Illinois Releases Latest Rendering Of Baseball Training Center

Illinois released updated renderings of the baseball training center. The project is scheduled for completion by January 2022.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois has released an updated rendering of what the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center will look like. The project is scheduled for completion by Jan. 2022.

The Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center will help cement the Fighting Illini as one of the premier baseball programs in both the Big Ten Conference and nationally. The facility will help attract top talent and allow Illini student-athletes the opportunity to train year-round.

The Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center at Illinois is scheduled for completion by January 2022 / Art rendering provided by University of Illinois athletics department

The new indoor practice facility for the Fighting Illini baseball program is made possible by a lead naming gift of $3 million by Susie Atkins. The project was first announced November 13, 2018 but construction has yet to begin on the training center due to the coronavirus epidemic shutting down the campus starting in March

The gift was the second major Illinois Athletics facility gift from the Atkins Family. The first was the $2.5 million donation for the Atkins Tennis Center, completed in 1991. The Atkins Tennis Center was one of the first in the country to house both indoor and outdoor courts with locker rooms and a pro shop, the facility was voted one of the most outstanding by the USTA in 1992, shortly after its dedication.

The indoor baseball training center continues a major facilities upgrade to the Illini baseball program that included the installation of field turf at Illinois Field that was expected to be installed by the Fall of 2020 but could be pushed back due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. The turf will be brown where a traditional dirt infield lays with green stripes throughout the infield and outfield. An orange 'Illinois' signature design will be showcased behind home plate.

The installation of field turf at Illinois Field that was expected to be installed by the Fall of 2020 but could be pushed back due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic / Art rendering provided by the University of Illinois athletics department

"We are committed to making Illinois Field a first-class facility for player development," Illini baseball head coach Dan Hartleb said. "Installing the new turf continues our commitment, along with the addition of the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center. These projects will allow our student-athletes to excel as we push forward with our goal of competing at the national level every year and to win a national championship."

Hartleb was named the Big Ten Coach of the Decade by D1baseball.com in January after the Illini head coach led the program to its best decade in school history. In the last decade, Illinois has produced 30 MLB Draft picks, seven All-America selections, two first-round picks in the MLB draft, and the Illini's first National Player of the Year in Bren Spillane. Illinois won Big Ten titles in 2011 and 2015, the 2015 NCAA Champaign Regional, and hosted its first ever Super Regional in 2015. Hartleb took Illinois to four regionals during the decade (2011, 2013, 2015, 2019), more than any other coach in the conference.