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MONTANA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Montana's indoor practice facility expected next fall; beer garden returns this year
FRANK GOGOLA Missoulian [email protected] Sep 2, 2022 Updated Sep 3, 2022 0
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MISSOULA — All eyes will be on Montana’s football team this Saturday as the Grizzlies kick off the 2022 season ranked No. 3 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll.
Those eyes might be looking around the University of Montana campus for the indoor practice facility, the latest infrastructure project being undertaken by UM. There won’t be any sign of the groundwork at the River Bowl fields northwest of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, so don’t worry about getting your eyeglass prescription checked.
The athletic department is delaying the construction of the facility, Montana athletic director Kent Haslam said Monday. The aim now is to have it completed by October 2023 after previous estimates looked initially at November 2022 and then March 2023.
“I certainly hear a lot about supply-chain issues, and I think we’re all getting tired of hearing about supply-chain issues and distribution and logistics and all those things,” he said. “But we got to a point with electric transforms, the different products that were needed to build this facility that we would get it done and be up in March of 2023. So, you’re thinking why rush it, why spend more to get product in just to get it done in March just to take it right down in the spring.”
The indoor practice facility will be in the form of a bubble that can be put up in the winter months and during inclement weather. The covering can be taken down to create an open-air facility in nicer weather. A permanent structure must be attached for electrical equipment, restrooms and to pressurize the bubble.
The facility will give the football team an indoor area to practice, but it’ll be able to be used by other teams like soccer, softball and track. The facility will include four 150-yard synthetic sprint spring lanes, two long jump pits, two pole vault pits and a throwing area for hammer, javelin, discus and shot put.
The hope around this time last year was to have the facility finished by this October so the Griz could practice indoors during what they hope will be a deep playoff run in the winter. The national title game is now in January, not the week before December like during coach Hauck’s previous stint at UM, which could increase the chance of winter weather inhibiting practice.
The Griz made the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons and had weather cut practice short leading up to the quarterfinal game at James Madison last December. In 2019, spring camp was delayed by a week because of ice on the turf field in their stadium.
“We have delayed the starting of the bubble until after the first of the year and then it will be up by October of next year,” Haslam said. “That’s really the date. If we couldn’t get it up by January or even December, then why rush and spend more money just to get it up for one month and then to take it right back down. We’ve delayed that.”
Funding is in place for the $7.2 million project, which is 100% privately funded and includes $315,000 raised by UM’s 2001 national championship football team last year during their 20th-anniversary season. The facility will make Montana the first Big Sky school with an inflatable practice structure.
It’s the latest in a string of infrastructure projects in Haslam’s tenure. Others include the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center, the Coyle Recovery Room, the Eric and Blair Sprunk Student-Athlete Academic Center, the creation of a softball program and field, and a new locker room for men’s basketball. Also on the horizon is a new women’s basketball locker room.
This indoor practice facility will get the Griz on a closer level facility-wise with other national powerhouse programs. North Dakota State is scheduled to open its indoor practice facility at an estimated cost of $50 million this fall. South Dakota State spent $32 million on its facility in 2014. Both of those are permanent structures, hence the higher cost.
“The funding is all in place,” Haslam said. “We’ve got the authority from the Board of Regents. We’re all ready to go from that standpoint. We’ve started to bulk buy some of the product: the turf and the dome, the fabric that goes over, all those things. They’ll just be held onto.”
MONTANA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Montana's indoor practice facility expected next fall; beer garden returns this year
FRANK GOGOLA Missoulian [email protected] Sep 2, 2022 Updated Sep 3, 2022 0
2 of 4
SMS
Copy article link
Save
MISSOULA — All eyes will be on Montana’s football team this Saturday as the Grizzlies kick off the 2022 season ranked No. 3 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll.
Those eyes might be looking around the University of Montana campus for the indoor practice facility, the latest infrastructure project being undertaken by UM. There won’t be any sign of the groundwork at the River Bowl fields northwest of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, so don’t worry about getting your eyeglass prescription checked.
The athletic department is delaying the construction of the facility, Montana athletic director Kent Haslam said Monday. The aim now is to have it completed by October 2023 after previous estimates looked initially at November 2022 and then March 2023.
“I certainly hear a lot about supply-chain issues, and I think we’re all getting tired of hearing about supply-chain issues and distribution and logistics and all those things,” he said. “But we got to a point with electric transforms, the different products that were needed to build this facility that we would get it done and be up in March of 2023. So, you’re thinking why rush it, why spend more to get product in just to get it done in March just to take it right down in the spring.”
The indoor practice facility will be in the form of a bubble that can be put up in the winter months and during inclement weather. The covering can be taken down to create an open-air facility in nicer weather. A permanent structure must be attached for electrical equipment, restrooms and to pressurize the bubble.
The facility will give the football team an indoor area to practice, but it’ll be able to be used by other teams like soccer, softball and track. The facility will include four 150-yard synthetic sprint spring lanes, two long jump pits, two pole vault pits and a throwing area for hammer, javelin, discus and shot put.
The hope around this time last year was to have the facility finished by this October so the Griz could practice indoors during what they hope will be a deep playoff run in the winter. The national title game is now in January, not the week before December like during coach Hauck’s previous stint at UM, which could increase the chance of winter weather inhibiting practice.
The Griz made the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons and had weather cut practice short leading up to the quarterfinal game at James Madison last December. In 2019, spring camp was delayed by a week because of ice on the turf field in their stadium.
“We have delayed the starting of the bubble until after the first of the year and then it will be up by October of next year,” Haslam said. “That’s really the date. If we couldn’t get it up by January or even December, then why rush and spend more money just to get it up for one month and then to take it right back down. We’ve delayed that.”
Funding is in place for the $7.2 million project, which is 100% privately funded and includes $315,000 raised by UM’s 2001 national championship football team last year during their 20th-anniversary season. The facility will make Montana the first Big Sky school with an inflatable practice structure.
It’s the latest in a string of infrastructure projects in Haslam’s tenure. Others include the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center, the Coyle Recovery Room, the Eric and Blair Sprunk Student-Athlete Academic Center, the creation of a softball program and field, and a new locker room for men’s basketball. Also on the horizon is a new women’s basketball locker room.
This indoor practice facility will get the Griz on a closer level facility-wise with other national powerhouse programs. North Dakota State is scheduled to open its indoor practice facility at an estimated cost of $50 million this fall. South Dakota State spent $32 million on its facility in 2014. Both of those are permanent structures, hence the higher cost.
“The funding is all in place,” Haslam said. “We’ve got the authority from the Board of Regents. We’re all ready to go from that standpoint. We’ve started to bulk buy some of the product: the turf and the dome, the fabric that goes over, all those things. They’ll just be held onto.”
