Syracuse Football Indoor Practice Facility Taking Shape, May Include '44 Plaza'

Syracuse Athletics has announced that it is officially in the design phase for the proposed Indoor Practice Center that will live on the current site of Joseph Vielbig Outdoor Track Stadium. They've released some renderings of the 102,258-square foot building for everyone to ogle over...

As you might have imagined, DOC Gross has something to say...

"The design phase of the project is an exciting one for Syracuse Athletics. The indoor facility is coming closer to fruition daily as the hard work and dedication of all involved will result in a beautiful facility for our coaches and student-athletes, which will create a unifying effect for all associated with Syracuse. From four teams reaching the Final Four in their sports, to a steady rise in the NACDA Directors' and Capital One Cups and our historic move to the ACC, it marks a time of unprecedented success and growth. Now, to experience the generosity last week from the Thompson family and this week see the transformational indoor facility moving we can all feel this incredible sense of momentum at precisely the right time."

There were a lot of unrelated bullet points that the publicist DOC Gross had to include in that statement. Well done.

Nate Fink of Syracuse.com attended an information meeting to find out more about the project and here's the high-level answers...

• Syracuse is hoping to get final approval by the end of August with a start time expected for early 2014 and completion by August 2014. But this is not locked in by any means.
• The building will be 79 feet tall (feel like it should be 88). The interior of the building will reach 65 feet, so, Rakeem Christmas should just barely be able to fit inside.

Watch this video of the official presentation for more info.

The really exciting add-on potential is talk about adding statues of football greats Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little outside the new indoor facility in an area called 44 Plaza. Whether that means moving the Floyd Little Ernie Davis statue, which would be a mistake, or creating a new one, remains to be seen.