Liberty wants to become a big-time college football program, and the Flames are more than willing to spend their way to the top.
When you've got close to half a billion dollars committed to capital projects and you're paying for it out of the more than $1 billion you have in reserves, as Liberty presdient Jerry Falwell, Jr., boasted in 2013, don't you pretty much have to drop $25 million to renovate your football operations building?
The new and improved Williams Football Operations Center will expand to more than 65,000 square feet, an increase of 18,000 from its current footprint, while closing off the north end of Williams Stadium.
“This building will be designed to really tie into the stadium and create a much more intimate environment for our home football games,” McCaw said. “I think it, again, will be a much better gameday atmosphere and home-field advantage for the team.”
The renovated facility will be three stories.
- Top floor: coaches' offices, meeting rooms, plus a 147-seat, theater-style team meeting room.
- Middle floor: New locker room, equipment room, 13,000-square foot players' lounge, recruiting space, glass-enclosed workout area, training room, press room
- Bottom floor: This floor, which will be underground, will house a 16,000-square foot weight room
The locker room is expected to be complete in time for the Flames' Aug. 31 season opener against Syracuse, and the full facility is scheduled for a January 2020 opening.