WATCH: UVA Officially Breaks Ground on New Football Facility

Watch as Jim Ryan, Tony Elliott, and Carla Williams participate in the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Virginia football operations center

Construction on the new Virginia football operations center has officially begun. University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, head football coach Tony Elliott, and director of athletics Carla Williams participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the football facility on Thursday afternoon. 

Watch the official groundbreaking ceremony here: 

The new football operations center, which is scheduled to be completed by spring 2024, will be 90,000 square feet and costs $80 million. "It is not flashy, but it is exactly what we need to compete for championships," said director of athletics Carla Williams. 

Before the groundbreaking ceremony, multiple speakers addressed the crowd inside the George Welsh Indoor Facility, which included current and former Virginia football players and coaches as well as members of the UVA Board of Visitors. 

See the following videos to hear what head coach Tony Elliott and senior linebacker Nick Jackson said at the ceremony: 

The official fact sheet for the Virginia Football Operations Center included the following description and information: 

"The new Football Operations Center is designed to provide student-athletes with a safe and effective training environment with connections to both the new outdoor training fields and the Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. The proposed facility represents the second phase of redevelopment of the Athletics district masterplan and will replace existing Athletics facilities that are undersized, outdated, and in need of improvements. The new facility will be a state-of-the-art, comprehensive, training center that will address needs of UVA student-athletes, coaches, and administrative staff. The building will be a two story, 90,000 square foot training facility for student-athletes including locker rooms, strength and conditioning spaces, nutrition spaces, team meeting spaces, sports medicine areas for treatment and recovery, as well as coaches’ offices, video operations, and building support spaces. The project will also provide a portion of the new pedestrian promenade from the Goodwin Bridge and connect into the portion installed during the Phase 1 project."

The building will be 90,000 GSF and include:

• Over 14,000 SF Strength and Conditioning center
• Over 7,000 SF Team Locker Room
• Over 6,000 SF Team Lounge and Dining
• Over 5,000 SF Sports Medicine 
• Over 4,000 SF All-Team Meeting Room
• Over 7,000 SF Position Meeting Rooms

See the following pictures for 3d renderings of what the facility will look like when completed:

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