Work could begin late this spring on a new multi-use $15 million indoor sports center on the Tucson campus of the University of Arizona.
The 65 foot-tall structure will be built primarily to provide a cool practice environment for the Arizona Wildcats football team and other athletic squads.
UA officials have noted that in a part of the country where the temperatures in the summer reach an average of 98 degrees, with highs of around 110, the climate-controlled facility will prove to be both a welcome relief to the school’s athletes and an attractive recruiting tool.
Approved by the Arizona Board of Regents last fall, the new facility, will also include space for tailgate functions, as well as a beer garden.
The center is being designed by the Tucson-based BWS Architects, which has extensive experience in school facility projects.
A final design plan for the center, the construction of which is expected to be completed in early 2019, has not yet been decided on.
By Garry Boulard
