renderings of the project show a dynamic entry and
lobby, as well as key pieces to enhance sports performance and a
larger weight room area that the entire team could train in at one
time. Players saw the designs in the season after the project was
announced and waiting approval.
"When I saw the pictures, I was speechless," sophomore tight
end Cole Herdman said then. "It's something out of a book. Coach
(Darrell) Hazell showed us the pictures in the catalogue and what
it's going to look like in a couple years, when they're starting it, and
I think that just builds on the program and it shows us where we're
going in the future. And I think that's up. Up from here.
"Your facility is a reflection of you. Coach Hazell sees that and
our program is going on the way up and he wants to keep building
on that, too. The facility is just a nice addition to it."
The First Look