NASHVILLE — It has a glossy appearance, that new-car smell and a $31 million price tag. And it’s open for business.
Vanderbilt held a ceremony in its multi-purpose indoor complex on Tuesday. Athletics director David Williams declared the football practice field and track portions of the facility ready for use.
“This is a very special day for us,” Williams said. “This is something that if you had asked me five, six, seven years ago, did I ever think we would have something like this in this place on campus
, my answer would be ‘probably never.’
“But never came real quickly. That just shows you what can be done when we all put our minds and arms together.”
University donors and coaches from every sport were in attendance for the announcement, and most of them took time to wander around and admire their surroundings.
The full-length football field is made of the same Shaw Sports synthetic turf that is in the stadium.
A six-lane, 300-meter Mondo track, which has field-event stations along the outside of the running surface, will host its first meet on Dec. 3. There is an LED board, training room and second-floor viewing/filming areas, with windows in each zone filling the facility with natural
light.
“It gives us a facility that we have that I think ranks up with anywhere in the country,” football coach James Franklin said.
From: http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20131106/SPORTS/311060016?gcheck=1
